The head dance teachers shine light upon the dance department by sharing that there will be a formation of a new competitive dance team, titled Perry Competitive Dance Company or PCDC for short. Members of the team include select dancers from Perry’s company team, Moveo, along with advanced dance. This team will specialize in hip-hop for this upcoming season and will compete with other school and pom teams.
An outside choreographer was brought to the school and those interested in auditioning had an opportunity to learn a piece that the team would be taking to competition. This is the first time Perry Dance has ever done something of the sort.
Mrs. Miller, dance teacher, envisioned new plans for Perry Dance. Developing this new competitive dance team gave her a chance to give her dancers another opportunity to take their dance careers to a new level. Mrs. Miller states, “First, we wanted to provide our dancers with new opportunities. This includes competition experience, new connections for students, creating shared experiences, and ultimately building stronger dancers. Secondly, we wanted to stay relevant in comparison to other high school dance companies. For example, Hamilton Dance Co. and Basha’s Company, KDC, both compete, and it’s time that Perry dancers join our CUSD dancers and give them a little competition”.
Auditions were held on Wednesday, October 21 and this gave Zoe Matalon, freshman and co-captain of PCDC, an opportunity to scout the future dancers. She observed a lot of dancers that pushed themselves very hard and even some who had some extreme talent. However, Matalon mentioned that there is more that goes into a successful competitive dance team. “I think the most important trait to have as a team in order to be successful is determination and commitment. This means that we will never give up and always work our hardest and with this mentality we can only go up from there,” Matalon remarks.
Olivia Woodward-Shaw, junior member of Moveo Dance Company and PCDC, does not only agree that dance ability, time, and commitment is one of the most important factors that goes into a successful dance team, but more importantly team work. In order for the choreography to come together and look more natural, Woodward-Shaw suggests the team encourage one another with their inclusive personalities. Woodward-Shaw then explains what can be expected within their choreography, such as unique formations along with parts that encapsulate the dancer’s best skills. Woodward-Shaw explains, “The choreography of this competition piece is truly like no other…normally in a concert piece, all dancers are in unison and there are no solo parts, I love the fact that this piece has many opportunities for dancers to show their unique styles while the others stay in unison”. Furthermore, she goes on explaining that she believes that they have an extremely strong team and that she is thrilled to be a part of it.
Students at Perry have the chance to watch PCDC perform their competitive piece later this school year at the spring dance concert in May.