The art of performance: a talent so often underestimated, seen as something pretty and fleeting, a brief flash of time so few of us truly take the time to appreciate.  We might find it impressive, and it deserves that, but then put little thought into the effort behind that performance, about the time, practice, and patience it took to create that one lone, probably short show.  Choreography and dance—which so often go hand and hand—are some such arts, ones that require a significant level of practice to synchronize alongside a greater team.  It isn’t just pretty, it’s difficult, and it can take months of practice for some.

That fact is what makes our own Gold Dusters team all that more impressive.  They perform dance after dance throughout the year at various pep rallies and games, only spending a few weeks on each before presenting it to the school at large.  It would be a breakneck pace for some, but it seems to come so naturally to the Gold Dusters, new and returning members alike.  Some of this year’s first-time members are entirely new to dance as a whole—such as freshman Mackayla Berry—but their performances don’t suffer for it, and while newcomers have had to adjust to standing alongside their more experienced peers, they’ve risen to the challenge.  There are struggles to it, as they might take slightly longer to learn a dance than the others, but it doesn’t stop them when it comes time to show the school what they’ve been preparing.

All that said, that doesn’t mean they don’t have fun!  Team members get chances to choreograph their own routines, with those performed at our Christmas pep rally prepared by Ava Hovis (9) and Hannah Rehkop (9).  They’ve done difficult ones, like those they learned while most of the school was huddled away on Christmas break, but there have been fun ones too like the jazz-themed routine done for a recent boy’s basketball game (one of Mackayla Berry’s own favorites).

There’s more to come, but now, on the other side of these extensive snow days, the team is working towards wrapping up their season, to that final performance for their senior members, Layni Kinkead and Trista Wagganer, who will be leaving the school at the end of the year.  We don’t know what they’re planning just yet, not that it’s easy to describe a dance, but it is doubtless just as cool as everything else they’ve done this year!