Star Steppers auditions will be held in the dance room on Dec. 3.

“To become a Star Stepper, you can just be in the dance team prep class,” freshman Graciella Homan said. “But some of the girls that are in that class did do Starline, so you don’t need lots of experience but you do need to know how to dance.”

Girls are required to attend a three-day audition where they are scored by a panel of judges on the third day. Their score determines if they make the team. Homan said trying out for the Star Steppers is a good way to make friends and show school spirit.

“I like dance, and it’s fun but I just want to move up a level,” Homan said. “Starline is cool, but I want to try something a little more difficult and to challenge myself.”

The Star Steppers perform their famous hip-hop routines at the school’s pep rallies, and show their support for the football team with their complicated kick and pom routines. These require some flexibility which all the girls who make the team need to have.

“Flexibility, musicality, turn technique, leap technique, kick technique, showmanship and overall execution of movements are all important for the girls to have,”director Araceli Lopez said.

All these techniques are put into the contest routines the Star Steppers perform. They compete at two local contests and one out of the area, along with the other dance teams in the area.

“Every girl is required to audition for the routines we take to competition; which is usually a kick, jazz, contemporary, hip hop and novelty,” Lopez said. “The girls also have the option of doing a solo if they want.”

There isn’t a certain amount of girls chosen, anyone can make it if they have the right technique. This year there were around 50 girls on the team. Not everyone gets put into all the dances, so there are individual tryouts for those too.

“I believe the hardest part would be memorizing the tryout routine,” Homan said. “Only because we have a short amount of time to learn it and practice. But it’s important to be confident with your dance skills or you can’t get anywhere in the world of dance.”