Purvi Singhania
On May 12 and May 13, the Aragon Dance department held their Spring Showcase, titled “‘Til the Break of Dons.” The show featured a variety of dance styles including hip-hop, instrumental, classical, contemporary, musical theater and more. They performed older jazz pieces to 60s pieces like “Blackbird” to even hip hop pieces like Megatron by Nicki Minaj.
This show is particularly special to the dance program for many reasons.
“It’s student-centered and student created,” said dance teacher Marisa Castillo. “So the students got to choose the songs except for the one that I choreographed, which is all that jazz. We have a couple of guest choreographers, but other than that, the students got to pick their songs, create their dance [and] choose their dancers.”
“I think it’s important for students to have that experience of ownership of something they created”
The fact that the performances were primarily student-led impressed audience members.
“One thing that really caught my eye was all these different student groups coming in and that it was all student-made,” said sophomore Alex McGuigan. “The teacher didn’t really choreograph many of the performances. It was amazing that the students were able to put this much time and effort in and create an amazing end product.”
Castillo explains why centering the performances around student creativity is important to her.
“I think it’s important for students to have that experience of ownership of something they created, and to have the opportunity to present it and be proud of what they created,” Castillo said. “It’s important to be able to have that experience in high school because there’s not many more chances to do so. I think it’s great to be able to own your dance.”
This showcase is also special for the seniors, as it is their final dance performance at Aragon.
“My favorite dance is the senior group dance because it’s the last time we get to dance together as a class before we graduate,” said senior Arissa Kwan. “It’s a combination of all different styles like hip hop, musical theater and jazz-contemporary. I really enjoy the different energy levels in each piece within that section.”
Dancers prepared for the show in many ways.
“Usually, a couple of weeks in advance and a couple of days in advance I just go over all the dances that I’m in with all the songs and practice them a couple times,” said sophomore Natasha Efron. “Usually I practice them at least three times, just to make sure I’ve got no mistakes. I also make sure to get a good night’s sleep before the performance.”
The performance was enjoyable for audience members and dancers alike.
“I’ve never been to a dance performance before. I really didn’t expect it to be as people-friendly … and entertaining as it was”
“Honestly, I just really enjoyed watching the performance,” said freshman Cameron Trio. “It felt really cool to be part of the community and experience this. I just felt included.”
For some, the showcase surpassed their expectations of what a dance performance would be like.
“You know, I came in here with high hopes and I’ve got to say they exceeded my expectations, and they did really well,” McGuigan said. “I think it was a great performance. I’ve never been to a dance performance before. I really didn’t expect it to be as people-friendly … and entertaining as it was. There’s a lot of stuff going on that I really think that people don’t appreciate until they get in there and they see it.“
The performance of ‘Blackbird’ stood out to some members of the audience.
“I really liked when they played ‘Blackbird,’” said junior Jonah Bautista. “I love the Beatles and when they played ‘Blackbird,’ I loved it. ‘Blackbird’ is just a touching song to me and a lot of other people. So it’s always nice to hear.”
The Aragon Dance Showcase was the final event hosted by the dance program for this school year.
