This year, the Orchesis dance company at Libertyville High School went through various changes to their normal season.
The main change for Orchesis was its season. In past years, Orchesis auditions were held in December and the show was in March. However, this year, auditions were in mid-February and the show was on May 11 and 12.
The main reason for this change was space. According to director of the show, Mrs. Eryn Brown, the dance company was getting larger and needed more space to rehearse. Because the winter season was competition season for LHS poms, it was very difficult to share that space between the JV and Varsity dance teams, along with Orchesis. For safety reasons, Orchesis directors prefer for dancers to practice in the cafeteria because the multi-purpose floor installed in there is much safer to dance on than the tile floor elsewhere according to Mrs. Brown.
Due to the season change, many more students, who were normally busy with winter sports, were able to participate in the dance company. Orchesis participation increased this year because various dancers from poms, gymnastics, and cheerleading joined the company.
“We had more people from different groups and we were able to have a very diverse program. It brought together many people from different backgrounds, and because of that, we were able to have a really positive show for the audience and experience for the students,” Mrs. Brown stated.
Feedback from Orchesis members in regards to the schedule changes was mainly positive.
“I overall thought the changes were beneficial to Orchesis. It was a little difficult at times balancing both AP tests and Orchesis, but I really liked how this year more people were able to do it because of the different season. I was able to meet many more amazing people which made Orchesis even more fun!” expressed junior and three-year Orchesis member Amanda Mudd.
Because the show was pushed back, rehearsals were also more spread out, giving dancers a more flexible, and laid-back schedule. Choreographers from each dance planned rehearsals so different dances met on various days.
“I also really liked the time and day changes of rehearsal because I was able to be home earlier each night because the rehearsals were spread out more evenly across more days,” Mudd stated.
Besides the new schedule, there were also a few changes that happened in Orchesis behind the scenes. The new assistant director for this year’s Orchesis show was Kelsey Hutten, who was only assisting for this year. Mrs. Pothast was the previous assistant director but stepped down this year due to personal reasons. Hutten was a part of Orchesis and graduated from LHS in 2013. She got a degree in dance performance from Hope College, where she graduated from last spring.
The Orchesis dance company also had help from the theater department to construct costumes for various pieces in the show for the first time this year. According to Mrs. Brown, the theater department was extremely helpful and they are looking to have help again from them in future years.
Mrs. Brown stated that the changes from this year’s Orchesis show proved positive, and because of this, Orchesis directors do not plan on making any other notable changes for next year’s performance.
“We’re keeping the season the same, the weekend of May 11 and 12, and we’ll have auditions around the same time. We’re going to try to make the season the best we can now that we made these changes,” Mrs. Brown stated.
