The Campbell Reporter
Education
'Time Warp' gives students decades of dance experience
By Tiffany Carney
Prospect High School dance students are taking matters into their own hands and feet. Their January performance of Time Warp will take the Step Fusion dancers and audience members on a journey from the 1920s to the present.
Time Warp is divided into decades, each one led by one student who chooses the music for the routine and the dance steps. Then that student teaches the rest of the members in group the routine.
Pasha Shirokikh, a 17 year-old senior, didn't have any professional dance experience before enrolling in the course.
Pasha has discovered the class' unique student-led format has "everyone in sync, and everyone wants to be there."
The course incorporates teamwork, leadership, dedication and history into the dance sessions. The dance leader for each decade keeps the costumes, music and dance routines true to that particular era. Students are also encouraged to watch period movies such as Footloose for authenticity.
Pasha, who volunteered to lead the 1970s decade, has 10 students. He says his responsibilities can be frustrating at times, but his positive attitude keeps the others in the group smiling.
Jenice Clelho, 17, a junior at Prospect High School and ensemble member, says she appreciates being able to voice her suggestions.
"The whole process is really fair and includes everyone," says Jenice, who practices with friends outside of school to perfect their routines.
Before the group's first performance, Jenice was nervous, but now she is excited about the upcoming shows. The audience will follow Jenice through the decades.
English instructor Anna Savino teaches the 40 students who make up the co-ed high school dance course. Savino will also perform with the students.
Although the group has performed only once, practices and teamwork have created a family-style environment for the teens, according Savino, a Campbell resident.
Each class begins with students running laps around the gym to warm up, followed by stretching. Then the teens break into their designated groups to practice. Each student has an opportunity to choreograph a piece of the performance. The students are not graded on their ability to dance, but on their willingness to participate in class and their ability to work with one another. Each student must also submit a written assignment at the end of the course.
Savino, who has taught English at the high school for two years, was tapped by the administration to choreograph the school's musical Damn Yankees, after the school officials learned she had dance experience. That work led to Kurt Meeker, the head of the Prospect drama department, to propose that she instruct a dance class.
The class has also received overwhelming support from parents who have volunteered to sew costumes and construct sets.
The Tech Theater class at Prospect High School has also contributed to the Step Fusion troupe. The students taking that class will build sets and work the sound boards and lighting for each performance.
The high school dance group is planning to perform at school events and even junior high schools in the area. Members of Step Fusion will also perform in the upcoming Drama Fest on Jan. 19 at the Heritage Theatre in Campbell.
Savino's goal is to teach her students that fun and hard work can go together, and the experience has been rewarding. Savino is also discovering some new steps in the process.
"They are teaching me how to break-dance," Savino says, "I'm learning a lot, too."
Drama Fest 2007, sponsored by the Campbell Union High School District, is Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m. at the Heritage Theater, 1 W. Campbell Ave. Tickets are $5-$8. 'Time Warp' at Prospect High School, 18900 Prospect Road, is Jan. 24-25 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $7-$10.
