The December Dance Show is an event where ballet meets hip-hop and Latin culture. This year’s show, Spark, which is hosted by Orchesis, and included De La Cru, Latino Heat and Poms.

For Orchesis, the Dance Show is the only performance they are involved in. Orchesis is a no-cut club that focuses on various styles of dance. Performances range from a big group performance to small groups. Preparation for the show starts on the second week of school.

As the show grows closer, the rehearsals get longer, according to Katharine Springer, sophomore De La Cru member. Rehearsal times are different for each group and vary based on how close the show date is.

“Days of dress rehearsals, I’ll be at school until probably 9-9:30ish,” Springer said. “It can be stressful if you don’t organize your school work, but I like the feeling of being busy if it means that our team will be able to have a good performance.”

Putting on a good show and their love for dance is what makes all the work worth it. Amanda Angulo, junior Orchesis member, appreciates the Dance Show because it gives the group a chance to perform in front of others.

“Performing is always a fun experience. Just knowing that there are people watching you and enjoying something that you are good at is a great feeling and it makes me feel really happy,” Angulo said.

According to Angulo, for her, stage fright  is practically nonexistent. Although nervous, she tries to have a good time on stage with her fellow performers.

“Everything becomes automatic… I just like to embrace that moment of being on stage with all those lights on you and enjoy the feeling of dancing. That’s when it becomes fun,” Angulo said.

Senior Leah Schwartz-Dodek, one of the Orchesis captains,  says that her passion for dancing allows her to relieve stress.

“Dancing is a form of expression,” Schwartz-Dodek said. “Everyone who dances will tell you that. Obviously school is hard and there’s a lot of stress from outside things. Then you go to dance, and that’s all you do. You forget about whatever is happening. It’s just a good way to escape the real world.”

Schwartz-Dodek also notes that the Dance Show holds special significance in the eyes of Orchesis. When she performed in the dance show for Poms her freshman year, Schwartz-Dodek recalled, there was less significance because it was one of many shows the team would dance in.

“For Orchesis, [Dance Show] is the main thing,” Schwartz-Dodek said. “There’s a lot more numbers and that’s what you’ve been preparing for. With Poms, you’d dance then do something else, but for Orchesis, that’s our big moment.”

Before Spark makes its debut, all of the dancers participate in a group tradition backstage. According to junior Katie MacQuarrie, the dancers all unite to get excited and thank their supervisors.

“We each receive a Dove chocolate, and most of us keep the quote inside the rapper by the rose we all receive,” MacQuarrie said. “The captains present our two amazing supervisors, Ms. Lasky and Ms. Cain, with gifts and then we do the Hokey-Pokey to get excited before the show begins.”

Senior CJ Castro joined Latino Heat, who also participated in the Dance Show, last year, and shared a passion he has for dancing. His involvement in Latino Heat is both a creative and cultural outlet for him.

“I think that what is motivating me now is the rush I get when I’m on stage,” Castro said. “I had a lot of fun performing in Dance Show as well as V-Show and other events last year as well as made great friends.”

Latino Heat is a traditional Latin dance troupe. This year, Latino Heat performed a new style of dance known as the Cumbia, a Colombian dance chosen by the two captains, seniors Gisell Montesinos and Luis Alonso. The group also got an updated wardrobe to pair with their new dance, according to Alonso.

“This year, Dr. Shellard came over to our section after school, and took out his computer and said, ‘You guys can pick any wardrobe because I really like the new dance that you guys are doing, Cumbia,’” Alonso said.

Unlike the other dance groups, Latino Heat strictly dances in pairs. The group focuses on a Latin style of traditional ballroom dancing, filling the stage with pairs of dancers.

“It’s a lot of pressure because it’s really hard to get seven couples to get timing right, but once we have it, it looks just beautiful,” Alonso said.

Montesinos hopes that the dance show will be a step toward their ultimate goal of making the V-show.

“There are a lot of new members this year,” Montesinos said. “So at dance show, we’re just trying to make sure everyone gets this, [that they] get the timing, and they have fun overall.”

Brian Shaoul, Latino Heat sponsor, said that another goal that the group has is to expose Latin culture to the community.

“[Spark] offers an opportunity for the school and the community to experience traditional dancing and it allows the students to display their Latino pride as far as expressing themselves artistically,” Shaoul said.