By Camille Kerwin
Hometown Weekly Intern
This past Saturday, Medfield High ballroom dance students displayed a semester of hard work in the annual Dancing with the Warriors Showcase in the school’s gym. The students banded with a slew of collegiate dancers and performed a variety of styles such as the waltz, foxtrot and tango.
Ballroom dance made its start in the Medfield school system five years ago and has since then blossomed into a multi-faceted program.
Students are first introduced to the fun and friendly form of exercise in the third grade in their physical education classes. From then on, ballroom dance reemerges each year in the PE curriculum and students take the opportunity to build on previously learned skills.
When students reach grade 10, they participate in a three-week ballroom dance workshop in their wellness classes. As the unit closes, sophomores face off against other wellness classes in the “Golden Shoes” competition, performing the same styles of dance but with unique routines and music.
Students who wish to delve deeper into ballroom dancing sign up for a comprehensive course taught by wellness teacher Karen Renaud.
In its first year, Renaud discovered the necessity for an outlet in which students could perform the dances they had practiced in the preceding months. Thus the Dancing with the Warriors Showcase came about.
The next year, Renaud wished to show students what it looked like to continue dancing into their college careers and invited dancers from surrounding colleges to join in the showcase.
At Saturday’s performance, dancers from Roger Williams University, Boston University, the University of Massachusetts, Brown University, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute visited and showed off their skills.
Medfield High students performed a total of seven distinct dances while the collegiate performers offered advanced and embellished versions of the same styles.
The Ballroom Dance Club culminated the event with a pirate-themed performance, complete with costumes and props. Every dance brought new energy to the stage, impressing viewers and creating a truly enjoyable show.
See more photos at https://hometownweekly.smugmug.com/Medfield/Events/Medfield-Dancing-With-Warriors.
Camille Kerwin is an Intern at Hometown Weekly. For questions, email news@hometownweekly.net.
