Fusion, San Juan Hills Dance Program’s annual winter performance intertwines community through dance. The show brings together dancers from both the program and all around the community to celebrate the beauty found in movement.
Led by Mrs. Calder, the performance aims to foster a sense of unity, bringing together different genres and dancers under a collective love and passion for dance.
A lot of work goes into putting on a production of such professional caliber. Since the beginning of the year, each level of the dance program has learned how to dance, rehearse, and collaborate with one another towards success.
Featured in the show, Advanced and Intermediate Dance Production along with Beginning Intermediate Dance showcase their pieces, as well guest artists including schools, dance studios, and companies.
“Fusion definitely has a lot of different dance genres, and we invite a lot of other dancers to come perform with us, it’s a great experience. We don’t often get to do these styles outside of school so it’s very eye opening, we get to expand our own technique. Sharing a space with other schools and performers is cool because we get to learn from them, and get to meet new people,” said Devynn Smark (12).
Students learn dances in three weeks from outside choreographers. Each team is split into two groups, and each class will learn a total of four dances to perform in the show. Along with the dances learned in class, both the Welcome and Homecoming Pep Rallies are performed, as well as the K-Pop club’s performance. Some students audition solos, duets, and trios to perform as well, further showcasing their technique and craft.
Preceding show week, the dancers start rehearsing on stage during class. Rehearsals consist of blocking numbers, lighting them for stage, and “cleaning” dances, or making sure each dancer is executing the right moves at the same time.
During the week of the show, dance rehearsals are held after school. Costume changes, transitions, and choreography issues are all fixed and practiced during these rehearsals, preparing the longer numbers for showcase.
Production day consists of Advanced and Intermediate dance rehearsing on stage, running through both the Welcome Pep Rally and Homecoming Pep Rally that will be showcased within the lineup.
Dancer’s preview, held the next day, is a chance for all the dancers of each level to cheer each other on. All dancers sit in the house of the theater, and support each other as the program runs through the show order, as an opportunity for everyone to see all the hard work put in by the dancers.
“Everyone feeds off of each other’s energy, it’s so fun and special to see all the people I really love dance,” said Ani Bryan (11).
The day before the show consists of a professional styled dress rehearsal, with full costumes, hair, and makeup. The purpose of this rehearsal is to mimic what the show will be like, creating the same environment for the dancers to work out any final kinks and corrections.
“My favorite part is the dress rehearsal. We all get together and watch each other perform, there’s such an insane environment full of so much support. I love the feeling of it, I take all that support and I perform my best with all that support behind me,” said Smark (12).
After each rehearsal, Mrs. Calder runs through a list of notes, giving final corrections to any costume, choreography, or transition out of place.
Behind the scenes, dance captains are responsible for numerous parts of the rehearsal and show process, ensuring a smooth and eloquent transition from classroom to stage.
Alongside helping the teams prepare for the performance, dance captains decorate dressing rooms, and provide snacks for their team during the show days.
“As a captain, we have to make sure all of the new dancers know what’s going on in the show. We were all new at one point so we all needed to help each other out, make sure everyone feels welcomed and included,” said Intermediate Dance Captain Ruby Baker (12).
To gather community spirit, the entire dance program, made up of all 160 dancers, wear their pink shirts advertising the dance show on the day of the performance. “Pink Shirt Day” is meant to celebrate the hard work of the dancers, gathering support for the show.
To purchase tickets for Fusion, visit the link in bio of the Dance Program’s Instagram page: @sjhhsdance
