This year on PDC ~ Emily Daines

This year on dance company I had the most amazing time learning about working together as a team. Towards the beginning of the year, when we were just getting to know each other, we definitely had a difficult time working and being committed to each other and it showed in our performance. At our shakespeare, we bonded and it helped make our Shakespeare performance so successful. Every performance we do, we improve. Our spring concert was so successful because we had a unified and dedicated team. As we became closer and more unified in class and outside of class, we began to work together to be the best we could be. Our performance quality improved and so did our team spirit. I absolutely love this company and I feel as though we are going to dedicate ourselves to put our best foot forward. This team thrives on unity and dedication which we have developed throughout the year and will continue working on into next year and every year to come. I have learned so much about what being a team means and it has influenced my personal life as well as my dance life. Thank you all for such an amazing year!

What I learned this year is you can never stop progressing. I come from a back ground of football, and other contact sports and didn't start dancing until last year. I have learned that there is never to much you can do. The only thing that limits you is your excuse that "there isn't enough time" or "I'm too tired." There is always enough time to do what you love. Some one told me this "you have 8 hours of sleep 8 hours of work and 8 hours of play." so there is plenty of time in a day to learn something and to experience something new everyday. Plus, dance has helped me become a better all around athlete.

Abby - What I learned from PDC

 What I Learned from Performing Dance Company

Given the incredible opportunity of being a part of PDC was such a blessing and a dream come true! There are so many wonderful people I've met and important things I've learned. So grateful for the experience I was given and how I was able to develop and grow my talents in so many different ways. I am a lucky girl to be able to have made up a small part of such an amazing company. We were truly blessed with the best instructor as well! We really couldn't ask for anything more. 

The ways this dance company has changed me have been physical, technical, intellectual, and personal. Physically, working out and practicing has made me a more fit person and it always help to get my daily exercise in! Technically, (if that's the right word) my technique has grown so much ever since sophomore year. I've gotten better flexibility wise, trick wise and choreography wise. I've grown in those ways so much and I feel more advanced than before I joined PDC. Intellectually, I've learned a lot of information about dance in depth, the body, and choreography! That will be such useful information if I end up going into the dance world with the career like that.

Overall, I think I've grown the most from PDC in a personal way. I've learned so many life lessons that will help me in any situation. You can't get things done when you're not reliable or dependable for the people you work with and you won't be a trustworthy person to them. We have to be able to rely on each other and reach out for help when we need it. We can't always be so independent that we don't consider other peoples opinions or talents. Teamwork is essential to a successful organization. Everyone needs to put in effort and grow a passion for what they do. I've also learned to always be respectful to the people around you whether you don't agree with them or you do. We are happiest when we give our respect and time to other people. I love the teamwork, relationships and the joy that has come from this company! There is truly something that bonds us as passionate dancers brought together in this big world. To find so many people who love the same thing you do and support you and it is amazing. I love everything that this company has taught me and I will always remember the special place it has in my heart. Thank you Krista for everything you do and for allowing us to be a part of such an incredible blessing. Love you!

My year on PDC ~ by Alexis G.

At the beginning of the year when I decided to choreograph I didn't realize how difficult it would be. Choreographing first semester was hard because I had only choreographed on a company one other time. I learned after the winter concert that you can get the same look and effect you want without making the moves so complicated. The meaning behind something can be deep but the movement itself can be very simple. Overall the most important thing I learned, especially this year when I was choreographing, is that having an outside opinion or having other inputs on something can makes it so much better. I had never done a dance for camera video before this final and being in a group of six really helped because we all threw out our ideas and having everyone give their opinions made our video so much better. From filming our video, I learned that you can make different effects you can't do on a stage because you can take hundreds of different shots from hundreds of different angles then just cut and paste them together to get a cool result. And sometimes it isn't always about the moves but the location can be a key part when it comes to dance for camera.  I also learned that it isn't always what the moves are but the visual effect that the person viewing will see. And lastly, I learned that it can be very time consuming because there are so many possibilities and it can be very hard especially if you have a certain deadline you have to meet. Dance for camera is hard and a lot of time and energy goes into making the videos that we see every day.

Valuable Lessons

Being a part of the performing dance company this year has been a very valuable experience. I learned many important lessons this year! One of these is the importance of teamwork. If not everyone on the team is working together nothing will get done and we won't looked connected on stage. One thing that helps a lot with teamwork is becoming close as friends. PDC has provided a great opportunity to strengthen friendships and make new friends who share my love of dance. Another important lesson that I have learned is hard work. In order to succeed you need a combination of both teamwork and hard work. You will never reach your full potential without hard work. One final lesson that I have learned is commitment.  Being part of a team definitely requires commitment. Some of the ways that I have learned to show commitment is through attending practices, prioritizing company events and performances, letting the teacher know if I won't be there, and having a good attitude. I am so glad that I could be a part of the performing dance company this year and can't wait for next year!

What I Learned

This has been my second year on Dance Company.  I have learned a lot from it.  One of the main lessons I have learned on PDC is the importance of hard work and being flexible.  throughout the year we have had a lot of opportunities to perform at different events.  Each time we had to work hard to get our pieces ready to perform.  We also had to be flexible if we were re-spacing and had to learn a new part.  Concert week was also very stressful.  We had to put in a lot of time and hard work to get our dances clean, spaced, and lit.  But, when we were all dancing on stage together it was worth all the time and energy we put into it the week before.  I am so grateful for company this year and all the great memories we have together.

Importance of Team Bonding

This year, while being on PDC, I have learned a lot about teamwork and team bonding. I have learned a lot about the importance of loving the people on your team and how much that helps your dances. Krista had assigned that we go to at least one social per semester, and at first I thought that would be hard because I was new to company, new to high school, and didn't know very many people on the team. After attending the social and having so much fun, I grew a love for the people on my team and could feel more comfortable around them. At the beginning of the year, our team wasn't as close, so we felt like we couldn't go as "full out" as we could, but towards the end, we were so close and we knew that we could do our best and not be judged. My dad had been to both our Winter and Spring concerts, and he felt that our Spring concert was more entertaining and well put together. I feel that this is because we had bonded more and were better friends than at our Winter concert. When you become close with someone, you can feel there presence and feel the connection. This is important in dance because you want to be in sync with those you are dancing with. I have learned to love everyone on PDC, and it has helped our dancing that we have become so close.

         Dance company has taught me a great deal about myself. I got to learn more about me and how I am as a dancer and as a teammate. I also got to learn a lot about my team. I had many opportunities to be in student choreography pieces which gave me the opportunity to learn from my teammates and what dance styles come easy to them and how they would create movement. I got to see others natural movement and creativity and compare it to mine, its inspiring. There are so many girls with so many styles and dance company brings it all together beautifully. I loved being able to grow as a dancer and learn more about choreographing. Dancing and competing with this team has definitely been a highlight of my year and I love working with these girls.

Throughout the year we studied dance choreography from a textbook and we each got a chance to come up with dance proposals. We each got many chances to showcase our own style and creativity. Everyone gets many chances in class to be a leader and teach the class. In conclusions it is a great class to help you learn responsibility and leadership and dance. 

Choreographer Dance Eval (all dancers do)

All Dancers will complete the following form.   If a dancer DID NOT choreograph a dance, they will fill out the form "as if they were the choreographer" for a student-choreographed dance they were in.

PDC Performance Self-Evaluation