Dance is a universal language. Last week, the TOHS dance teams and classes decided to share some of those dances with this year’s winter concert theme, Around The World In Dance.
The concert commemorated all of the styles of dance celebrated in multiple countries around the world and celebrated some of the most famous landmarks and monuments in history. Some of these famous places and landmarks include King’s Cross Station for England, the Sahara Desert, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Son Doong Cave in Vietnam, the Great Pyramids of Giza, Cliffs of Moher for Ireland, Edinburgh Castle in Scotland, the Bermuda Triangle, the Great Wall of China, Rome, the Eiffel Tower in France, the famed city of Barcelona in Spain, and Machu Picchu for Peru.
There were also multiple dances dedicated to many famous places in the United States. These include Fort Bragg Army Base in North Carolina, Beverly Hills, Maui island, New Orleans (specifically Mardi Gras), the infamous Alcatraz prison in San Francisco, CA, the Alamo in Texas, and the National Mall in our nation’s capital of Washington DC.
Anna Eaton of Period 3 dance said, “The Around the World theme was a great opportunity for the dance program to represent different cultures and styles of dance. It allowed the dancers to try new ideas and themes.”
“I absolutely loved dancing on stage,” said Anna. “It gets easier and easier every night to perform in front of a huge audience and, eventually, you aren’t even phased by the crowd.”
While audiences were serenaded with tapping, swaying, and just overall dancing, a storyline was weaved into the hustle and bustle of it all. During dance breaks, the people were thoroughly entertained by a wacky tourist obsessed with finally finding the elusive Waldo. This extensive search took us and the tourist all over the world to find him, hence the tie-in with the theme. It provided plenty of laughs and smiles and was truly a funny skit.
The dancers onstage may make the multicultural dances look easy to do, but backstage they were a combination of both hard work and multiple practices. After months of perfecting their dances, they were finally shown to the world, and they proved just how much talent it truly takes to do it.
“It was really fun and a relief to finally have people see it,” said Period 3 dancer Rachel Mackay.
Being on stage and dancing is most people’s worst nightmare. Most of the current dancers have done shows before, but to newcomers, it is a whole different experience.
“It’s an adrenaline rush. I don’t really get stage fright, so no matter what routine we’re doing I’m always really excited to perform! I really love the energy of the team and the audience when we dance, it makes me never want to stop,” said new All Male Dance Team member Christopher Ugerro.
Right before the 15 minute intermission, the seniors performed an elaborate dance appropriately tittled “Oh, the places we’ll go.” Dancing to the Forest Gump theme, these seniors preformed and wowed the audience with how moving their dance was. It was one of the few times that crying was appropriate during the show.
The show went from Thursday to Saturday and was quite the spectacle. The costumes were bright and fit in well with their theme, the music choices complimented flawlessly, and the skit was entertaining. The real highlight of the night was how well the dancing was choreographed and executed. The Christmas-themed bows at the end were the cherry on top. The show was truly was something to remember.
PHOTO BY » TOKI LEE » WITH PERMISSION
