The Carlmont dance auditions were held in the dance studio from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on March 7.
They were open to any incoming or current Carlmont students who want to join the intermediate or advanced dance classes. Thirty-four students auditioned and roughly half of them were incoming Carlmont students.
Freshman dancer Kayla Poon said, “I want to get into advanced dance. I’m excited to make new friends and improve in that class.”
The event started with sign-ins, where the dancers received a number that they attached to their shirts.
During this time, many of the experienced dancers were feeling relaxed because they had gone through auditions before.
Intermediate dancer and senior Moriah Meskin said, “All the auditions are structured the same, so I don’t expect anything new this time. We start with warm-ups, then across-the-floor exercises, then perform in groups of three or four.”
Many of the incoming freshmen felt some anxiety but tackled it by focusing on stretching.
Later, they proceeded to have a center warm-up, where the dancers were organized into lines and performed simple stretches and exercises, directed by Ana Bazgan, a junior.
Following the warm-up was an across-the-floor activity, demonstrated by Dani Meekins and Jordan Perkins, both advanced dance students and seniors. They practiced leaps, rolls, and improvisation across the floor, again in lines.
My favorite part was how the older dancers taught the combo and I could see how much they enjoy dance here and care about helping us.
— Annika Bhatnagar
After, they learned a short combo dance that merged hip-hop and jazz styles together, which was primarily led by Rose Pellegrini, a senior.
Pellegrini said, “The song ‘Sorry’ by Justin Bieber was chosen because it’s known and that makes it a little easier for the dancers to recognize the beat and grasp the combo faster.”
The main part of the audition occurred when groups of three students performed the combo privately in front of Carlmont dance teacher Ame Secrist and the older dance student leaders.
After all the groups had performed, everyone met again to celebrate the completion of the tryouts.
Eighth-grader Annika Bhatnagar said, “The audition was different from what I expected. It’s a lot less intimidating than I thought it would be. My favorite part was how the older dancers taught the combo and I could see how much they enjoy dance here and care about helping us.”
The audition results will be posted on the Carlmont website by March 12.
