What is Dance Show?

What happens behind the curtains of the stage where you see your classmates dancing and leaping? What exactly goes into the Dance Show? 

When people say that the Dance Show is mainly student-run, they aren’t kidding. As you venture backstage and into the dance studio, you won’t find many adults telling the dancers exactly what to do. Instead, you’ll be surrounded by your peers doing an array of things: dancing, teaching and learning new choreography, or managing the show’s aesthetics. 

The whole process starts in October. Every prospective dancer gets one week to learn four short dances of different genres: contemporary, hip-hop, Indian, and jazz. At the end of the week, everyone stands on stage and shows off what they’ve learned. It’s like trying out for a sports team, but the spotlight is on you. Literally. Classmates, choreographers, and coaches alike are all watching your every move to ultimately place you in the dances that will best suit you. A dance ranges from including one person to the entire cast. It all depends on what the choreographer wants. Once the tryout process ends, the rehearsals do not begin until January.

Three long, hard months of preparation and choreographing lead up to the best month of the year: rehearsals. As soon as the final bell rings for the day, all dancers are changing to be in the dance studio at 3:10 sharp to start warm-up. The warm-up stays short and sweet to allow us to use our precious thirty minute blocks of rehearsal time for each dance. Practice takes place in three areas–the black box, the stage, and the studio–occasionally extending into Haertter Hall. In the month given to rehearse, each dance group meets about eight times, and in those eight practices, the dance has to be polished and positioned to a tee.

Behind the scenes, everyone works incredibly hard to get everything right for showtime. Since the Dance Show rehearsals only last for a month, it doesn’t count as a sports credit. That means that many of the hardworking dancers and crew members are participating in another sport simultaneously as the Dance Show. Choreographically, it takes a lot to create moves that dancers can quickly learn and execute well while still being visually engaging.

The week before the actual show is a crowd favorite. On the Saturday and Sunday before the show, the entire crew is at Burroughs from 9 am to 4:30 pm for tech week. It is a much more fun weekend than it sounds. Everyone is dancing around, doing their homework, or even goofing off. It truly gives us a space to bond over dance and feel the love within the team we have. The week of is all about stage, stage, stage—running the lights, putting on costumes, applying a heavy face of makeup, and slicking back your hair until it hurts. The week of is putting the last finishing touches and giving the dances to the teachers– until finally, it’s time!

There is no better feeling than having this team from many grades bonding over little things and cracking jokes. There is no better feeling than getting the choreography just right and having everyone celebrating. There is no better feeling than having the music blasting and the lights blinding your face as the school cheers for you.

Dance Show is a commitment. It’s a fun one, though. One full of laughter and friends. Full of hard work, dedication, and sweat. It’s more than just a production–it’s your peers and classmates giving their all to create a fantastic show. If any of this piqued your interest, hopefully you’ll consider participating in next year’s Dance Show–whether it's as a dancer, crew member, or audience member!

By: Addison Stisser ‘26 

Edited by: Lexi Schoenecker ‘26

Photos: Lilly Tourville ‘26