Near the end of their dance to “Heaven is a Place on Earth” by Belinda Carlisle, the Dance Team gracefully collapsed on the stage and left only the seniors president Kyrah Chien and captains Savannah Huang and Chloe Olegario standing—a bittersweet move that emphasized their impact on the program and four years on the team.
“I’m really glad I got to be on the team for my four years and meet all these incredible girls,” Chien said.
On Thursday and Friday, April 16-17, Dance Team and the Advanced Dance classes took their final bow of the school year with their annual concert, this year’s theme being “Time to Celebrate.” This marked not only an emotional farewell for all of the senior dancers, but also served as a reflection of the diverse and unique stories that each person in the program has to share.
Dance Team delivered iconic performances that ranged from their fierce Megan Thee Stallion hip-hop dance to a heartfelt contemporary dance to “Iris” by the GooGoo Dolls. Advanced Dance classes gave classic stories a modern twist with choreographies inspired by historical events such as World War I, and also paid homage to popular musicals like “Legally Blonde” and “Hairspray.”
To prepare for his performance to the “Hairspray” soundtrack, Advanced Dance senior Ryan Yeh watched the “Hairspray” movie from start to finish—along with studying clips from the Broadway show.
“It’s pretty bittersweet, but it’s awesome that we had an amazing performance,” Yeh said. “I think this year was my best one, just because I had the most experience and we incorporated other dance techniques aside from typical jazz and ballet moves.”
Yeh has been involved in dance all four years, with dance experience even prior to high school. His favorite memory during his experience is hanging out with his friends in the dance room.
“I wasn’t expecting [the class] to mainly be girls, but I don’t mind,” Yeh said. “Dancing is still dancing. At the end of the day, it’s still good fun.”
Additionally, the seniors self-choreographed their emotional farewell dance to Adele’s nostalgic and emotional “Hometown Glory,” where each of them had a section of the dance to show off their specialties.
“The senior dance we got to create for the show was definitely a special one because the three of us were the first class in a while that has just been us since the beginning,” Huang said. “Every other class has either added or lost some people, but it literally was just us three all four years.”
The team also showcased a video capturing all of Dance Team’s memories from the year to “Scott Street” by Phoebe Bridgers, including clips of competitions, their Disneyland field trip and even an emotional reaction to their coach’s pregnancy announcement.
“I’m going to miss the community that the team has given me,” Chien said. “It’s like a sisterhood where we all support each other and spend a lot of time together. I really can’t replace the people that I have.”
The show ended with the team’s celebration dance, with all of the performers coming out on stage and taking a last bow.
“For the past four years, I’ve literally spent every day with these girls,” Huang said. “This team is like my second family. I’m going to miss them and especially the coaches, because they don’t just support us at competitions and everything. They support us outside too and teach us things like leadership and responsibility. I think I’ll miss everyone in the room.”
