Lights slowly illuminated the stadium, revealing the perfectly poised and positioned dancers as “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen began to play, opening the first night of Dance Troupe’s Spring Dance Show, “Colors”, May 28. With enthusiastic smiles on their faces, each of the seniors, Ruby Ryan (12), Coral Kangas (12), Anika Siddiqui (12), Sophia Hellenkamp (12), and Eva Porter (12) burst into movement as they performed their last ever opening night show with Westview Dance Troupe. This year’s Spring Dance Show featured the theme “Colors”, which explored how different colors made the dancers feel and how they incorporated the inspiration from colors into their choreography, song choice, and theme.
Following the opening dance, young dancers from Prodigy Dance Company made an appearance as they performed onstage to “Keep Breathing” by Ingrid Michaelson. Kangas said having the younger dancers be a part of the show was a memorable experience for the troupe and Prodigy members alike.
“[The girls] getting the opportunity to watch us gives them an opportunity to see what high school dance is like, and we love watching the little Prodigy girls make the audience and dancers smile,” Kangas said.
In addition to Prodigy Dance Company’s performance, the show featured group dances ranging from contemporary to hip hop. Dance members had practices starting a month prior for a few hours on certain days of the week to prepare for the show. The show also included two dances incorporating people from outside the Dance Troupe: Social and Mance Troupe. Mance Troupe includes the dads of all the Dance Troupe members, while Social involves Dance Troupe members and a partner or friend they bring in to dance with them. Kansas and Ryan worked together to choreograph Social, and Kangas said working with people who don’t normally dance posed some difficulties, but they were able to work through them.
“[It was] definitely challenging working with people who have never danced before, but the partners are all so nice and willing to put all their effort into the dance,” Kangas said. “What was challenging in the beginning resulted in a great dance.”
According to Kangas, one of the most memorable dances for her was the Senior Dance to “Hometown Glory” by Adele.
“Senior Dance was definitely very sad as I’ll never get to dance with these girls again,” Kangas said. “[During] our dance, we get very emotional because it’s our senior year, and we’re all sad that we’re leaving, but we all have each other to go to, hug, and cry together with.”
Unlike other grades, with people leaving and joining Dance Troupe throughout high school, the senior class has had the same members from the beginning of high school. Since freshman year, Kangas has been a part of Dance Troupe alongside Siddiqui, Hellenkamp, and Porter, with Ryan joining in their sophomore year. Kangas said that having that consistency in their grade built a close connection between the members.
“All the seniors on our team have been consistent,” Kangas said. “So having that consistency in [our] grade, I’d definitely say we’re really close, there’s five of us, and we all know we can rely on each other. They’re some of my best friends, and we’ve grown closer as a group. Our senior class is very bonded, and we all love each other.”
Going into Westview as a freshman, Kangas said the Dance Troupe provided her with a supportive community throughout her high school journey.
“[Dance Troupe] definitely gives you friends when you feel like you have no one, because when you come to Westview, you might not know everyone, and you don’t always have friends to go to, but you always have your dance friends,” Kangas said. “[We] went through the high school journey together, and we always had a group of people to go through it all with.”
Ryan said that she was able to grow more comfortable in herself through dance and learned many valuable lessons that she will hold onto.
“I’ve learned [to] communicate really well and connect with others,” Ryan said. “I’ve learned how to work in a group and in a team, because so much of dance is communicating with each other and collaborating. I’ve definitely come out of my shell a lot more, just because with dance, you’re just put on stage, and you just have to go for it. It’s really has shaped me into who I am today, and my coaches put such an emphasis on being a good person above everything, and that’s one of my core values now.”
Throughout the Spring show, each of the seniors were honored with a montage of their journey growing up. After their montage, the seniors would perform their Senior Solo. Since Kangas will not be dancing in college, she said this performance was especially important for her.
“My solo is very special [because] my parents and family get to see me dance one last time,” Kangas said. “It’s my last time to show what I do and what I love to do.”
With each of the seniors going their respective ways after high school, the Spring show allowed them to come together one last time. Kangas said that despite the bittersweet end, she is grateful for what Dance Troupe has given her.
“I’ve grown up with these girls, I’ve gone through every stage of life [with them],” Kangas said. “They know pretty much everything about me, and it’s really sad knowing that I’m not going to dance with them after school next year. [Dance troupe] has definitely given me my friends and it’s given me a family.”
