By George Zeliff
Mail

Every year, the Fountain Hills dance department performs a concert each semester called “Grace, Power & Force.” Fountain Hills middle school and Fountain Hills high school both switched to trimester schedules over the summer, and the dance department will perform three concerts instead of two because of the change.

“Each concert will have different dances, and I think it’ll be different girls,” senior Julia Trimble said. “I know a lot of people with the new scheduling, with trimesters, you can’t always get into the dance class for that trimester, but you will be for the next one. I think it’ll be a good mix of different girls, different qualities that they bring to each concert.”

Trimble and her classmates performed their first concert of the year on Wednesday, Oct. 25, and Thursday, Oct. 26. The Falcon dancers came up with most of their own choreography and their acts ranged from large groups performances to solo routines.

Trimble has been part of the dance department since middle school, and she danced to Dan & Shay’s “Speechless,” with fellow seniors Hannah Mowers and Hailey Robinson. Trimble said each of them choreographed a chunk of their performance so everyone could give input.

Gianna Wilson teaches dance classes at the middle school and high school, and the dancers view the dance department as a singular group across multiple schools. Most of the dancers also do Kelly’s Dance Academy (KDA) outside of school, and KDA competed in the Dupree Dance Convention and Competition from Friday, Oct. 27, to Sunday, Oct. 29.

The Falcon pom team opened the concert with one of their football halftime shows, and then the rest of the dancers showed off what they worked on in class. The first concert of the year is typically closer to fall break in November, but some dancers took advantage of the timing around Halloween with “spooky” dance numbers.

Junior Sahara Romo and her partner Harmony Miles came up with the choreography and performed to Billie Eilish’s “You should see me in a crown.” Romo said it was a contemporary dance, and a little spooky with flashing lights included in the act.

Wilson, a Fountain Hills alumni, expressed her thanks for community and administrative support of the performing arts at the concert. The Falcons had over 50 dancers in this concert, and they look forward to two more successful shows later this year.

“It’s always fun to watch everything come together and watch all the effort that they put into it,” pom team member and former Falcon dancer senior Taylor Stacy said. “You can tell how much they work for it.”