Every year, dance has their final concert of the year, the Valley Dance Showcase (VDS). All dance classes perform, seniors performing one last time.
Senior Veronica Gutierrez has been a part of the HHS dance program since her freshman year, dancing since she was three years old.
“I’ve been dancing since I was like three. [My parents placed me in it] and I loved it. I started dancing in Dancing Company and then I switched to Corriston Movement and Dance with Ms. Corriston, and I loved it so much and I just never stopped and then I danced with her in high school too,” Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez looks back to her very first VDS where she found inspiration for the future of her dancing.
“I was only in a few pieces my freshman year so I got to watch a lot of pieces and they were really good and it inspired me to start coming up with ideas for when I wanted to choreograph and it inspired me,” Gutierrez said.
With her last VDS coming to an end, she reflects on the experience VDS brought her this year.
“It was so much fun, I got to be in lots of pieces and watch others who I’ve never really seen dance before which is really cool. I got really sad at the end because I knew I was never going to dance on the HHS stage again which was really depressing,” Gutierrez said.
This year, Gutierrez choreographed her own dance for the concert.
“I got to choreograph my own project this year, Pink Panther. Having to get myself out of choreography blocks was difficult to make sure the piece was completed in time but taught in time, rehearsed and cleaned in time,” Gutierrez said. “I went to the band formal this year where it was a masquerade dance so I bought masks from Amazon and I got a six pack so I was like I should use these for something else, like a sneaky spy dance. I decided to do Pink Panther and ended up not using the masks.”
As her high school dance career comes to an end, she finds herself thinking about her future.
“I’m incredibly sad that I’m leaving, it’s been the one constant in my life and I have no idea what I’m going to do in college after I graduate. I definitely want to come back and visit during dance classes in the future,” Gutierrez said.
While seniors are closing their dance journey, some are just getting theirs started.
Junior Kate Bodle has just received her cord for NHSDA (National Honors Society for Dance Arts).
“NHSDA is basically like National Honors Society but for dance. You gather 30 points by taking class outside of school, taking workshops, and other dance related things to get inducted. You get a cord and a certificate,” Bodle said.
Through her induction into NHSDA, she’s found her true self in dance.
“I’ve been working towards this for a long time so it feels like the dedication paid off. With NHSDA, you’re working towards something bigger, so getting that recognition was really fulfilling because it shows that you can see my hard work in something other than performances,” Bodle said. “It used to feel like it was hard for me to belong in upper level classes because it’s just easy for me to doubt myself and my dancing skills, so getting to that point, getting that award, and being in that Honors Society, sort of helped me prove to myself that I do belong there.”
