Just a few weeks ago, the Choreographer Showcase hit the stage for the sixth year, featuring fabulous dances, choreographers, and students! The performances left students, faculty, and families speechless and with roaring reviews. But, what we don’t always see from the audience is the hard work and process of building up the show!
The task of choosing different choreographers and styles for the year can be a challenging, yet rewarding process. “With each year of [doing] Choreographer Showcase, I have a better understanding of what each student needs, and so I really try to hire based on what we need at the moment,” Theatre Director Kyle Reynolds said. In hopes of keeping the showcase new and fun, Mr. Reynolds hires a new set of choreographers every year, which has led him to believe that he has become more thorough in the interview process.
One of the great benefits that comes with the showcase is that the students are exposed to five different styles of dance. This year featured jazz, ballet, hip hop, contemporary, and ballroom.
One piece that caught the audience by storm was the opener, a piece choreographed by Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Victoria Kalina. “She was not only was such a great teacher, but such an amazing trainer,” Mr. Reynolds said. “You can tell that her training is all in precision, and for those six kids, that dance training is huge!”
Senior Zaire Ramiz said he was so grateful to have the opportunity to work with her. “It was such a gift to have Victoria Kalina give us two masterclasses to help us nail her piece,” he said.
Similarly, junior Juliana Chipelo said she will take the skills she learned and carry them into other dances. “It was truly life-changing to get to work with Victoria this year,” Juliana said. “Her piece offered a balance between playfulness and challenge, and her dance expertise and experience made it all the better.”
The closing number, which was choreographed by returning choreographer Nicole Henkel, closed the show on a high note. “She is so good with intense training, but in the warmest and most caring way,” Mr. Reynolds said. Given its strength and intensity, this piece was the best way to close out the show.
“This piece was about unity and working together as a whole,” Juliana explained. “It had super strong and powerful movements in order to convey the message in a very impactful way.”
One of the most remarkable pieces this year was the ballroom number. “I remember last year when Betsy Slifka was interviewing at KO and told me that she did ballroom, and I just thought, ‘Wow, how cool would that be,’ and so we did it,” Mr. Reynolds explained.
Not only was this a totally new style to most students, but it was taught by two choreographers, which made the experience that much more memorable. “This dance was simply iconic,” Juliana said. “It was amazing to get to learn a completely new style of dance and watch everyone fall in love with it!”
After the show hit the stage, the reviews were overwhelmingly positive. “Everyone I heard from said that this was their favorite Choreographer Showcase,” Mr. Reynolds said. “The show was very upbeat and high-energy.”
Mr. Reynolds said he was very excited about this year’s number of dancers. “This year, we had 26 dancers, which was the most we ever had,” Mr. Reynolds gushed. “I feel like there is always lots of energy behind numbers.” Starting the program six years ago with just six dancers, he never could’ve imagined it would flourish into this.
This year’s Choreographer Showcase was truly exceptional, and we can’t wait to see all that our performers do this year, as well as how it changes and continues to flourish in the next few years.
