Dance Team Welcomes New Members

Dance like nobody’s watching. That’s what Carson Street Dance is for. Carson Street Dance, or CSD, is one of your local hip-hop dance teams for high schoolers. Anyone who feels they have potential to become a dancer is always welcome in the arms of their dancing peers.

Four girls with a passion for dancing established the team in 1999 in the city of Carson. A common assumption is that you have to attend Carson High to be a part of CSD. However, CSD is an independent team, which means anyone can join.

“I tried out because my sister would always dance in front of me. I would watch this team called The Company, and they inspired me to dance. I joined Street dance because I knew this team requires a lot of commitment and hard work and that in here I would grow,” said Matthew Padaoil, senior at Rancho.

Padaoil is now going into his third year of CSD. He is an example to show others that you don’t need to attend Carson High just to be part of this team. CSD performs at many showcases, competitions, and even the 626/OC Night Market. They practice on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays of the week with additional practices if needed.

“We do our routines, running, push ups, or crunched. When it’s close to performance, we work hard and clean our routines to avoid any mistakes. Other times, we do things to help us improve our dancing like coming up with choreo or learning new types of dances,” said Micah Bocatija, a freshman at Carson High.

It is a Bocatija’s first time joining the team back when they had auditions toward the beginning of the summer.

CSD may look fun but it is also very tiring and consists of a lot of hard work and dedication. For example, they always have “Hell Week” the week before a showcase or competition. During Hell Week, they work out and condition for about four hours and then practice the routines for another three hours every day. This would be considered some team member’s breaking point.

“At times, I would think that we would never get over the hard workouts but I just kept telling myself that I can do this and shouldn’t give up so easy. Everything we will do will help us become stronger and better dancers,” said Bocatija.

Besides any hard times the team goes through, they always push through and make it to the end. The team is not just a group of dancers but a family who looks out for each other. They learn as a team and grow as a family.

“I made life long friends and a strong foundation for dancing. It also taught me mind over matter,” said Padaoil.

Carson Street Dance holds practice at Veterans Park on the corner of Moneta Ave. and 223rd Street. They welcome anyone with a potential to dance and become part of their family.