The Irvine High School dance department presented its fall semester concert, titled “Life’s a Stage,” from Jan. 17-19. Performing groups included Dance Ensemble, Dance 3, Dance 2 and Jr. Dance.
“‘Life’s a Stage’ portrayed the different stages and experiences of life,” dance director Sheryl Sloate said. “The idea was to broaden the ideas and concepts behind the dances and depict a lot of different emotions, different feelings, different themes.”
The dances were choreographed by Sloate and members of Dance Ensemble.
According to senior Camille Kovach, “It’s really fun to choreograph because you get to do pretty much what you want. You can use whatever props you want, choose the message you want to send and add your own spunk to it. And on stage it’s comfortable and exciting to dance your own choreography and display who you are.”
During the two weeks before the concert, Dance Ensemble held daily four-hour cleaning and staging rehearsals after school, while Dance 3 met during winter break and with Dance 2 during lunch. In addition to practice, performers worked on costume design, light design, posters and shirts.
“I’m really proud of the members,” sophomore Katherine Buckner said. “They worked really hard and pulled everything together in a short amount of time. Everyone had the same passion and excitement, so we could show that on stage.”
Each Dance Ensemble member performed in seven to eight pieces, while Dance 2 and 3 participated in one and two pieces, respectively. Jr. Dance, a fee-based dance class of K-8 students taught by Dance Ensemble, was broken into five groups that performed one piece each.
“Working with Jr. Dance really taught me patience,” Kovach said. “Working with the boys group was just crazy! But they are so much fun to work with, and I have a great time teaching them.”
Sloate encourages everyone to try dance.
“It’s never too late to start dancing,” Sloate said. “I really want to emphasize that dance is for anybody and everybody, and that the thrill of dancing on stage is amazing.”
