By Deirdre Jones
Peabody school dance ensemble 2018
Every year Peabody’s Orff Music and Dance Instructor, Jerry Sanders, has the task of recruiting dancers for the school’s dance ensemble. These students will represent our school with stellar performances across the Shelby County School district, displaying various styles of dance.
This year was no different. Mr. Sanders began the process by giving interested students try-out letters, which informed them of the audition date and expectations. The letter details were very specific and had to be returned by the requested deadline.
On the date of the audition, groups of five to six students performed two-three different types of music. They were required to create movement based on the style of music. One can only imagine the task that Sanders, Donna Allen, Shelley Momany, Julia Davis, and Calvin Morris, the five judges, had before them. Especially when they had to determine who would be on the callback list.
“It was fun; Mr. Sanders did a good job of making sure that the kids were not as nervous” stated Madeline Lareau.
Those students who made the callback were given another piece of music. By this time, the level of excitement and nervous jitters probably saturated the room. The task now was for the students to create spontaneous choreography with the other dancers in the room. Let’s talk about putting your best foot forward and giving it all that you have.
According to Paytn Gibson, “I was scared, but I knew if I didn’t’ get it I could try again next year. I just thought about being somewhere else where no one else was watching.”
Now, with all auditions out of the way, the judges compiled their data and reached a unanimous decision on the dance ensemble for this school year. Congratulations are in order for every student who auditioned. It took a great deal of courage to step up to the challenge.
When asked about the process for selecting the dance ensemble, Khloe Woods shared, “It was fair. Mr. Sanders wanted to see how we moved. I was excited.”
