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The Dance Team shocked the audience with an amazing performance during the APAC Pep Rally last week. I interviewed Gwen F., the captain of the dance team, to find out how they managed to pull off such a spectacular performance. When I asked her about their performance, she said, “I initiated the APAC Dance Team in hopes of sharing my passion for dance with my peers, […] it truly makes me happy and excited for the school’s dance program in the future. I honestly feel so proud.”
Gwen shared her personal goals for the dance team this year. She said, “I wanted to feel more comfortable with hip-hop and become a more expressive and vulnerable dancer.” She also wanted to create a tighter, more passionate team who is eager to dance and perform for fun.
Next year, Gwen will be graduating. She says she has high hopes for next year’s team, and she believes that the team will be stronger and hopes that they try new styles such as jazz and contemporary in order to showcase different skills and techniques.
When I asked her about improvement, she shared her personal experience, mentioning that hip-hop was a struggle for her. “[…], hip-hop is basically everything I’m told not to do in contemporary and ballet. I tend to have mental blocks with hip-hop and often feel self-conscious. However, this year, I tried to overcome these blocks by pushing myself and taking time to analyze how I move during practice.” She commented on how as a team, they have improved in dynamics and synchronization as they practiced and gave each other harsh criticism.
Gwen dances four times a week outside of school. During the APAC season, the team practiced twice a week.Their APAC choreographer and coach is Amy Selsor, but for the other performances were all choreographed by themselves. She is currently choreographing the senior dance for the talent show and two other contemporary pieces for fun. Gwen had 4 other performances and has attended 2 other dance competitions, which she has won first place in.
APAC and the last pep rally were the dance team’s last events for the year. Gwen said, “It is a pity how we work really hard, but we are unable to showcase our talents and passions as often.”
When I asked her how other teams could make their showcases more interesting, Gwen suggested to use audience participation, “I think that is a great way to amp up engagement. I do also think that the music student groups use, the charisma, and overall confidence level of the team members contribute to the engagement.”
You can watch the APAC Dance Video here.
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