By Javi-Nevaeh Hall
The Whittier College Dance Team performed at the Crypto.com Arena in Downtown Los Angeles during half-time for the LA Kings Hockey game on Saturday, February 26. Performing to a mashup of multiple popular songs, they graced the arena floor with their choreography before a large audience.
Preparing dedicatedly for this opportunity, the dance team began training for this performance in October 2021, diligently memorizing their choreography and attending rigorous practices. Despite this painstaking effort, the Whittier College Dance Team was a bit apprehensive, not having been able to perform before a live audience for a lengthy period of time due to COVID-19 restrictions.
"It was quite the challenge to pick back up where we left off because things were so different when we returned back to campus," said Dance Team Co-Captain Analisa Matutte '22. "When we [came back], we immediately hosted tryouts and we had a great turnout. We had practice every Thursday and we worked on creating a routine for upcoming performances on and off-campus."
During the winter season, the team had the opportunity to perform at a campus basketball game, "which definitely helped with any nerves we were all experiencing since it had been a while since we had all danced together or performed at an event,” added Matutte.
For Matutte and some of the team veterans, this was not their first in the spotlight--in 2019, the Dance Team performed at an LA Kings game and at an Ontario Reign Hockey game. Still, performing for such a large crowd was a first for the current 12-member team.
“This was our first opportunity to perform inside the Crypto.com Arena so we knew the audience was going to be huge. We worked really hard to perfect our routine and it was something all of us were excited for," said Matutte.
The performance was a sensation and the team earned thunderous applause that radiated from the bleachers.
“The arena was full and the audience’s reaction was the best part. Everyone loved it and we got so many compliments," said Matutte. “How many people do you know that get to perform at such a huge event? This was definitely an amazing opportunity that we will always be grateful for.”
Matutte felt tremendously proud and appreciative of her team, “Our team has shown immense effort and dedication even when we had nowhere to practice and for that, we are so proud of them. We want to keep performing and showing off all the hard work.”
Members from the Whittier College community were present at the game to support the team and the Associated Students of Whittier College Senate (ASWC) provided the dancers with new gear.
The Whittier College Dance Team is a sports club on campus that is open to all Whittier College students. The team holds auditions every fall and spring semester.
