Oak Park High School’s dance team held its Winter Showcase at Medea Creek Middle School on Dec. 7. Planning for the showcase was no simple task. It took months of meticulous planning, and each member of the team worked hard to create a cohesive routine.
“For showcases, we repurpose old routines instead of learning completely new ones,” senior Lyla Sarac wrote to the Talon. “We used the dances that we performed at the first, second, and third football game. On top of those routines we do specialty pieces that are student choreography like small groups, duets, solos, etc.”
Since summer conditioning in August, students have participated in long practices to refine and improve.
“We’ve ramped up to 4 practices a week after school, almost 10 hours a week,” sophomore Nini Tu wrote to the Talon. “We practice at home and run our routines over and over at practice, ‘cleaning,’ or fixing little things in the dance as we go.”
After the showcase, students were proud of their performance, a testament to their hard work.
“I think the showcase went well,” Sarac wrote. “It was definitely a huge test of stamina and lots of quick changes but I think the team performed well. My favorite part was performing a duet with my Tanisha, another girl on the team.”
The dance team is known for its positive team culture.
“I love hanging out with everyone and performing at games and rallies,” Tu wrote. “It’s also so much fun to have dinner and get ready with everyone before football games. Everyone on the team is so nice and supportive and it makes practice great even when we’re all tired.”
