Alta students got to see a dazzling ballroom performance at Dancing with the Hawks on December fourth at 7pm. Ballroom students were paired with a student in different organizations to compete. Finishing in first place was Gretal Larrabee and Carter Goodfellow, dancing the Jive, close behind them in second was Mary Utley and Garret Jessop, and in third place was Nate Christensen and Alaina Ogden.
Students from the ballroom team chose someone from varying programs to extend an invitation to. Some of the programs that were represented were SBO by Garret and Carter representing Basketball. Dancing with the Hawks is an amazing event Alta puts on every year on the first Friday of December and it is definitely a must see.
“I think the best part was getting to know my partner Aubry a lot better, because we practiced quite often and I really got to know who she was,” said Cole Kunkel, the Alta ballroom secretary who danced the waltz with her. “To get a different piece of the school…changed my viewpoint of how people are in the school setting, it’s different for everybody.”
This is the real inner gem of this performance beyond the beautiful dancing and fun songs, it brings different parts of the Alta student body together.
Those that attended likely noticed a moment during the performance where the sound was way too loud. “Some of the monitors were muted that were not supposed to be muted,” said Miss Lambert, Alta’s ballroom coach, who also teaches dance classes at the school. “That’s why the intermission went too long.”
At the beginning some of the monitors were muted, unbeknownst to the stage crew, so while they were trying to fix it, and trying not to mess with the sound during the performance, they unmuted the monitors hence the burst of sound. Even with this interference, all of our dancers did a spectacular job, which made this competition very close.
The winners were determined by judges and by popular vote of the audience, with over 8,000 responses, to put that into perspective the PAC’s maximum capacity is 1,500. This is a testament to Alta’s ability and interest in dance. Durham Barney and Kate Heaton danced the Paso Doble to an arrangement of Duel of the Fates from Star Wars. Her costume was white with silver arm bands reminiscent of Princess Leia’s outfit in Star Wars A New Hope. During Nate and Elena’s Quickstep dance he got down on one knee, though no wedding has been announced.
“Most of the gaps between people were one point, maybe less than…Lots of really great high scores… JJ and Ashley didn’t get an award but they were so, so close, the difference between them was less than .4,” Miss Lambert said. “The audiences that come to Dancing with the Hawks are some of my favorite audiences because they are so involved, and they cheer so much… It’s electric.”
Preparing for this performance took a lot of effort. Scheduling was named the hardest part by Miss Lambert and Cole. Alta students and some staff sacrificed lots of time. “Oh I do not know, but a lot,” Miss Lambert said when she was asked how many hours she spent helping the dancers prepare.
Next year’s ballroom tryouts are planned for May fourth though that date may change as it gets closer. “This year I have ten seniors graduating… go take social dance. It’s a great way to prepare,” Miss Lambert said.
Also before the tryouts there will be a two days of a crash course of the Waltz and Cha Cha. It isn’t required, but encouraged. This is a great opportunity even if you don’t think you’ll make it to put yourself out there and experience another aspect, or world, inside of Alta.
