The Million Dollar Dance Team (MDT) at Berkeley High School was founded in 2024 by two students who wanted to create a space where students could express themselves and create relationships through dance. Since then, they have blown audiences away with their incredible talent dance moves. Yet, the MDT is so much more than just dazzling choreography. Backstage, dancers see themselves as a family that works together to make their performances come to life.
“We ask each other a lot of clarifying questions and it doesn’t feel uncomfortable to do that,” BHS junior Noelle Izon said, “In classes with other people, it’s hard to ask questions and raise your hand sometimes but it’s not hard for me to do that with the people on the team.”
MDT practices twice a week after school for 90 minutes to learn a variety of different dance styles that they later incorporate into official choreography. Part of what makes the team special is that it provides students the opportunity to take the reins on teaching other students choreography that they themselves have created.
“It’s a very free, open space. Everyone’s open-minded,” BHS junior Sharmila Shaik, one of this year’s co-captains, said.
MDT’s leaders also prioritize a sense of safety when it comes to the audition process. Safety of expression allows them to show who they are onstage, which especially applies to the individual freestyle portion of the audition. The team focuses largely on supporting each other and ensuring the audition process is a time where people can learn instead of compete.
“MDT is a very welcoming place for a lot of different people,” BHS junior Shiya Reynolds, a member on the team, said, “Everyone here is very open and bluntly themselves, and I think that’s why it’s so interesting, and why everyone can click so quickly.”
Being an entirely student-led team, MDT prioritizes organization and allows every dancer to have a voice and ideas heard. As a team, all performers work together tirelessly leading up to their performances, which typically are halftime shows at sports games and dance showcases.
They prepare for these performances by having practices after school more frequently, and running their numbers until all students feel comfortable with the choreography.
Many of the students on MDT started out dancing in different styles than they do now, including tap or hip-hop. MDT provides a space in which dancers can discover new styles of dance, or even learn how to dance as a part of a team.
“Just be yourself,” Izon said, “It’s okay if you don’t have a lot of experience dancing before because you’re here to learn.”
Additionally, the team also is welcoming new captains this year.
Shaik, as well as BHS senior John’Nae Murray are the incoming leaders of the team. They were chosen when the previous captains asked everyone who was interested in leading to raise their hands.
“They asked who would be interested in being captain and I was one of the people that raised my hand,” Shaik said, “Then they started paying more attention to me and noticing if I was stepping up, if I was staying committed, if I was communicating, and my skill in general to be able to choreograph.”
Both captains remember how nerve-wracking it was to audition but also how accepted they felt. This feeling of support was something that they hoped to give to other dancers.
“When I came out for the team, I was nervous, but people were so welcoming, which made me relax, and feel like I can be myself in this space without feeling like I’m doing something wrong,” Murray said.
MDT is a team that emphasizes open-mindness and encourages all dancers to be themselves. Their tight-knit community allows them to perform fluidly and comfortably onstage. They have created a space for themselves where they can show who they are, and what they can do together.