After performing a rousing dance to “Countdown” by Beyonce, seniors Ani Carlson and Solomon Parker hugged as the crowd cheered for the first Whitman “So You Think You Can Dance” winners.

DECA, a business, leadership and marketing club, brought “So You Think You Can Dance” to the Whitman stage this year, after junior Naomi Senehi wanted to repeat her older sister’s successful dance benefit at her old school. The event raised over $1,000 for the Breast Cancer Fund.

The eight acts ranged from classically trained ballerinas to Latin dancers to pop-influenced tap dancers.

“All the dancers were great, and we had a good turnout,” Senehi said. “Everyone seemed to be having a good time.”

Although Parker and Carlson aren’t new to the stage, having performed in the school musicals, Parker said that dancing on stage feels different than acting.

“The musical is time to be someone else, and this was just us having fun and doing what we love,” Parker said. “I love acting and singing but being able to show who I am fully is only expressed in dance.”

Carlson and Parker won the event with lively dancing that the judges, science teacher Jasen Gohn, health teacher Nikki Marafatsos and math teacher Stephen Hays, called “fierce.”

“Winning was amazing,” Parker said. “All of the acts were amazing. And beating out C-Unit was unreal, seeing as how they are a professional group. I guess our chemistry just shined through.”

Dance team C-Unit, a group composed of middle and high school girls who dance together seven days a week, came in second place.

The event opened with the brothers Brandon and Brian Eng dancing Asian hip-hop to “It’s Gonna Be Me” by N’Sync, evoking nostalgia from one of the judges.

“That performance brought me back to high school,” Marafatsos said.  “You guys are definitely N’Sync.”

Other dances included Rachel Rodrigues’ modern dance and Caroline Jarcho and Meg Diruggiero’s tap routine to “Cooler than Me” by Mike Posner. The judges and the audience cast their votes to determine the winner.

“The event was fantastic,” sophomore Elizabeth Meyer said. “It was great seeing my friends on stage.”