On March 15-17, the DGS Orchesis dance company will “Dance the Night Away” during their performance at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. Orchesis is a no-cut dance company at DGS that focuses on all dance abilities as well as all genres of dance.

The length of the show will be around an hour and a half, including a 10-minute intermission between act one and two. Students of any ability can audition for the company.
Physical education teacher Stephanie Henrikson is one of the directors the students will be auditioning for.

“All dancers are welcome; Anyone who wants to dance can be part of our club and show. Students attend a no-cut audition to demonstrate their ability to learn choreography as well as their dance skills. We have a wide array of skill levels from beginner to advanced dancers, but our common love of dance is what brings us together,” Henrikson said.

Junior Jiya Vachachira is one of the choreographers for Orchesis and has been dancing since third grade.

“How I come up with dances is by finding a song that I think is upbeat and would make an enjoyable performance. Then I get inspiration from other dances that I have seen, and I kind of just piece it together,” Vachachira said.

The dances are student-choreographed and then looked over by the directors of the company, including math teacher Mary Kathryn Griffin and Henrikson for review and approval. The genres explored in the dances can range from hip-hop to jazz. Junior Kim Torres is also an officer for Orchesis, which means she helps choreograph dances.

“These dances are choreographed by students, which are submitted to our club sponsors to be reviewed and selected which dances are taught. These student dancers then teach their dance to a group of dancers based on the form that they filled out. After lots of practice and hard work, our dances are performed in our show in March,” Torres said.

Tickets are free for DGS students with an ID and $10 for everyone else.