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There are many different elements to motion. A few are direction, force, speed and energy. All which humans can portray and present. Dancers do an excellent job at this. The Van Nuys High School Dance Company did an amazing job at showing us in their showcase, “Elements of Motion.”
On Feb 27 at 4:30 p.m. and Feb 28 at 7:00 p.m. VNHS Dance Company, as well as six outside dancers, came together to perform “Elements of Motion.”
There were various genres of dance, from contemporary to belly dancing, there was something for everyone.
The six outside dancers included freshman Eli Augustine, junior Diego Serrano, sophomore Abigail Kim, sophomore Sophia Frenkel, junior Chloe Tiamzon and sophomore Ellie Steinberg. They were all hand picked by Ms. Diane Hula as they’re all taking one of her dance classes and did excellent at Ms. Hula’s solo choreography project.
Junior Diego Serrano is known for his excellence in the VNHS boys swim team, but this year he has decided to branch out into dance. He is taking beginners dance with Ms. Hula and showed off his skills with this show.
Senior Lydia Chavez joined Serrano to perform a salsa piece. Their performance made the crowd go wild, leading Serrano to thoroughly enjoy this new experience.
“It was a surprise to most people, a lot said it was unexpected but enjoyed the diversity,” said Serrano. “It was such a memorable and enjoyable experience. I’m so thankful for my partner, Chavez, for the piece we made together. It was such a rewarding experience.”
Although this show had many newbies, some veterans of Dane Company participated as well, including senior Mishella Vishnevskiy.
Vishnevskiy has been a part of Dance Company for all four years of her high school career. She is notorious for her ballroom dancing and even showed us a bit of her skills in hip-hop and contemporary.
Vishnevskiy shares her bittersweet experience of the community Dance Company built for her, but now having to leave it.
“Even though I’m the only four year senior in Dance Company, I feel like we really created a family that I can bond with,” said Vishnevskiy. “I’ve been in so many dances and shows and I really created a bond with each member of the Dance Company over the last four years. It’s really just a close family, that’s what we build here at Van Nuys High School.”
“Elements of Motion” was a well rounded and beloved show with a packed house on the 28th. Ms. Hula was very satisfied with the results. She only choreographed the opening number and left the rest to the students.
“It was everything I thought it’d be,” said Ms. Hula. “The student produced show was the example that is set forth in excellence by the Dance Company.”
One thing she made sure to include was Senior Night. On Friday night, the 28th, every senior in Company was given a small bouquet of flowers and a sentence or two describing their contribution to the group.
“I always find it hard to say goodbye to the seniors I’ve connected with over the years, but dance forms strong bonds and often lasts beyond the four years of high school,” says Ms. Hula.
Ms. Hula and her incredible dancers never fail to make a big hit. Even through the bittersweet sobs, we still saw the wonderful show that was “Elements of Motion.”
