On a cold December night, dance department students warm up and stretch, trying to calm their nerves. They apply bright red lipstick, get into sparkly and brightly colored costumes, and run through every eight counts in their head, preparing for the bright stage lights. The Winter Concert is underway.

Each year, the dance department puts on two showcases, one in the winter, and another in the spring. Students begin learning the dances in class to showcase what they had learned over the course of the year.

“My Dance 2 class has two pieces that they’re doing, my Dance 1 class had an awesome upbeat piece, and my Musical Theater class, oh my god, their piece is so much fun,” dance teacher Courtney Allison said.

However, Allison did not choreograph every single piece. The Composition Improv class was challenged to choreograph and preform their own dance piece.

“We actually choreographed our dance, our class, we all worked together. Each student got their own eight count and we’re dancing to Cheer Up Charlie, by Leslie Odom Jr.,” Jones said.

The girls then put all their eight counts together, and the complete dance was formed, all that was left to do was practice.

“It turned out beautifully, watching that- and watching them work together, was incredibly refreshing,” Allison said.

Allison also stressed the importance of believing in oneself and performing to the best of one’s ability in all her classes.

“She does a bunch of self-confidence exercises as well. One day we spent a whole day and did things that nobody ever thought they could do and it was really cool whenever you did because everyone would cheer you on,” Dance 1 student freshman Aurora Trevino said.

Allison believes that dance is an outlet for students to get to know themselves better, and be open to new experiences.

“I  try to stress the importance of being present and engaged, because that whole process is really them getting to know themselves better,” Allison said. “It’s still in that process where they’ll say ‘oh I like that! Oh I don’t like that,’ it’s really about appreciating what it is, for what it is and being able to soak it in, whatever is out there. And that is first and foremost what I am really impressed with seeing.”

The showcase was on Thursday, December 1, and admission was free. However, the department encouraged donations so dance students could broaden their artistic horizon.

“We ask for donations so we can do things like take field trips, so I can kind of expose them to what the fine arts are like outside of Bowie,” Allison said.

On the whole, students describe their experiences in the dance department as overwhelmingly positive, and the Winter Concert is a chance for them to show all the things they learned over the semester, to bond with new friends, and overcome stage-fright and insecurity.

“I met my best friend, Grace, in dance class the second semester of sophomore year, so we’ve been able to grow and do this together, so it definitely impacted my life because I got my best friend out of it,” Jones said.