After school rehearsals for this year’s spring dance show began on April 17.
The upcoming performance will take place in early May and requires four months of preparation from the intermediate and advanced dance programs.
“I’m excited about the show because it’s my senior year, so it’ll be my last one, and I have my own dance in it, which is exciting,” said Moriah Meskin, a senior in intermediate dance.
“We choose a theme [for the show] and then chose songs that exemplified the theme,” said Meskin.
Each choreographer was given ten days to teach and clean their dance for the show titled “Sisterhood.”
“Weeks before the show we start having class in the theater and after school rehearsals onstage to block and run the dances on stage,” says Laura Banazek, a senior in advanced dance.
The work included in past and future rehearsals consists of creating and modifying choreography, formations, music cues, and lighting.
However, crunch time for students comes not during rehearsals, but during dress rehearsals a week prior to the show, where the entire show really comes together.
“We perfect everything for the audience,” said Banazek.
This attention to detail and the magnitude of the event results in it being a significant time commitment.
Banazek said, “We spend around 30 hours after school depending on what needs to be done.”
Even with the amount of dedication shown by students and staff toward the show, it still comes at a difficult time for the majority of students participating in the production.
“I’m excited for the show to be over because it’s so stressful, especially during junior year. It’s hard to focus on homework and school when you have to dance for six hours after school. The week of the show we have to stay at school until [10 p.m.], and I have tests going on and homework,” said Angeline Vinarskaya, a junior.
Additionally, since it is the first week of after-school rehearsals, dancers’ feelings about the show and preparation levels vary.
Banazek said, “I feel very prepared for the show as we’ve spent months learning and running all of our dances.”
On the other hand, Vinarskaya said, “I feel like the dancers aren’t completely prepared for the show. Not everyone knows all the dances to the point where we can perform it perfectly.”
However, as the show comes together it allows dancers the chance to show off their organizational skills, celebrate their creativity and artistic ability, and express their emotions in their own way.
