For Marquesas’ coach and history teacher Hilary Barron, the event is all about giving back to the community and having a fun time.

“We try to do one community service event per year to get the girls involved,” Barron said.

“It’s also a nice team bonding experience. They get to hang out and not have that pressure [in a competition atmosphere].”

Freshman Faith Hsieh finished her first performance at a community event with the Marquesas with a huge smile. Unlike the fake smiles often pasted on at competitions, all the Marquesas had genuine expressions of joy. Hsieh explains that her own feeling of joy stemmed from knowing that she was helping others through her dancing.

Unlike the stressful, yet adrenaline-filled atmosphere of competitions, the environment at the event was relaxed as the Marquesas were all, made up creative dance sequences to direct walkers in the right direction. Senior Naomi Wang, a co-captain on the dance team, has performed at several community events and finds the different atmosphere very noticeable.

“Everyone’s more relaxed because we all understand why we’re here and understand the purpose and know that people aren’t here to judge us on how we dance,” Wang said. We just want to have a smile on our face and spread that energy for the walk.”