Dance Body performance showcases student creativity

Dancers Alandra Meade and Sofie Sylvester practice their duet. Dance Body students rehearsed at Forysthe Middle School auditorium this week in preparation for tonight's performance.

By Tara Cavanaugh, AAPS News Service

Tonight’s Dance Body performance will feature pop music, smooth moves and the work ethic of a thriving dance company.

Through the Dance Body program at Community High School, students earn gym and art credits while learning how to become better dance artists.

“It gives young dancers the chance to choreograph, which is a special thing, because not everyone gets to learn that,” said Lizzie Rolston, a Dance Body alum who is now a freshman at the University of Michigan. “It’s a very good talent to have if you want to be a dancer.”

Hailey Keen, a senior who’s been in Dance Body for 3 years, said the students take turns choreographing and learning each other’s dances.

She said the experience is fun, but it can be challenging too: sometimes a choreographer’s ideas need to be reworked. In the process, Dance Body students become excellent teachers—and dedicated students.

Dancers can sign up for as many pieces as they can fit into their schedules. They practice after school, and they also have class time during which they get feedback from their teacher and their peers.

The students also learn how to sustain their own program. “We do all our own fundraising,” Keen said. “The money from the last concert will help pay for the next auditorium, flyers, things like that.”

Perhaps most importantly, the experience brings the dancers together. “It’s been my family, and I hadn’t wanted to leave it,” Keen said. 

Tonight’s concert takes place at Forsythe Middle School Auditorium at 7 p.m. Cost is $8 for general admission and $5 for students and seniors.

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