March 11, 2004

Castillero's Dance Infinia takes top honors at high school competition

By Kymberli W. Brady
Staff Writer

Although “only” a middle school dance team, members of Castillero's Dance Infinia recently beat out seven high schools to take first place honors in both the Junior High and High School Novelty divisions at the Celebration of the Stars competition on Feb. 28.

Hosted by Lincoln High School, dance teams from Cupertino, Presentation, Pioneer, Linbrook, Merrill West, Rockland and Homestead schools also participated in the event. But at the end of the day, it was all about Castillero.

Since the beginning of the school year, the dance team has devoted countless hours toward rehearsals in an effort to perfect their routines. In addition to learning the choreography, they were also trained in facial expressions and projection, as well as military style entrances and exits, culminating in four rigorous rehearsals just prior to the contest.

“Those were the stepping stones toward getting us into the competition,” says Michelle Crivello, who has been teaching the class since its inception in 1995. “The experience is the main purpose. We always go with the impression of competing against ourselves to get better each time.”

“The rehearsals were long and tiring,” says team member Courtney Scruggs. “But it paid off in the end and it felt great to win.”

The competition included two team numbers and eight solo performances for the Junior High and High School Novelty divisions. “The big push for us was the Novelty because the high schools are so intense and experienced,” said Crivello. “Many of them are alums [sic], so that's always an exciting challenge.”

“It was surprising,” adds Whitney Reyes. “It felt like we achieved something for all our hard work.”

In addition to her dancers, Crivello credits the team's success to the “awesome” moms who helped make costumes and set designs. “They are so professional,” she says. “The minute they [the girls] walk on, you just sit up and go wow, what is this going to be about? And then the girls take it from there.”

Not without their setbacks, as with any physical task, accidents do happen. Just prior to the contest, two girls were injured, requiring last-minute formation changes and alterations to the routines.

Sporting a bright pink cast, Georgia Hussein broke her wrist snowboarding just before the competition and was forced to sit it out. “It was disappointing,” she admits. “But it felt good to cheer on the team.”

Additionally, Ashley Giersch twisted her knee during practice the day before the big event. “It was so disappointing because we only had a little bit of practice left and I really wanted to do it,” she says. “It was kind of weird watching your own team perform but it was nice to cheer them on.”

In the end, it couldn't have gone better for the members of Dance Infinia, although some had their doubts. “We didn't think we were going to have everything ready by the time we went on,” explains Brittany Shahin. “But we worked really hard and it paid off.”

As showmanship garnered one-third of the total score, Crivello devoted additional time toward improving the team's confidence levels and eye contact—videotaping facial expressions and playing the footage back to the girls in an effort to improve their scores with the judges.

“In any given year, the Novelty is always an interesting category,” says Crivello. “There's got to be something that catches the judges' attention because the themes are so vast. You just never know. This year was exciting—we knew we could bump up our scores by looking them in the eye, being confident and just having a good time.”

According to Crivello, many former Dance Infinia members have gone on to pursue careers in the field of dance—performing on cruise ships or teaching the art. One alumni cast member, Shannon Daron, returned to perform as the headliner for their annual CPA show and unconfirmed rumors have it that she has just landed a part in the hit musical “Cats.”

“We have many who are also majoring in dance in college,” she says. “Some are now judges for the American Spirit Association as well. They've gone off into different venues, but they're all dance related. It's great when they come back and say, ‘thanks for getting me started.'”

Dance Infinia heads out again later this month for a competition at Cupertino High School on March 20, followed by a trip to Los Angeles, along with the vocal and instrumental groups for a performance during Disney Dance Days at Disneyland in April.

“This is all for the girls to see what's out there and for other schools to see us,” explains Crivello, who says the Castillero reputation carries a lot of clout when students try out for roles in high school as their knowledge of competition, performance skills and work ethics come as a total package. “It's a nice prerequisite going into high school to have that experience.”