GTHS Marquee Dance Team Takes First in Three Categories

Division, genre and overall were the three categories Grand Terrace High School's (GTHS) Marquee Dance Team took home first place titles — and bragging rights — in over the Thanksgiving break in the team's first competition in a Sharp International battle in Claremont. The big wins were also supported by various individual awards taken by a few of the dance crew's 31 student members in categories like "Best Touches," "Best Leaps," "Best Turns" and "Best Kicks." The dance group is comprised of students in all grade levels, ninth through 12th, whose specialty lies in hip hop and contemporary dance. The club also aims to bring together students with an appreciation for various forms of art. The group is advised by GTHS math teacher Matthew Johnson and the dance crew is supervised and coached by Jeremiah Bautista. This year the group's focus lies heavily on dance, Bautista shared, and the group has been practicing since June for the competitive season, which takes place November through March. All the preparation and hard work that went into getting ready for the competition last month paid off, said Bautista. He described his reaction to hearing the group's name called for the first place spot in each of the three categories: "At first I was overwhelmed and in shock," he said. "It was unbelievable. I knew we would go in and do good but I didn't know we'd end up winning the entire thing. I was in ecstasy and so proud of what my kids accomplished." The group incorporates many different techniques into its routine to create a fast-paced and exciting blend of hip hop dance artistry. The dancers have performed techniques taken from Tai Kwon Do, tumbling, breakdancing and they have worked on flexibility. Through it all, Bautista has a large goal for his dancers. "I want to push the students and give them a chance to see what it's like as a competitive dancer," he said. "I want to give them the experience of dancing in front of a crowd and feeling accomplished." Two of the team's winning trophies sit protected in a glass case in the school's front office. The Overall First Place trophy, too large to be displayed in the case, sits proudly in Principal Angela Dischenger's office. The group is practicing and gearing up for its next two competitions: the first at Arroyo Valley High School and the next the national competition, which will take place at the Anaheim Convention Center in late March. "We're really looking forward to keeping it (the winning) up," said Bautista.