This year the Utah Dance Education Organization is holding their 17th annual High School State Dance Festival. It will be held at Granger High School in Salt Lake City on March 17, 2018 and the Taylorsville High School Dance Company with be performing with two pieces. The festival showcases different high schools from all over the state and invites them to come and display their best student choreographed works to be adjudicated by professional dancers and college professors within Utah.  

The festival is one day only and involves the Dance Critique, tech rehearsals, and plenty of classes and workshops to do in between performances. The dances in the festival are judged based on choreography, performance, and technique. According to the festivals website, “Schools will be adjudicated using a standard of excellence, rather than competing against each other for a ranking.” The Judges will be looking at the execution of the theme, dance composition, and creativity.

The students in the Taylorsville Dance Company start preparing by going through several units about dance elements and composition to get the ball rolling on ideas for their pieces. Each member then makes a two to three minute solo piece to audition in front of their instructor. Two dances are picked and then the work putting the routines together begins.

“This year we’re taking two pieces. The first is choreographed my Malia Hansen and the other is choreographed by Ryan Fierro,” said Mrs.Call, Dance Company Coach. The state festival allows dancers to create pieces for whatever they want. This year the company’s theme is science. Malia’s piece is the whole company ensemble. “It’s called ‘In The Beginning’ and it’s about the creation story and how man came to be.” Hansen.

The second dance is a small group of five dancers. The dance is choreographed by Ryan Fierro, a junior who’s been on Dance Company for two years now. “The piece is called Gra and it’s about chemical elements and their reactions.” Fierro said.

Once the dances are chosen the choreographers hold their own auditions to decide who will be performing in their piece. The dancers and choreographers have spent about three months creating, practicing, and perfecting the pieces. “The dancers work on it during before school practices”Mrs. Call said. The company comes to school at six o’clock in the morning to meet up and work on the students dances. Until the festival arrives they will all be working hard and doing their best.