National award winning teams compete in Pom, Jazz, and Game Day divisions!
SMCHS Song is a program for dancers striving to promote school spirit, support athletics, and represent their school in the competitive spirit industry.
We are an award winning competitive song/dance program that competes in Pom and Jazz on the regional and national level. Over the years, the SM Song teams have won numerous awards and National titles. There is a JV and Varsity team, both comprised of highly motivated and talented girls that take pride in representing SM. They love the camaraderie the team atmosphere brings them and special moments they experience together.
If you are interested in dancing in college or professionally, we are here to guide you in your journey. Our coaches have danced in college and professionally. They have an extensive network of choreographers and directors in the industry. We would love to guide your dancers in their future endeavors. Our alumni dance at many colleges including USC, TCU, Oregon, Wisconsin, SDSU, U of Arizona, UNLV, Boston U, & GCU. Also for professional teams such as Laker Girls, Arizona Cardinals, 49er's & Charger Girls...just to name a few!
Danielle has over 25 years of experience coaching, teaching and choreographing dance. She started dancing at the age of 3 and has been professionally trained in various styles including ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, pom/song, theater, character, modern, pointe & lyrical. At the age of 13 she was chosen as a member of the Tremaine Dance Company and trained with world renowned choreographers in the dance/entertainment industry. She had the opportunity to dance for various live events, videos, TV, and films, such as Austin Powers, The International Man of Mystery, WB Dubba Commercial, Christy’s Buss Dancin’ Videos, & Napoli for The Royal Danish Ballet. Danielle also has experience working behind the scenes in the dance/entertainment industry. Danielle worked for MSA Agency, top dance/choreography talent agency in Hollywood. Their clients work can be seen everywhere on film, TV, and stage! Some of the projects she worked on included, So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing With the Stars, the High School Musical franchise, Michael Jackson's This Is It, just to name a few! Danielle is a graduate from UC Irvine and was the captain of their dance team for 3 years. She was a member of the United Spirit Association where she served as a Head Instructor and a member of their Program Development staff. She currently judges for various event producers when she is not with her teams competing. Danielle has coached and choreographed for numerous dance and Song teams throughout the United States including high school, college, semi-pro, and pro teams, including the LA Laker Girls, 49er Gold Rush Cheerleaders, San Diego Charger Girls, & OC Gladiators. During the past 24 years of coaching, her teams have won numerous national titles and awards including Innovative Choreography, Technical Excellence, Superior Showmanship, Best in Category, Grand Champions, & the Bronze Medal at USASF’s Dance Worlds. In 2013, Danielle was named CheerPros “Dance Coach of the Year”! She loves sharing her passion for dance and her competitive spirit to motivate and push her dancers to be the best they can be. Danielle takes pride in her dancers and dedicates herself fully by investing in each of her dancers’ growth and development. This is Danielle's 13th season coaching at SMCHS and is excited to continue her 5th year as the Head Coach and 2nd year as the Dance Director!
Varsity Competition Coach- Nicole Cestone
We are thrilled to have Nicole on our coaching staff! She was our past Song Program Director for 10 seasons! She currently is the West Coast State Director for Varsity Brands including USA, UDA, and NDA! She judges for various competitions both regionally and nationally. She currently teaches at PAVE School of the Arts and directs their PAVE Pro Competition Teams. She has choreographed for high school, college, and pro teams for many years and has won numerous awards and titles. She has an extensive background dancing, teaching and choreographing in the dance and spirit industries! She graduated from UCLA, where she was a member and captain of their dance team for 3 years. She was also a past USA Program Director and instructor, teaching 1000's of dancers and cheerleaders across the US and abroad. Nicole looks forward to an amazing season!
JV Song/Dance Coach- Audrey Eagan
We are excited to have Audrey on our coaching staff! Audrey started dancing at the age of 3 at Cal Elite where she trained in the styles of jazz, ballet, contemporary, modern, hip hop, musical theatre, lyrical, tap, and acro. She joined the competition team at the age of 5 and competed with them until she was 16. She is a Santa Margarita alumni and was on the dance team from 2015-2019, and an IB dance student her junior and senior years. She recently graduated from Washington State University where she was on the Crimson Girls dance team for four years. At WSU, she had the opportunity to compete in the jazz and gameday categories at UDA nationals in Florida, travel for tournaments and bowl games, and represent the university at home football and basketball games. Audrey is excited to be back at SMCHS and to help make this an amazing season!
EDF Assistant Coach- Katie Barry
We are excited to have Katie back on our coaching staff! Katie Barry is an SMCHS alum from the Class of 2012 and former SMCHS Varsity Songleader and has over 20 years of dance training and experience in Jazz, Pom, Ballet, Contemporary, Lyrical, and Hip-hop styles. She has over 8 years of experience coaching and teaching throughout the all-star and high school dance communities and, as a dancer, has competed at UDA Nationals, USA Spirit Nationals, USA All-Star Nationals, NDA All-Star Nationals, and more. Katie has assisted in choreographing routines around the country, and her teams have won USA Nationals in the JV Song Pom Advanced division in 2017 and NDA Nationals in 2018. Outside of coaching, Katie enjoys a successful career as a professional graphic designer, specializing in brand strategy, brand identity, and UX/UI design. She received a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Graphic Design and Interactive Communication from Cal State Fullerton. Katie is thrilled to be back as an Eagle as she enters her 7th season of coaching at SMCHS!
What does Song do? We are a fusion of an athletic team, activity, and art! We cheer/dance at football and basketball games. We perform at rallies and special events throughout the year. We compete nationally in Pom, Jazz, and Game Day!
When does the season begin/end? We start right after tryouts in May and finish in March after our Nationals. We have 2-3 weeks off in the summer! We do practice 3x's week and attend UDA convention camp in Indian Wells, CA.
How much does the program cost? Every year it varies based off number in the program, but the range is from $4900-$5800 depending on what team you are selected for. It covers everything for the season.
What is EDF? Eagle Dance Force (EDF) is our new name for our competitive dance program that joins the forces of our Song and Dance Teams! We offer master classes throughout the year taught by industry professionals, as well as crossover competition routines with Song and Dance teams.
If you have any other questions, please reach out to Coach Darwazeh- darwazehd@smhs.org.
