E-News: Dance-o-ween
Students Share Spooky Ideas for Halloween Shows
Making your own Halloween tradition is all about creativity. Whether you participate in a local festival, create an entire show for your studio or host an exciting dance party, this holiday is a great opportunity to show off your students and leave audiences screaming for more.
Ohio's Dublin Dance Centre Halloween-themed shows "pull out all the stops," says studio owner Teresa Crye. "We like to make it spooky." Numbers performed by the five student companies feature scary witches and goblins, with younger kids portraying pumpkins and friendly ghosts. They perform in three venues; Dublin City, Ohio's huge Spooktacular! Festival, three inner-city schools (along with lecture demonstrations), and, the Abbey Theater of Dublin--their biggest performance.
Lotus Dance Studio's annual "The Haunted," held at McCarthur Senior High in Hollywood, Florida, tells a scary story using gothic styles of belly dance. "The gothic style is a very different style of belly dance that's perfect for Halloween," explains Alina, the studio's director. "Combined with a musical theater-like performance, there is nothing like it in the entire state of Florida."
The Supershag Dance Studio in Waltham, Massachusetts combines performance into their annual Halloween dance party. Interested performers from the ballroom-focused studio sign up for a weekly class to prepare for one giant Halloween-themed dance number. This year, "we decided to do a dance to 'Thriller,'" says Aaron Talbert, who teaches the preparatory classes. "It's our little tribute to Michael Jackson, which uses some of the original choreography and, of course, ballroom dancing."
Photo of Dancing Ghosts, courtesy Dublin Dance Centre and Gymnastics
