Dancing in a Whimsical Winter Wonderland
Two of the dance classes brought their annual holiday performances to life at Christmas in the Park
By Selena Ganguly
Two of the dance classes brought their annual holiday performances to life at Christmas in the Park
By Selena Ganguly
Tis’ the season for the same old outdated dances of the sugar plum fairy. Only that’s not the case for this holiday season, because Pioneer had new refreshing dances to offer.
On Dec. 6, both the Advanced Dance class and dance team showcased their spectacular skills at their performance at Christmas in the Park. They have previously performed at Castillero Middle School and Brookdale Retirement Home. The performance consisted of dances choreographed by both coach Lisa Yap, as well as dancers from the team.
“We had a 45 minute show that’s all dance,” said Yap. “It had dancers from the dance team and advanced dance. It was a mix of Christmas and non-Christmas themed dances. Some of the dances I’ve choreographed, but a lot of the dances were choreographed by the students because it’s their final project for the first semester.”
Since early November, both teams have been hard at work preparing for the show. The dancers had been practicing vigorously, working together as a class in their own groups while also improving themselves individually.
This showcase helped them learn more about themselves and their peers. Dance Team officer Isabella Valine, 12, has performed at Christmas in the Park for the past four years, and has learned about teamwork and responsibility through her experiences.
“You have to really work together and be able to let each person take their turn. You can’t really dominate the group, so it definitely builds teamwork. It’s also a lot of responsibility, especially since you do have to choreograph and remember everything. It teaches you to really stay on top of stuff,” Valine said.
For Yap, who has been doing Christmas in the Park for the last 15 years with her students, patience and having an open mindset has been key.
“They teach me patience but they also teach me creativity. Everyone thinks differently so I can learn from their creativity just as much they can learn from mine,” said Yap. “I like my stuff but it’s cool to see what they come up with. They come from a lot of different backgrounds of dance. Some have been dancing forever and some have never danced or not for very long. So to see what everyone comes up with is unique and cool.”
The dance team and advanced dance were excited to show off what they prepared for this showcase. Kristen Hill, 11, was thrilled to show the dance team’s creativity to the crowd.
“It’s really fun making up a dance and you want people to like it, because you worked hard on it. It’s something you’ve created, not just something we were taught. We taught it ourselves,” said Hill. “There is a lot of pressure to make it look as good as all of our other dances, where somebody was teaching us. But at the end of the day, you need to just have confidence and have fun.”
For the surrounding community, the performance serves as more than just a show. Every year, Yap and her students perform at Brookdale’s Retirement Home, where they feel like they are spreading the holiday spirit.
“I hope the communities that we perform for enjoyed it. Especially when we went to the senior, the retirement home, you know it makes a lot of those people really happy. If they don’t have a lot of family or if they don’t see a lot of kids around the holidays,” said Yap. “Part of our show there is after we are done dancing we visit with the residents. We go around and talk to them, so that’s really cool and most of our kids enjoyed that. It’s kind of cheesy to say but it is the true meaning of Christmas.”
On Dec. 6, both the Advanced Dance class and dance team showcased their spectacular skills at their performance at Christmas in the Park. They have previously performed at Castillero Middle School and Brookdale Retirement Home. The performance consisted of dances choreographed by both coach Lisa Yap, as well as dancers from the team.
“We had a 45 minute show that’s all dance,” said Yap. “It had dancers from the dance team and advanced dance. It was a mix of Christmas and non-Christmas themed dances. Some of the dances I’ve choreographed, but a lot of the dances were choreographed by the students because it’s their final project for the first semester.”
Since early November, both teams have been hard at work preparing for the show. The dancers had been practicing vigorously, working together as a class in their own groups while also improving themselves individually.
This showcase helped them learn more about themselves and their peers. Dance Team officer Isabella Valine, 12, has performed at Christmas in the Park for the past four years, and has learned about teamwork and responsibility through her experiences.
“You have to really work together and be able to let each person take their turn. You can’t really dominate the group, so it definitely builds teamwork. It’s also a lot of responsibility, especially since you do have to choreograph and remember everything. It teaches you to really stay on top of stuff,” Valine said.
For Yap, who has been doing Christmas in the Park for the last 15 years with her students, patience and having an open mindset has been key.
“They teach me patience but they also teach me creativity. Everyone thinks differently so I can learn from their creativity just as much they can learn from mine,” said Yap. “I like my stuff but it’s cool to see what they come up with. They come from a lot of different backgrounds of dance. Some have been dancing forever and some have never danced or not for very long. So to see what everyone comes up with is unique and cool.”
The dance team and advanced dance were excited to show off what they prepared for this showcase. Kristen Hill, 11, was thrilled to show the dance team’s creativity to the crowd.
“It’s really fun making up a dance and you want people to like it, because you worked hard on it. It’s something you’ve created, not just something we were taught. We taught it ourselves,” said Hill. “There is a lot of pressure to make it look as good as all of our other dances, where somebody was teaching us. But at the end of the day, you need to just have confidence and have fun.”
For the surrounding community, the performance serves as more than just a show. Every year, Yap and her students perform at Brookdale’s Retirement Home, where they feel like they are spreading the holiday spirit.
“I hope the communities that we perform for enjoyed it. Especially when we went to the senior, the retirement home, you know it makes a lot of those people really happy. If they don’t have a lot of family or if they don’t see a lot of kids around the holidays,” said Yap. “Part of our show there is after we are done dancing we visit with the residents. We go around and talk to them, so that’s really cool and most of our kids enjoyed that. It’s kind of cheesy to say but it is the true meaning of Christmas.”