The vibes inside San Clemente High School’s dance program could not be any higher than they currently are, following the SCHS Dance Team’s outstanding performance in Anaheim that earned the program’s second national title in as many years.
SCHS repeated in the novelty and musical theater category, totaling a score of 94.7 at the United Spirit Association Dance Nationalscontested on March 22-23. The program also placed second in both the medium dance and medium lyrical categories and landed a fourth in medium jazz, capping the most successful season for SCHS since Kelley Brown took over the program in 2019.
This year was especially notable, as Brown missed most of competition season while on maternity leave, with assistant coaches stepping up to lead in-person practices. While she was still pregnant, the staff brought on program alum Domenica Isola as extra support in the effort to keep the program “as happy and healthy as possible” during the coach’s absence.
Brown attributed much of the success in 2023-2024, however, to her dancers’ level of ability.
The San Clemente High School Dance Team brought home a national championship for the second straight year following the United Spirit Association Dance Nationals in late March. Photo: Courtesy of Kelley Brown
“We had a great growth of talent (in) our program this year that has been different than any other year,” she said. “Not to say any other year hasn't been a successful year, but uniquely, we have had a great, various amount of talent (in) our program that just brought a different edge, I feel, to our competition season in general.”
The 2024 iteration of the program saw dancers who “wanted it” with an intensity surpassing previous teams, Brown added. The team used its competitiveness to rally together and do the best it could, which, in this case, resulted in another trophy.
“Mrs. Doubtfire,” based on the Broadway musical and popular 1993 movie, was the routine that won the novelty and musical theater championship.
The program’s coaching staff and choreographer pick dances each year that help the dancers progress, according to Brown, with a focus on the novelty and musical theater division that has been traditionally important to SCHS. She said the Mrs. Doubtfire routine significantly developed the team’s overall dancing skill, performance quality, and ability to work with props.
The San Clemente High School Dance Team brought home a national championship for the second straight year following the United Spirit Association Dance Nationals in late March. Photo: Courtesy of Kelley Brown
Georgia Stay was the “phenomenal” lead as the Mrs. Doubtfire character, but Brown pointed to the team’s resiliency in overcoming injuries throughout the season and adapting.
“It's been something that we've had to keep adjusting,” she said. “The kids have done a wonderful job either learning new parts (or) changing things quickly in order for the routine to still stay strong when we've had to adjust (for) people missing in the routine.”
Fortunately, everyone was able to participate in the routine at nationals.
SCHS is one of few programs that operates all year long, Brown added, and as time has become further removed from the COVID-19 pandemic that limited contact and proximity, the coaching staff has worked diligently to instill a tight-knit culture of dancers truly invested in their team year-over-year.
“There's just been a shift,” said Brown. “The biggest, most important thing for us coaches is to make sure the quality of our program is about the team and being about something bigger than yourself, and wanting to do anything that you can for everyone to have a successful experience throughout the year.”
Given that level of dedication, reaching the mountaintop as a team is “really special,” according to Brown, who added that the dancers also come away with the knowledge of how to work with others and persevere through the challenges of a yearlong program.
This year’s team spent much of its practice time on the Mrs. Doubtfire routine. With all of that effort, there naturally comes the desire to take the dance all the way to the championship, and the team was encouraged by the consistently favorable feedback it received from judges throughout the season.
“We knew that we had something really special, specifically this year, with that routine, (and so) that was the girls’ goal; they really wanted to win a national title with that routine,” said Brown. “(The coaches’ mindset was), if that's their goal, us coaches are going to do whatever we need to do to help support them and get them to meet it.”
The coaches always seek to impart in their teams a main approach of merely giving their all regardless of the results, she continued, and seeing the dancers’ pride in knowing they did their best on the floor was especially exciting.
Next for SCHS is the Spring Dance Concert, scheduled for 6 p.m. in the high school’s main gym on May 11. During the concert, the team will perform all six of their competition routines and new junior varsity and varsity concert pieces, the soloists will all perform their own routines, the program will showcase a special film, and the team will participate in a coed dance as the finale.
More information about the program and how to buy tickets for the concert can be found at schsdanceteam.com.