AHS’ Dance Department’s Charity Dance Show will be held on Dec. 8 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center! The sell-out show not only features the advanced Orchesis Dance Company, but will also be featuring Beginning Dance, Intermediate Dance, and other outside professional dance groups.

The dancers have been preparing for many months to perfect the show. Junior Orchesis member Talia Yip revealed that Orchesis had practiced “every morning at 7 and [stayed] after school to rehearse the five routines that they pulled together for the show” and that Beginning and Intermediate Dance trained during class in order for each “period to perform a different dance that is choreographed and directed by Liza Tedford.” She added that the Charity Show is “very unique and different from other dance performances throughout the year” in the sense that it is the “only performance where all sections of the Dance Department—Beginning, Intermediate, and Orchesis—perform together in a big show.” In addition to incorporating the entire dance department into one show, the Charity Dance Show also showcases various types of dance genres such as hip hop, contemporary, jazz, Chinese folk dance, and Bollywood—so audience members will be sure to find something that suits them.

The Charity Dance Show does not only support students and local dancers, it also supports the fight against cancer. Talia shared that each year, “the Dance Department chooses an organization to donate a part of the proceeds to,” and for this particular show, they will be donating to Alex’s Lemonade Stand. This remarkable pediatric cancer foundation was created by Alex Scott, who battled neuroblastoma at a young age; the program has attempted to change the lives of children with cancer by hosting events to fund research and raise awareness for the disease.

Tickets can be purchased from a dance student, online at www.ahsorchesis.com, or at the door; presale general admission tickets are sold for $10 while at-the-door and VIP tickets are sold for $15. As an audience favorite, this show typically sells out quickly, so make sure you buy your tickets soon in order to, as Talia said, “watch your friends or classmates dance on stage” and experience the “electrifying and jam-packed” performances that will be put on!

Photo courtesy of ARCADIAPAF.ORG