Every year, the Arts Department at VHHS wraps up a year of dance with a spring showcase. Students show off their creative choreography, shiny costumes, and hard work on stage. 6 VHHS dance classes: Impulse Dance Company, the Rebelettes, the Pizitz Middle School and Liberty Park Middle School dance classes are set to perform. Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Strada are the dance teachers at VHHS, and the masterminds behind the show.
This year, the theme of the show is “Dancing Through The Decades,” in which all students from varying levels of dance classes will come together with dances inspired by certain time periods from history. This will include pieces inspired by the 70s, 80s, 90s, and a 60s inspired tap piece. Mrs. Jones shared that this will be the first time for a tap dance to be performed at the showcase! The theme was decided upon after everyone in the dance department pitched their ideas, and Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Strada narrowed the choice down to four options. Following that, the dance students voted for the theme they wanted.
The dance students have been hard at work to prepare for their performances. At the beginning of March, they began to work on their dance pieces. Every dancer has a hand in creating their piece, so they have a lot of freedom with their choreography. Depending on the level of the class, some dances were choreographed completely by students. In other classes, the students choreograph parts of the dances while their teacher sets the rest of the dance. This week, dancers will rehearse on the stage during their dance class periods. Mrs. Jones explains that aside from their in-class practices, they will also hold an after-school dress rehearsal where students will rehearse, dressed in their appropriate costumes and hairstyles.
As with any large-scale show, there are multiple components that must be overseen to help it run smoothly. Some of these may seem obvious, but according to Mrs. Jones, there are some things that go on behind the scenes that sometimes go unnoticed by people. She reveals, “There are some administrative things that have to happen to put on a show.” These include ordering the costumes, editing the songs and music for each piece, creating and printing a show program, writing a script for the MC to announce the dances, and more. The show itself is “completely student run”, with the Theatre Department’s Tech Crew running lighting, sound, and staging throughout the show.
Mrs. Jones describes that her favorite part of the show is getting to see the end result. Because many of her students are relatively new to dance and performing, they can be nervous. However, they have usually embraced their performances the night of the show, no longer nervous and “all smiles.” She comments, “I love seeing the confidence that builds inside of them because they are proud of their performance.”
Mrs. Jones invites everyone to watch the show on Thursday night, April 27th, at 6:00 pm in the VHHS Auditorium. Admission is free, and there are no tickets needed!
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