James Coors '27
Nov 15, 2024
Last Saturday, Mercersburg’s Dance program performed its 2024 Fall Dance Concert, which has been in development since the beginning of the school year. The dancers prepared sixteen original dance numbers of varying genres and styles.
Elizabeth Orders ‘25 said, “There were a lot of rehearsals leading up to the show. We did this thing called ‘tech week’ which is just a week of long extra rehearsals for all dancers. On the Saturday before the show, we do this thing called ‘nine to nine’ which is exactly what it sounds like, a nine a.m. to nine p.m. straight rehearsal. To most people sounds like torture but with this group of girls it was maybe the most fun I've ever had.”
“Lots of rehearsals were involved in preparing in and out of PGA time, the usual weeks were ten to fifteen hours a week but some of us got up to twenty preparing for the show. I enjoyed the rehearsal process and learning the choreography but the time commitment can be a lot, but I love dancing. Our biggest strength was our group, we are pretty small so most of us are pretty connected and you could feel the unity,” Stella Johnson ‘25 said. The close community of the dance PGA allows them to work together productively, not only in rehearsals but also during the show, allowing for a unified and cohesive performance.
Orders reflected, “I really enjoyed the finale, I think just knowing the show was over and all our hard work had come to fruition was so wonderful to feel, and also being up there with the entire PGA was such a great feeling.”
Orders and Caroline Hobbs ‘26 performed an emotional and technically difficult duet titled "The Line". After the show, Ary Small ‘27 said, “My favorite part was watching Caroline and Elizabeth do their dance; you could see how hard they had worked on it and how much they trusted each other.”
The Dance Concert featured dances including ballet, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, and more. The dancers showed their versatility by performing a range of styles in large and small groups, duets, and solos. The lighting and costume design added color and sparkle to the performances. In the hip-hop pieces, "Peas in a Pod," the dancers donned glasses with colorful lights and when they turned them on the crowd went wild.
The dancers are already back in the studio, hard at work preparing for their winter and spring performances which promise to be impressive if the fall concert is any indication.