This year’s Dance Theatre production, “FUNdamental”, opens Friday, May 2nd. Dance Theatre is a one-of-a-kind program at Hempfield High School that brings students together and allows them to be involved. This program gives students the opportunity to give back to the community and express themselves through dance.
“FUNdamental” is about finding fun throughout life and growing up. The show takes the audience through relatable experiences and highlights the importance of finding fun in every aspect of life. This show serves as a reminder that it’s okay to have fun even as you grow up.
This program is very important to many students at Hempfield High School. Isabella Smith, a four-year dance theatre senior and principal dancer in this year’s production, explained, “Dance Theatre has been a great place for me to find myself as a dancer. It has helped me build confidence in myself and to have fun performing.” She described this year’s show as “super high energy, and like the title, so much fun!” Her favorite thing about Dance Theatre is the friendships she was able to make through the program. “It’s such an amazing thing to be able to share the stage with some of my best friends,” she expressed.
Isabella believes that this program is important to Hempfield High School because it is completely unique. “It’s a lot of hard work but everyone is very uplifting and supportive,” she explained. “We are so blessed to be given the opportunity to work in a more professional environment and be able to accept dancers of all levels to share our love for dance for our school and the community.”
Jalia Speece, a four-year dance theatre senior and feature dancer, also spoke on this year’s show. “It’s such an incredible production with so much thought and effort poured into it.” She described the environment as, “truly like no other.” “It is so much fun hanging out with some of my favorite people doing something that I love,” she stated. “It’s just an amazing feeling knowing all the work you’ve been putting in is finally gonna pay off.” Jalia believes that students should audition for Dance Theatre next year because “it’s an amazing activity at HHS. You grow closer to people you already know and meet amazing new people.”
Another important part of the show is the effort that goes on behind the scenes. Alina Cortez, a stage crew member with a passion for production, said that the hardest part about working a show is “communication with advisors can be difficult, and at times can be frustrating.” Another thing that can be hard is “waiting around for jobs to open up and doing projects that may be scraped later.” When asked about how she works with cast members; she explained “we’re a pretty good team and people on deck are very good at working out problems that may arise.”
In another interview with Miriam Janisewki, she commented on what she looked forward to see in the show. “I’d say seeing all the costumes because that’s always something that has interested me.” She also stated “I would also love to see all the hard work come into play in the production.” Overall, she was very enthusiastic about the show and is very excited to see how it will all turn out with a live audience.
Of course, Dance Theatre is also an emotional time for seniors, as it is their last production for the high school. Lily Strange, who has been in crew since her freshman year, stated that working on her last show felt sad but she is “ready to move on.” She also stated, “I definitely have good relationships with the crew members.” Another senior, Emily Machado, was asked about her last show. “I think it’s a pretty good show and I really like the plot of the production.” She followed up with, “It’s going to be sad but I feel like I’m ready to branch out and move on.” When asked about how she felt about the relationships she built at crew, she stated, “Yeah, I think I’m friends with pretty much everyone, and I’ve gotten pretty close with my senior friends.” She also explained, “Stage crew has helped me with leadership and communication and finding people that have the same views and minds.”
When asked about the highlight or favorite part of the show, the common answer was the basketball trick, so come and see Fundamental to see it and watch the show come to life!!
