LASU's Performances 2008-2009
Titans Claim Center Stage in 2008 Dance Contest
Einstein High School dancers dominated in the 9th Annual Latin Dance Competition, against teams from Montgomery high schools and from Virginia on Fri., Oct. 17.
The competition, held in Einstein's auditorium, drew a sold-out audience of 900 and dancers from Blair, Clarksburg, Gaithersburg, Seneca Valley, and Watkins Mill high schools in Montgomery and from Dominion High School in Sterling, VA.
Titan seniors Karen Carbajal and Cristian Panameño took first place in the salsa couples competition. Senior Ana Coello, partnered wtih Panameno, took first place in the Bachata event.
Titan dance couples also claimed first place in the Best In Show category. Einstein alumni Ixandra Molina and Kevin Caballero tied for second place with Watkins Mill in the alumni dancers division.
Judges for the competition included Barbara Bernstein, Hector Chavez, Carlos Ulloa and Steve Zaloga.
The dance team sponsored by Einstein's Latin American Students United club is considered the best in Montgomery, having won first place in numerous competitions over the last nine years. The Titan team also performs at community events in the greater Washington region.
LASU Troupe Dances With The Stars
Einstein High School's Latin student dance team, judged to be the best in Montgomery County, received a rare invitation to participate in an international dance convention in August that drew several thousand spectators and hundreds of performers.
Einstein's Latin American Students United (LASU) dance team was the only high school team that appeared at the International Washington DC Salsa Congress, held Aug. 15-17 at the Hilton Crystal City in Arlington, VA, said Paula Peró, the team's longtime sponsor. The Salsa Congress drew professional dancers from major cities around the U.S. and abroad, including Miami, New York, Tokyo, London, Houston, the District of Columbia and Orlando.
Fourteen Einstein students arrived at the Hilton on Fri., Aug. 15 with specially made green T-shirts imprinted with LASU's name. That evening, the girls changed into red halter top dresses, and the boys wore outfits of black slacks and shirts and red ties to perform as "Titanes Salseros," swirling and turning onstage in synchronized dances.
"This was performing for a professional crowd," said Pero, who serves as resource teacher for Einstein's Foreign Languages Department. "It was definitely a very high standard we had to meet."
Throughout the rest of the weekend, the students mingled with dance professionals and participated in workshops.
The LASU dance members are part of a seasoned troupe that has won more than 30 first-place finishes in local high school competitions over the last eight years, performing Latin dances such as salsa, bachata, merengue and cha-cha. A county grant helps pay for some of the instruction the dance team receives from professionals Ricardo Loaiza, Elba Garcia, Shaka Brown and Psyon Scott.
LASU officers are president Cristian Panameno, vice president Ana Coello and secretary Karen Zepeda.
The dance troupe also appears at community events such as the 4th of July Takoma Park Parade and the downtown Silver Spring summer cultural series. It is scheduled to perform Sept. 16 at the offices of the U.S. Census Bureau in Suitland, MD as part of that agency's celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. Hispanic Heritage Month runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.
LASU wins big at the 3rd Annual Latin Dance Competition
Saturday LASU represented Einstein HS at the 3rd Annual Latin Dance Competition held at Dominion HS in Sterling, Virginia. We competed against Clarksburg HS, Seneca Valley HS, Watkins Mill HS, Edison HS (Fairfax, VA), Park View HS (Sterling, VA) and Dominion HS (Sterling, VA).
As always the hard work paid off.
1st Place Samba Couples - Karen Zepeda & Kevin Caballero
2nd Place Cha Cha Couples- Karen Carbajal & Cristian Panameño
1st Place Jack & Jill- Ana Coello with a student from Clarksburg HS
1st Place Group- The group performed the same dance they performed at Taste of Einstein.
- Melissa Alvarez
- Kevin Caballero
- Karen Carbajal
- Vanessa Chaparro
- Ana Coello
- Alicia Escoto
- Fatima Esparza
- Lisa Fuentes
- Diego Hernandez
- Maria Moreno
- Dennis Orellana
- Kevin Sihuas
- Marcus Suero
- Cristian Panameño
- Blen Sime
- Gisela de la Vega
- Karen Zepeda
In addition, when all the points were added we also brought home a large trophy for winning the competition. Please congratulate the students for their hard work since they have worked very hard and were very proud to represent Einstein HS at the competition.