[dropcap]C[/dropcap]entered on the stage thirty seconds before their “Dancing with the Teachers” performance begins, government teacher Mr. David Schendel, English teacher Ms. Leila Herman and Senior Alexandria Oro wait in anticipation as they replay their routine in their mind. The spotlight washes over their faces and a mash up of “Putting on the Ritz” and “All that Jazz” starts blasting on the speakers. It’s show time.
“Moments before it started, I just hoped that I would remember each and every step,” Ms. Herman said. “Then, I heard screams of encouragement and support from the audience and instantly felt happy to be there.”
Oro, who is a third year member of Choreo, choreographed the humorous jazz dance which lasted a minute and thirty seconds. Both teachers wore matching long tail coats and used wooden canes as props in their dance piece while Oro had on a shimmery blue flapper dress.
“We all love theater, which inspired me to come up with the theme of the dance,” Oro said. “So I thought that a character piece would be a perfect fit for us.”
Learning to synchronize was a tough obstacle at first, especially for the mini kick line in the dance piece, but they picked it up eventually. Oro added the dance moves they were already familiar with, like the shimmy, and added some more flair overall, detailing the dance with little laughable instances.
“I enjoyed being involved with a student in a different atmosphere,” Ms. Herman said. “She was teaching us her talents, as opposed to me teaching her in a classroom.”
After the winners were announced, all members of the group were extremely happy and satisfied to see their hard work pay off. Their dedication won them the “Dancing with the Teachers” trophy, which has their names and year engraved on the front plaque.
“Seeing our characters come to life was amazing for me,” Oro said. “All of us have big personalities which worked on stage. It was truly a blessing to work with them.”
TCHS School Newspaper