Building a golden legacy

By now, any student that has attended a pep rally this school year should know the Golden Girls. This dance team dazzles in every performance and brings a shining light to every event. This team is composed of girls from all grades, including Seniors Tereza Stewart and Melanie Trujillo, Juniors Valentina Castrillon and Christina Valdes, Sophomores Joanier Novon, Amanda Morales, and Laurys Gutierrez, as well as Freshman Katelyn Gomez.

The Golden Girls are led by Coach Perez, who was a member of the Golden Girls dance team during her high school career here at Miami Springs Senior High. She has an immense passion for the dance team, and always channels that into every routine and performance. Coach Perez shows her gratitude for having the opportunity to come back to the team, stating that “returning has been a huge blessing because I’ve been able to provide the same experience I had in high school to the future generation of Golden Hawks.”

Perez uses her coaching role to inspire not only the girls on her dance team or in her classes, but also to inspire the entire school to express themselves and leave their mark at MSSH. “Being able to continue history is something I take pride in because it’s something that makes Miami Springs High School what it is today,” she said with a smile on her face. Coach Perez also clarified that the Golden Girls was more than just dancing, but instead an outlet for her to express herself.

This year, the Golden Girls are taking their next big step as a team and heading to competition in February. The competition takes place in Daytona Beach, the weekend of February 24-26th. Everyone has been putting in the work to prepare for competition, frequently practicing their routines in or out of the studio. The girls all agreed that they are both nervous and excited since it is their first year going to competition and performing with the team. The team also remarked how they are proud of their performance so far. While there is always room for improvement, they have been improving with every practice and performance.

The theme for the competition is “Dream.” Coach Perez incorporated this theme into the music, picking songs that are centered around achieving a goal. They are performing three routines with separate styles: lyrical, jazz, and hip-hop, each showcasing the broad skillset of the team. The song for the jazz routine is “Dream On” by Aerosmith and the lyrical routine is using the song “Leave a Light On” by Tom Walker. Both songs express the theme of chasing a dream that Coach Perez wanted to demonstrate in their movements.

Their routines also incorporate gestures depicting the girls reaching for something. This move expresses the idea of chasing a dream emulated in the song choice. For these moves, Coach Perez had one piece of advice, “big isn’t enough, and if we think (the movement) is big then do it bigger.”

While the Golden Girls will be practicing during the coming weeks for the competition, they will be cheered on by their Golden Hawks here at school. They will surely shine at competition, in their glowing uniforms and matching smiles. Hopefully the girls will bring home a trophy for all of their hard work bringing spirit, and a lasting legacy of beauty and self-expression to Miami Springs Senior High.

Wish the Golden Girls good luck next month representing the Golden Hawks at competition!