The Aptos High dance team shimmied and grooved their way to a successful 2024 season that was capped off with a strong outing at last month’s USA Dance Nationals in Southern California.
Bella Garvey, a senior, took seventh in the Solo Champion division, while Zoey Williams and senior Amelia Valoroso placed ninth and 11th, respectively, in the Super Dancer division.
The Mariners’ small dance group was runner-up in the team finals, followed by small hip-hop in third and extra small dance placed fourth against hundreds of others competing at the Anaheim Convention Center on March 22-23.
Other top finishing groups for Aptos include small dance/pom in fourth and small lyrical took sixth.
“I’m very happy and satisfied with how we performed and how I performed,” Garvey said. “I feel like going into [the] dance team, not knowing much about it last year, we really put in a lot of work this year and it definitely paid off down there and throughout the whole season.”
Garvey said it was inspiring to compete against some of the best dancers in the country, because they put in the same amount of work and effort into the sport as the Mariners. She also likes being able to show off their skills on the dance floor.
“It can definitely be a little bit nerve-wracking first walking in there and seeing all these incredible people,” Garvey said.
But knowing what to expect, Garvey went into this year’s national tournament beaming with confidence.
“I feel like we should be more confident because of how hard we got to work and what we’ve accomplished, so far, in the year,” she said.
Tanee Nusbaum, Alexis Valoroso and Dani Delgadillo are in their second year coaching the program. Nusbaum said their performance at nationals was a big jump in just her second trip with the program.
“It’s just so different compared to how it is up here. The talent is really out of this world,” Nusbaum said.
But the Mariners rightfully deserved to be on the big stage.
In their first regional competition of the season, Aptos traveled to Bella Vista High School in Fair Oaks to compete at the USA Northern California Dance Regional in February.
The result was their first clean sweep in the program’s history. They won the extra small, small lyrical, small contemporary, small dance/pom, and small hip hop.
Aptos also took three soloists to represent the school. Garvey took first, Williams took second and Valoroso placed third in their respective division.
The nine members that make up the varsity team are seniors Garvey, Valoroso, E Evans and Juliana Alvarez, along with future returners in Williams, Bryanna Diaz-Vazquez, Mia Trujillo, Nahla Alcaraz and Natalie Perez.
“They’re just extremely dedicated teenagers, which I don’t feel like always goes together in the same sentence,” Nusbaum said.
The coaches have practice set for 7am. All nine members are there at 6:45am, already practicing in the parking lot.
“They’re all competitive in a really good way,” Nusbaum said. “They’re not competitive with each other, but they want to do well. And they really see the value and consistency in being able to do well.”
Garvey said the coaching staff pushed them to be the best everyday and did everything in their power to give the dancers as many opportunities as possible.
“I would say we owe a lot of it to them,” she said. “But also, I feel like this year we were really bonded and close as a team. We just moved as a team out there on the floor. And we just had a really good connection off of the floor, which helped us even more when we were dancing.”
The season might be over for Aptos, yet it doesn’t mean Nusbaum and her fellow coaches will stop working. Tryouts for next year’s team take place Friday.
As for Garvey, she recently committed to the University of Cincinnati to compete on the dance team in 2024. She became the second Aptos athlete in the program’s 12-year history to join a collegiate team.
Kirbie Daily–class of 2016—tried out and made the University of Memphis dance team in 2017. “[Daily] has been a huge help teaching us all of the ins and outs of the dance team world,” Nusbaum said in a text message.
Garvey went through the recruitment process and was in contact with Cincinnati starting September 2023.
In October, she had a weekend of meetings on campus with coaches and the team. Garvey fell in love with the school and atmosphere. Plus, she’ll be able to pay in-state tuition.
“It’s honestly very surreal to me,” Garvey said. “It’s just kind of hard to believe and wrap my head around because I’ve just been in this process for so long.”
Cincinnati’s dance program has won seven national titles and 10 world titles. In 2009, the Bearcats represented the United States as Team USA Dance at the first ICU World Championship.
“It’s very sports oriented, which I feel maybe relates to her Aptos blood a little bit,” Nusbaum said.
Prior to committing with Cincinnati, Garvey spent a little more than two years visiting other schools and attending clinics looking for the perfect fit. She had offers from Washington State, Memphis, Grand Canyon University and other smaller schools.
Garvey is proud of not giving up because there were some ups and downs during the process. She said it was mostly ups, but there were definitely times when it was hard to not be defeated.
“I feel like it was just a celebratory moment for me and all of my coaches because they helped so much going into all of it and I would not be able to do without them,” Garvey said.
