By CATHERINE ELLERTON
Moapa Valley Progress
Celebrating their 5th anniversary of the Community Dance Invitational, members of Moapa Valley High School’s dance team Pirate Motion; under the guidance of Team Coach Anjie Lee and assistant Donna Forrester; presented a full and varied program on Monday night, February 1 at the Ron Dalley Theatre.
The Pirate Motion Dance Group opened the program with a modern dance entitled “I Know You Like It.”
Not to be outdone, following close on their heels were the young members of Dynamite Cheerleading. This group of 4 to 8 year olds is instructed by Shayleen Dalley and Abby Morgan. The invitational gave an opportunity for these young dancers to prove that the hours spent in rehearsal is paying off and gives them a chance to perform in front of an audience.
The Dynamite squad not only managed a cheering routine but nailed a crowd pleasing acrobatic move as they proved the benefits of “Never Say Never.”
The Pirate Motion Freshmen team members closed this segment with an acrobatic dance routine entitled “Sail.”
Next up on the energetic program were the various dance groups in Ballet Classique which is under the guidance of Amber Leavitt. The Pre-Ballet group pranced on stage to “Who’s Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf” and were only upstaged by the wolf himself in this very clever ballet.
Next came the Ballet I dance troupe dancing to “Whistle While You Work.” The Ballet II class members danced to “Part of Your World.” Each group displayed their advancement in stage knowledge, dance moves and understanding of same. The Ballet III dance group demonstrated a very nice synchronized turn during their “Reflection” ballet.
Soon Shaye Dalley and Stephanie Bunker’s “Movin’ & Groovin’ & Razzmatazz Dance” Troupe took to the stage. These dancers take on Modern and Jazz dance moves and began to develop lifts of fellow dancers.
The Pirate Motion – sophomore troupe followed with an energetic “Levels” presentation.
The Bledsoe Karate team members were next on the program proving that there is a rhythm and choreography to martial arts. This group is led by several black belt instructors who were also part of the performance. The routine consisted of hand and leg hits, knife and stick weapons and the final ‘coup de grace’ of breaking cement slabs with their hands.
The Mack Lyon Middle School (LMS) Cheerleaders, coached by Desi Stasney, followed the energetic Karate demonstration with their own energized cheering routine, and some very impressive lifts, to “DJ Cheer Nation.”
The Elite Dance Academy members lived up to their ‘focus of having fun and expressing oneself through dance’ in two routines “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know” and “Shut-up and Dance.”
Amber Leavitt’s coaching of the MVHS Varsity Cheerleaders paid off in an interesting routine with several advanced lifts done to “300 Violins.”
The Pirate Motion Juniors danced to “Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself”.
The LMS Dance Team (Lyon Locomotion), which is coached by Amy May, did an excellent rap routine to “Worth It.”
Finishing the fast paced evening’s presentation to an enthusiastic audience were the Pirate Motion Seniors dancing to “Treasure.”
