Maya Peterson and Brandon Large rehearse their rendition of The Great Gatsby [Source: VNHS Mirror Photo Editing Staff]On the night of Monday, December 4th, wildfires blew smoke and ashes into the air and penetrated the clean air of the atmosphere. Despite the fact that there were numerous fires all over the northern valley areas, most students showed up to school the following on Tuesday morning. Many students were not even aware of any of the fires that had started, and others had chosen not to attend school that day. This was a tragedy laid on the school since students were being pulled out from classes by their parents and the administrators were initiating lockdowns every other class period. This worried the dancers of Van Nuys High School because without the presence of students, their scheduled winter dance show, “Echappe a la cinema” would not go on.
Despite the productive efforts of the Monday afternoon tech rehearsal, on Tuesday, the school administration closed off all afterschool activities, including those in classrooms and the auditorium. The dance teachers were devastated that a day of tech rehearsal was cancelled. The teachers held had high hopes that if the air had cleared by the next day, that the show could still go on.
New dates for the show are January 11, 12, and 13. [source: VNHS Dance Board]Unfortunately, Wednesday marked the lowest rate of attendance that VNHS had ever faced, and the dancers participating in the shows grew hopeless. At the end of the day, Principal Gardea announced that school would be cancelled for the next two days, finalizing the cancellation of the dance show performances. Other students were overjoyed that school had been cancelled, especially now that they had a four day weekend to study for finals the next week. Beside the fact that the show would be cancelled for that week, the performing arts department decided to postpone the dance show until the first week back to school after winter break.
So, come see the show “Echappe a la cinema” (Escape to the movies) where dancers will take you through their interpretations of movies from the past, present, and future! Tech rehearsals will resume the Monday students come back to school, and the show will open on Thursday, January 11th with a matinee performance at 3:30 pm and the next two nights, Friday and Saturday, at 7pm. Presale tickets are $6 and $8 at the door when you come in. Come in, take a seat, and enjoy this feature of all of your favorite movies coming to you through dance. Escape to the movies!
