I danced a little bit here and there as a kid. Simply put, I always found it cool to see those people at parties who could whip out a whole choreographed dance from behind their left ear like it was nothing. I was never great at it, but I did maintain respect for those who were. There’s something absolutely mesmerizing about the way it’s made to look so easy, despite the countless hours that are put into mastering the skill.
While only being around since 2018, the Dance Company team has integrated itself into school culture. After the Band performance at the end of April – and the Musical Theater performance in the middle of May – I can’t recommend enough that people stop and see the Dance company's Spring showcase. It highlights the talent at our school through a series of excitingly choreographed movements to your favorite songs.
The team captains Briana Diaz, Jerom Olivar, and Roman Romero all joined the team with varying levels of experience. Brianna initially wanted to do art, but ended up being into dance instead, and decided to stick with it. Jerome had been dancing a little on and off since elementary school, but only really started to get into it in middle school. Roman on the other hand had been doing Hip Hop since he was seven years old, but didn’t have a lot of experience in other styles.
In order to put together their end-of-semester showcases, they start by picking out a song. Then, they’ll improvise something based on the music to get a feel for the direction they want to go in. Afterward, they record themselves dancing to see what's working and what isn’t, and piece by piece they put together a finalized performance. Individual and group dances are made entirely by the student dancing, while Roman and Ms. Okada are in charge of making the main dances involving everyone in the whole company, but other people can help out if they want. Jerome has a good feeling about this year’s showcase, because the team has now matured. The dancers that joined in 8th grade when the team was founded are now seniors, so we’ll finally be able to see them at their peak.
You have to audition the year before in order to be part of the team, and everyone thinking about joining learns choreography and performs it. The intention is not solely to see how good you are now, but also how good you're going to be, as well as what you can bring to the team. To be a team captain though, it's a little more complicated. You choreograph your own dance to perform – to show off your talent – and write a short essay discussing what you want to bring to the team. Brianna, for example, values team connection and strives to be someone her teammates can talk to. Roman, on the other hand, wants to integrate the team further into school culture by having them perform during sports games. All in all, being a Dance Company Captain involves not only being a good dancer, but also being a valuable and indispensable member of the team.
I was quite blown away when I went to the Spring Dance showcase last year. It’s both a fun time and an excellent display of talent. Many of my friends started dancing because they thought it would be fun to try out, or even because that was the only elective that fit into their schedule, and it was thrilling to be able to see them on stage. I’m very excited to see what they come up with this year.
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