By: Bianca Velasco & Rafael de Cardenas
OCPS 2017-Dance Exposé
ORLANDO, FlORIDA- Dance fans young and old will be gathered on a weekend for the 12th annual OCPS Dance Exposé. It took place on Nov. 11, and performances began at 6:00PM. Tickets were $5 for children and $10 for adults. The event was hosted, once again, by Dr. Phillips High School. The school is renowned for its excellent and successful dance magnet, and has previously hosted the event for years. The Exposé is a one day festival made to provide an authentic performance and assessment experience to K-12 students in OCPS. It was guaranteed to be packed with students, dancers, families, and dance enthusiasts, so one had to be sure to get there early to see these astounding performances.
The OCPS Dance Exposé is an excellent event. It is, essentially, a one day festival designed for several purposes. The most notable of these is how the Exposé gives students the opportunity to experience what it’s like to perform in a professional dance competition and assessment. It mimics what students would see in the real world, and allows teachers and students from across the county to collaborate and share ideas. Middle school and High school students county wide preform in the Exposé and its competition, including Timber Creek High School’s Elite dance team. The event’s composition is explained here by Timber Creek High school’s dance teacher, Mrs Perry, “During the afternoon, the high school and middle school students are assessed in an ensemble piece and Etudes (set pieces of Ballet and Modern choreography that each school learns and presents). These pieces will not be assessed for ratings, but judges will be giving special awards that evening to schools in the following categories: Best of Show, Best Student Choreography, Best Small Group, Best Large Group, Best Elementary School, Best Middle School, and Best High School. Each of the three judges will also give out special awards that they will determine.”
As Timber Creek prepared their team for this extraordinary event, they continued practicing and perfecting their every move. They practiced every day in class, and up to two days after school. The team representing Timber Creek in the annual Dance Exposé is made up of mostly seniors and juniors, a few sophomores and only two freshmen. The team was led by Jazlene Bonny, Geovanna Garavelo-Bortoleto, and Mariel Torres who are the captains of Timber Creek’s dance team. They performed “I Surrender” by Celine Dion, “Destiny” by Michael Kenneth Marino, “Broadway Melody” by Various Artists, each piece was between 2:30 to 4:00 minutes in duration. Along with this detailed choreography, they also had stunning outfits to perform in, a different one for every piece they danced to. They were wearing a burgundy Lyrical dress for “I Surrender”, black leotards and black shorts for “Destiny” and black leotards, red gloves, and red sequin belts for “Broadway Melody”. “As a whole, we feel excited to perform and receive our assessment scores. We hope that Timber Creek students attend to support us”
Short after all this preparation, the event came rolling in with force, causing excitement throughout all the schools participating, including Timber Creek. With their fantastic performance of their lyrical piece “I Surrender” by Celine Dion, the elite team won two of the categories, taking home “Best Student Choreography” and “Judge’s Choice”. Mrs. Perry and all of TC congratulates the elite team in their amazing choreographies, passion, and determination, which ultimately lead to them to great rewards. Tiana Raysor, junior, was one of the participants of the event, saying “It was really fun, there were mentoring classes with guest teachers. We also got to talk to the middle schoolers about our high school experiences and what to expect when they get there. We were also able to showcase the pieces we were working on”
