Branson’s dance program has two new classes, 20 more students and an additional dance teacher heading into tech week for the annual dance concert.

Preparation for the dance show began at the start of the year, when students worked together to research and decide songs for their performances. As usual, almost all dance classes prepare both a hip-hop and a contemporary piece, along with a special third piece that reflects this year’s theme and title, “Century of Dance.” Each class selects a particular decade for their third piece, and then themes the dance, music and costumes around it. 

“We got a Google form that was homework to fill out with ideas for songs, and then we put a playlist together, went down the playlist, rated the songs and moved them around so that we had a top 3, and then we picked from there,” Mika Chow ’28, a member of the Dance II-III Honors class, said.

Dance teacher and co-artistic director of the Branson dance show, Alex Escalante, said this method gives students “agency and also autonomy in terms of how they want to approach the pieces.”

This year’s theme is adding older moves to students’ repertoire.

“For example, the 20s is by the Dance Performance Ensemble … so we’re doing flapper, you know, Charleston, Roaring Twenties style, Great Gatsby style things,” Escalante said.

Tech week, Jan. 26 to Feb. 1, is when things start to ramp up for the dance students. After school, students attend three three-hour rehearsals for all of the students, as well as an additional weekend rehearsal for several of the classes. 

“There’s a great satisfaction, and an emotional lift to see the students coming together, getting their performances down, starting to have expression and performance quality, and then also grow as artists and dancers,” Escalante said.

However, the increased size of the program has also proved to be a challenge.

“It’s a lot of work, a lot of students to wrangle, and a lot of choreography that we had to put in,” Escalante said.

Still, with all of the work and practice that has gone into it, Escalante is excited to see how the show will turn out. He believes the show will not only be a rewarding experience for the audience but also a chance for the students to grow as performers. 

“Every year, I’m trying to reinvent how I approach the concert and bring in new ideas, so this year, I think, with the amount of students that are in it, I’m really curious, actually, to see how it’s gonna come together,” Escalante said.

In terms of performances he is especially excited for, Escalante has some advice for the audience.

“I would say the 80s is going to be a fantastic experience,” Escalante said. “I don’t want to give too much away about it, but watch out for the 80s.”