It was a Lights on Afterschool extravaganza when more than 500 students from 42 schools showcased their afterschool talents on October 21-22 at Sierra Vista Mall.

Dance, art, music, singing, exhibits, activities, storefront displays and a host of special guests delighted hundreds of visitors from around the valley.

The winners of the high school ASSETS Best Dance Crew competition included:

Hip Hop Category:

• Best Performance - Sour Patch Kids, Redwood High School
• Best Showmanship - Upstage Golden, West High School
• Most Original - UCK (Unbreakable Chaos Krew), Lindsay High School

Multicultural Dance Category:

• Best Performance - Ballet Folklorico Guilan, Delhi High School
• Best Showmanship - Danzantes de Tlaloc, Central East High School

Check out www.lightsoncentralvalley.org for photos and a recap of the 2009 event. Here are a few of the comments we received:

• “Congrats on a great event! Lights on Afterschool did a wonderful job bringing youth around the Central Valley for its version of America’s Best Dance Crew. There was some wonderful talent!”
• “Totally fun for the students – saw tons of smiles and laughter and excitement about the event.”
• “An event like this is perfect pay off for an enrichment class and I look forward to any events in the future.”
• “The students I brought had an absolutely amazing time!”
• “Our students are continuously developing personal and interpersonal skills through dance in order to work respectfully, cooperatively and safely with staff.”
• “I am impressed with your event, the mall is getting a lot of traffic and you are well organized.”
• “Thanks so much for the opportunity to perform. We had a BLAST!!”

Join our e-mail list to learn how you can participate in Lights On Afterschool Central Valley 2010. Central Valley Afterschool Foundation will host a variety of exciting activities in October. Get your students ready for lights, cameras, and afterschool action!