Dance Department Chair Janet Sanderson selected eight dance students that attended the American Dance Festival in the New England Regional, which took place in Boston, Mass. in February.

Along with 32 other colleges and universities, Cerritos College attended the festival and advanced to the festival Gala in a piece entitled “ESL School Boys at a bus stop in Montreal, Quebec.”

Cerritos was chosen to attend nationals as a non-region selection which will be held May 27-29 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

“This is the Super Bowl of dance,” first-time competitor Edgar Rodriguez explained, “for a community college to make it with such a diverse group of students and with different skill levels is an honor.”

Although the trip seemed doomed from the start with flight delays, room cancellations, and not being able to participate in the workshops, the Cerritos dancers pulled it off.

“We’ve been rehearing for this competition since last semester, we’ve been putting in a lot of work in this especially because we were being judged,” fellow dancer, Diana Gonzales said.

Along with Gonzales and Rodriguez the other dancers include: Shaun Fuimaono, Victor Garcia, Steve Rosa, Popy Saradeth, Brian Sholes, and Maleno Van Zitter.

The dance will be presented at the Spring 2010 Dance Concert that will take place March 25-27 in the Burnight Center Theatre.