By Katrya Ly
The dance team hosted its annual Winter Show in the gym on Sunday, Dec. 8.
The gym was divided by a blue curtain, leaving the dancers on one side and a packed audience awaiting the performances on the other. The pieces performed would give the spectators a taste of what the Dance Team would be performing for their up and coming season, as well as pieces that were performed at the Glow Show, Homecoming Assembly, and the Tree Lighting Ceremony.
“I thought all the dances looked really good,” said team adviser Jennifer Allen. “I feel like they’re better prepared than they usually are by this time of the year, which is really exciting news for competition season.”
Dancers began training right after auditions took place, working hours after school. With seven different teams and numerous soloists, the night was filled with excitement and support from the crowd.
“Even though we already repeated the Glow Show and [Homecoming] Assembly, I really wanted to show everyone what the dance team was ready for,” said Bree Le (‘16). “When I watched them [the Dance Team] I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is perfect’.”
The pieces performed, as explained throughout the night by Allen, were not completely ready yet. Most needed tweaking, practicing, and added parts to be ready for competition in two months.
“Well, none of the dances are quite ready.” said Allen. “They have to be cleaner and tighter and stronger, so they’re probably like 80 percent there.”
The audience was also introduced to a special and secret dance called Character.
“We have to embody a character in a dance,” said Amanda Kolb (‘14) who was one of the six soloists that night. “That’s all I can say.”
The show ended with a segment called the Holiday Finale, which were dances put together by the teams and individual dancers. The dances featured covers of classic Christmas and winter songs that brought laughter to the crowd.
“We basically just had our captain come up with most of the pieces, along with his friend,” said Tommy Nguyen (‘17) of the boys team. “We pulled everything together and it looked great!”
With two months to go, the dancers will be working hard to perfect their pieces with the help of their coaches Stacy Conley, Tara Pokorney, and Kelela Batinga. As well as add the final touch of costumes and props to pull their dances together.
“I’m really excited,” said Allen. “We have never been prepared this early in the season and I think that’s just really telling of how well we’re going to do this year.”
Photo Gallery by Tue Duong
