Dance of Peace : Royal High’s Guard Team Puts Its Best Foot Forward for Simi Valley

A year ago, in the wake of the Los Angeles riots, members of Royal High School’s dance guard team rode to performances in Los Angeles with a cover draped over the side of their school bus to hide the words “Simi Valley Unified School District.”

School officials worried that the girls’ city of origin might make them targets of anger over the jury verdicts in the Simi Valley trial of four white Los Angeles police officers accused of beating black motorist Rodney G. King.

“I felt like I totally had to suppress where I was from,” said 10th-grade student Dawn Baldwin, 16.

Now, the girls flaunt their hometown in a dance routine promoting peace and tolerance. The routine recently won them the school’s first national crown in the tall flags division of the Miss U.S.A. Drill Team competition in Los Angeles.

And if the 20-member team can raise enough money by this summer, they will travel to Osaka, Japan, to represent the U.S. in the tall flags division of the international competition.

“Before, when people saw Simi Valley, they thought, ‘Oh, white supremacists,’ ” said Shelby Dellheim, 16. “But when they see this, maybe they think, ‘Oh, they’re not all like that.’ ”

“We’re trying to change the stereotype,” said Sherry McClelland, 15.

Behind their success is adviser and choreographer Quintin Rice, 28, who took over the job last fall. He had previously advised a dance guard team at Dos Pueblos High School in Santa Barbara. Rice, who is black, said he came to Simi Valley with some reservations.

“When my mom found out I was taking this job, she said, ‘Are you sure you want to work there?’ ” said Rice, recalling the conversation with a smile. “Now I want other people to know that Simi Valley is not prejudiced.”

The winning routine begins with a voice-over paraphrasing the now-famous question asked by King after the historic urban unrest broke out in April of last year: “Can we get along?”

The voice-over concludes, “Royal High School, located in the heart of Simi Valley, believes that with respect and understanding, we can. This is our declaration of peace.”

Then the dance guard members, dressed in flowing black pantsuits, shoot out from behind stage props decorated with white doves. They dance and twirl to music, occasionally throwing flags into the air and catching them after a spin.

Three pop music selections accompany the dance, “Peace in the Valley,” “Peace and Love Incorporated” and “Everybody’s Free.”

Some of the dance team members said they were nervous making the trip into central Los Angeles for last month’s national competition, where they beat out 30 other teams for the title.

In the beginning, some said, they noticed dirty looks.

“There were teams that didn’t like us very much at first,” Sherry said.

Some of the audience members seemed to cringe when the voice-over mentioned the riots, Sherry recalled.

“They heard the voice part and they’d go ‘Oh,’ ” she said, pausing to flinch and roll her eyes. “Like, ‘Oh, great, it’s Simi Valley.’ ”

But it wasn’t long before the performance won the audience over, the girls said.

“I think it changed a lot of ideas about Simi Valley,” said 10th-grade team member Katherine Desilets, 15. “They saw the different races on the team, and our adviser is black, so it’s not what people thought.”

The performance ended to thunderous applause, the girls said.

“We got more applause than we had ever gotten before, in the heart of L.A.,” said Jenny Stockton, the team’s 11th-grade co-captain.

Asked how that felt, several girls chimed at once, “Awesome.”

“It made you feel weak,” Jenny said.

The national title also thrust the previously obscure dance guard team into the spotlight at Royal High, adviser Rice said. As a result, 80 girls turned out last week for tryouts, compared to 40 last year, Rice said.

“At first, I thought about cheerleading,” said Lani Narte, 15, during a try-out last week for next year’s team. “But after they won national, I figured this was something good.”

The team still faces a hurdle in getting to Japan for the world competition in July. Parents and supporters of the team are trying to raise $45,000 for the trip through benefit events and business sponsorships.

The dance guard will perform in a benefit concert at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Royal High School. Admission is $2.

“It’s neat, because the girls have their pride back,” said Susan Silva, Jenny Stockton’s mother. “They can say they’re from Simi Valley, and that’s OK.”