Junior Clara Laforge danced beside her teammates across the stage to impress the judges. 

Poway Dance Project competed in Las Vegas on Jan.11. at Desert Oasis High School for their first competition of the year.

They took first place in six of their dances: large lyrical, small lyrical, small jazz, small contemporary, medium contemporary, and game day. 

“It is the first time that we are getting to do a lot of our dances outside of just the dance room and performing in front of the judges and audience members. It is very exciting because we are finally able to show people what we have been working so hard on,” junior Clara Laforge said.

It was the first time for some of the dancers and others were returning. Not everyone in PDP competes. Only the people on the competition team do. The girls were confident in their dances since they have practiced for countless hours each week. 

“Last year we got all first places, so I have confidence that we will do great again this year,” sophomore Sophie Ward said.

On Friday, the day before the competition, the team went out for dinner in Las Vegas to bond and relax after practicing all day, perfecting their dances.

“I am so thankful to have such a loving and supportive group of people to dance with on my team. They help me grow, not only in dancing but overall as a person. It was my first time competing with them in Las Vegas and it was such an exciting experience. I can’t wait for future competitions with this team,” sophomore Casey Allphin said. 

 Dancers put in about 6-8 hours of practice each, including 5 a.m. practices on school days to get to their dances to look the best they can and to be as prepared as possible.

“I am so thankful that we can work together and perform amazingly as a team”, sophomore Sophie Ward said.