On Saturday, Oct. 14, drama students of all levels, beginning, intermediate and advanced, transformed the black box theater, room 306, with six hours of dance. Kicking off the event for the first time since 2019, students gathered to fundraise, reaching out to their friends and community asking for pledges of support for the drama department and their hours of dance at the Dance-a-Thon. Participants brought themselves, their donations, snacks and outfits correlating with hourly themes: Farm, white lies and red flags, decades, gender bender, diva and Barbie and neon.
Senior Ava Jensen experienced her first Dance-a-Thon after four years in drama, only hearing whispers of the event as an underclassman. She notes that the high levels of commitment from upperclassmen strengthened levels of connection.
“There was no fear of judgment or embarrassment. Everyone getting together and doing the themes, and agreeing to take it seriously, made it feel like a safe and welcoming environment,” Jensen said. “I noticed a lot of the freshmen looked so free, and I remember when I was a freshman it was really hard to feel like I could be myself around big groups of people like that.”
Jensen highlights the fun accessories and outfit changes people had each hour. As Jensen’s favorite dance so far in her high school career, she encourages her younger brother who is currently taking drama to attend in future years.
Jane Scheuring, a freshman in beginning drama, was introduced to the drama program with the Dance-a-Thon and looks forward to participating annually. Even though she would not describe herself as a “dancer,” Scheuring felt comfortable and had lots of fun meeting people across grade levels.
“It exceeded my expectations,” said Scheuring. “It showed me that no matter who you are, you will find your people. I thought it was really interesting to see people morph into a more outgoing version of themselves when they are in their element.”
