By Babiha Kaur, Digital Editor
The annual River Hill Winter Dance Concert took place on Thursday, December 7 and Friday, December 8. The performance featured a variety of songs, choreography, and dance styles. Dancers greatly enjoyed taking part in this performance because of the special experiences that the winter concert had to bring.
The annual winter dance concert features dances from every dance class at River Hill, ranging from Dance 1 through Senior Company. Ms. Byrd, the dance teacher, is in charge of not only choreographing some of the dances, but also putting together the concert as a whole. She believes that the winter concert in particular is special for dancers because, “it’s the first one. It’s the first time for Dance I to take the stage, so it’s a really special moment for them, but also, our companies each get to do student choreography; we also have that in the spring concert, but it’s a lot of people’s first time choreographing, so it’s a lot of firsts for people.”
A special thing about River Hill dance concerts is that the students themselves often get to choreograph and fit dances together in their own ways. Senior Piper Stephan, who is in Senior Dance Company, elaborates, “For the winter concert Mrs. Byrd always choreographs some, and people will put together pieces or propose pieces that they want to do.” After students propose songs that they want to perform, Piper elaborates, “Then Mrs. Byrd decides which ones she thinks would fit best with each other and give us a well-rounded concert.” Choreographing dances allows students to unleash their creativity, figuring out how place components of a dance together in order to create a glorious outcome.
Dancers have been preparing for the winter concert in their classes for months. Choosing songs, figuring out formations, and coming up with steps are all important aspects of creating sophisticated dances. Senior Rachel Sabenorio is in Senior Dance Company and describes what her class was doing to prepare, commenting, “We’ve been doing a lot of cleaning, a lot of practice every single day that we see each other. We work really hard and we always put our best foot forward.”
There are many reasons to look forward to performances, including getting the opportunity to cheer on fellow dancers and perform with peers. Prior to the performance, Piper commented, “I’m excited to perform the [dance] that I choreographed because I like to see how it turns out in the end and if it ended up with the vibe that I was thinking of.” Piper choreographed the number “Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am,” a funky, contemporary jazz dance.
In the end, the winter dance concert was a huge success for all. Dancers find extreme happiness in what they do, and “when everything comes together it feels very rewarding,” as Piper puts it. Rachel concludes, “[dance] evokes a lot of emotion in you, it requires you to open up and pour your heart out in what you do. It’s something that can be very personal but can also be very fun.”