Carlsbad CA— Does dancing make you smarter? Probably so. This past year the Carlsbad High School Varsity Lancer Dancers, as a team were able to achieve a GPA average of 4.02. Eleven girls on the elite dance team received the prestigious scholar athlete achievement status which requires students to have a minimum cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. They were able to achieve higher than a 4.0 average due to weighted advanced placement classes which are offered to qualified upper classmen. Grade levels on the 12-member all-girls team range from freshmen to seniors.
“This is a very high achieving group of girls,” said Coach Laura Nares, herself a former Lancer Dancer. “As a group they set some team goals at the start of the season, and they far exceeded them.”
The school requires the girls to maintain a 2.0 to be able to remain on a varsity team. “But the girls took it a step further and signed a contract to maintain at least a 3.0 GPA,” Nares said. “They worked really hard and surpassed that goal and I am very proud of them. It is quite an amazing feat when you consider how many hours per week they spend in rehearsals at school and at off-campus dance studios.”
The team practices on average 12 hours per week at school with an additional 7-10 hours of technique classes per week at local dance studios. The majority of the girls also compete for local dance studios, adding 3-6 hours a week of dance practice to their schedules. Lancer Dancers spend additional time performing at community events and competitions and teaching kids dance classes and camps.
The Lancer Dancers are no strangers to hard work, dedication and participating in championship arenas. The 2015 Team placed second in the nation at USA Nationals in Anaheim in the jazz category and fourth in the nation at UDA Nationals in Orlando, Florida in the hip hop category. Excellence in competitive dance is a long tradition at Carlsbad High School. The Lancer Dancers team holds 10 national titles.
Co-captain Nicole Mendrala, who will begin her fourth year on the varsity squad this fall, describes the commitment these girls have. “Hard work, focus, organization and a winning attitude provide the backbone of the team’s success. We’re constantly trying to raise the bar in our performances, because we represent not only our school, but also our community.”
All that hard work and dedication in both dance and academics is paying off. The team’s two graduating seniors were both accepted to top California universities. Captain Tiffany Smith will be attending University of San Diego to study Communications, and Co-captain Haley Crump will attend UC Davis to pursue a degree in Engineering.
The team will hold their annual Junior Lancer Dancer kids camp this summer, August 4 – 7, for kids ages 5-14, from 9 a.m. to noon each day at Carlsbad High School. The camp is open to beginners, intermediate and advanced dancers for a donation of $125 per child (includes a free T-shirt and photo). Dance camp participants learn new routines, enjoy a performance opportunity, gain self-confidence and benefit from the championship attitude the Lancer Dancers bring as role models.
For more information and registration, visit www.LancerDancers.com.