Claudia Torres (from left), Sergio Rosales, Adrian Vasquez, Luis Sanchez and Monique Sanchez of the Watsonville-based dance group Dynamic Street Rockerz auditioned Wednesday in Hollywood on the set of “Tengo Talento, Mucho Talento.” (Photo by Tarmo Hannula/Pajaronian)
WATSONVILLE — A Watsonville dance troupe is aiming for the big time, and the first step is a televised talent competition in Los Angeles.
The troupe — Dynamic Street Rockerz — traveled to Southern California Wednesday to perform in “Tengo Talento, Mucho Talento,” a Hispanic version of the reality show “America’s Got Talent.”
The name translates to “I’ve got talent, a lot of talent.”
True VIPs, the dancers traveled in a tour bus sent by the production company.
A panel of judges spends most of the season either passing or booting contestants.
For the show’s climax, the public decides who wins the $100,000 grand prize and the chance to launch their professional career.
Group leader Luis Sanchez said he knew he wanted to be a dancer when he was a young boy.
A self-taught dancer, Sanchez said he was inspired by his break-dancing uncle and by the student dance groups he saw as a student at Salsipuedes Elementary and Lakeview Middle schools.
But he said he was too shy to join the groups. Instead, he picked up his moves by watching other dancers and practicing on his own.
Sanchez currently teaches dance for Mariposa’s Art, and offers lessons through his company Stylez Dance at the Gene Hoularis and Waldo Rodriguez Youth Center in Watsonville.
He has been teaching in the school district and at local community centers for more than 10 years working with students of all ages.
Sanchez met a friend at the Watsonville youth center who was a dancer, and formed Watsonville Dance Club in 2002. It was also at that time that he launched the city’s first ¡Cultura Caliente!, the multicultural dance show held every year at the Henry J. Mello Center.
Trying out for the television show is nothing new for Sanchez.
He has auditioned several times in the past for shows such as “America’s Best Dance Crew” and “So You Think You Can Dance,” and for a movie.
“I’ve been chasing this dream for a long time,” he said. “It’s a dance dream.”
That dream — to open his own studio — began to grow in earnest when he saw the dearth of activities for young people in Watsonville.
Sanchez graduated from Watsonville High School in 2004, and began taking classes at Cabrillo College, where an instructor saw his talent and asked him to help teach the class.
He also studied with various hip-hop dance organizations including Hip Hop Craze, Jabbawockeez, and Dance Street Rockers.
Sanchez’s performances have been featured in World of Dance, San Francisco Hip Hop Festival, and Enroute, as well as music videos for rappers Chris Rene and Cypress Hill.
He has also been granted the Cesar Chavez Award and a proclamation from the City of Watsonville for his service to the community.
His penultimate inspiration came when he saw a DJ playing at a gathering, and the people dancing to the hip-hop music.
He followed this up with trips to San Francisco and Los Angeles to see other street dance performances.
“It was something about the music and the DJ and the people,” he said. “Dance made me really happy.”
By 2006, Sanchez was dancing at clubs in Gilroy and continuing to travel to see various dance crews. One of these was Gen 2, whose founder Shaun Evaristo became a mentor.
“That’s when I really started to get to know the world of dance,” he said.
