Danceline Shines Throughout the 2020-2021 Year

You might’ve seen them twirling flags at football games or giving their all at assemblies– it’s Lompoc High’s Danceline! This crazy time doesn’t stop the team from shining. 

Danceline is a dance, drill, and color guard team. They participate in school and community events as well as compete across Southern California. A lot of their events even combine their talent with groups such as Band and Cheer. 

The Danceline team consists of 18 members and their Coach Selina. Those in danceline are Aileen Medina, Alexa Suarez, Ariana Vargas, Audrey Rodriguez, Caren Aguirre, Carmen Mendez, Daisy Hernandez, Francisca Morales, Grace Roman, Karla Rodriguez, Marelyn Monreal, Mariana Valadez, Noemi Cervantes, Reyna Espinosa, Rubi Angulo, Sofia Larios, Yoselynn Valencia, and Yudith Gonzalez. Their captains are Daisy Hernandez, Mariana Valadez, and Yoselynn Valencia.

Danceline was formerly led by Coach Smith who had recently moved away from Lompoc. She has coached Danceline since May 2018 and had her last zero period practice on May 5th, 2021. Her favorite thing about coaching Danceline (or any other dance team) is seeing the before and after of her students. For example, her upperclassmen from 2018 were once small, young, and shy. But now they’re confident, willing to perform, and shining examples to the underclassmen of the team. Coach Smith is very proud of the dancers and their growth. As she says: “They have come so far and that makes me smile”. She departs from the team, saying: “Never be afraid to leave Lompoc and see the world. Even if it’s only for a weekend or a day, get out there and experience life”.

Danceline started off the 2020-2021 school year meeting each other via Zoom and started in person practice on October 10th, 2020. They practice on the LHS campus at varying places such as the tennis courts and the cafeteria. Under normal conditions, the team practices cadences, flags, and stand dances. But with Covid-19 affecting their performance season (during football season), they’ve taken more of a focus on dance technique. 

You might know what danceline does for our school, but their performances and range of activities are a lot more complex than one might think. Lompoc Danceline participates in community parades like the Flower Festival in summer and the Christmas parade in the winter. During a typical performance, the team engages in stand dances and cadences. Stand dances are when the dancers are on the bleachers and they start in accordance with when the band’s music starts and ends. Cadences are small parades that the dancers perform on the track of the stadium. One commonality they share with other dance teams in Lompoc High, Danceline goes to competition in the winter– competing against schools across Southern California. They participate in competitions with the LHS Band. 

Performing with others is their bread and butter. In the spring, Cheer puts on a dance showcase with Danceline at the Civic Auditorium. Every year, there is a new theme to showcase. This year’s theme is “Rebel Yell” which is an ode to unorthodox artists. The show also served as a tribute to the 2020 dance teams. The dancers that night danced for themselves and for last year’s seniors. After all, this theme was previously set for spring 2020, but CoVID prohibited that. Now, with eased restrictions in 2021, the dance teams were finally able to carry out the show. All the routines that were featured were ready before the closure of school but were remixed and re-auditioned to fit the 2020-2021 teams. This year’s show took place on June 3rd, 2021 in the LHS gym. It followed Covid restrictions by having a limited audience and it was even live streamed via YouTube. 

While the team may work hard, it doesn’t mean that they can’t have a little bit of fun. Danceline puts on team dinners and small gatherings on holidays. During the 2020-2021 year, Danceline put on a small celebration on Valentine’s day where the members shared their goodies and had a team dinner at Mi Amore’s. 

Even if Danceline wasn’t able to carry out many of their activities, they were able to make memories with the time they spent together. To help support LHS Danceline you can show it through their fundraisers and dance showcase with Cheer! You may even find some of their virtual performances on their YouTube channel.