By CHARLENE PAUL
Moapa Valley Progress
Parents, friends and loved ones gathered on the playground at Ute Perkins Elementary School on Friday night, May 10 for the annual Spring Fling Dance Festival. Anticipation was in the air as each class prepared to perform their dance routine for the appreciative crowd.
Before the dancing began though, Assistant Principal Kelby Robison announced the names of three new teachers who would be joining the Perkins team for the next school year. Meija Hammonds will be the Read by Three strategist, Katie Allred will teach first grade and Dan Hiola will teach fourth grade.
After welcoming the three new staff members, Robison announced the retirement of Gloria Hernandez, Lisa Begay, Carrie Leete and Valerie Morgan.
Robison then turned the mic over to school librarian Brooke Williams who got the party started. And the dances began!
New to the program this year was the Perkins Cheer and Tumbling Group. These girls performed with precision and spirit as their jumps and tumbling routines got the audience excited for what was to come.
The Early Childhood program sported dinosaur hats as they danced to the “Dinosaur Stomp.” Their smiles and movements lit up the playground.
The Kindergarten students were next. They danced their hearts out to “Larger than Life.”
The Patriot Rockers showed off their dance moves as they “Rock[ed] Around the Clock.” This dedicated group started a decade ago and its members practice outside of school hours.
There was a distinct 1990s theme as the first grade busted their moves to “I Like to Move It.”
The second grade showed off some fancy footwork as they danced to the beat of “Whoomp.”
The fifth grade came out with all the energy to keep up with “Jump” and the fourth grade got their groove on with “Jock Jam.”
The third graders donned cowboy hats and western attire as they performed a “Wild, Wild West” routine.
The crowning achievement for the evening was the annual braiding of the May Pole by the fifth grade class. This has been a tradition in the valley for a century. This year’s performers did a masterful job in weaving the bright colors together on the pole. Then each fifth grader selected a loved one from the audience to come forward and help them in unwinding the strands back to the original state. The experience left everyone smiling.
The evening festival ended bythe crowd being served up some grilled hot dogs, chips, drinks, snow cones and cookies provided by Mrs. Leete and Mrs. Morgan.
The air was cool and the sunset was a spectacular end to a wonderful evening.