Monday, May 07, 2012

Ellevé Showcase 2012

On Friday, May 4, 2012, we held our third annual "Ellevé Showcase".  It is always a great night.  I love seeing the girls perform all of our routines one last time and also perform some fun, new routines. 

The pictures that I have in this post were taken by Makayla Wilson's mom, Nancy Wilson.  I hope she doesn't mind! :)  She always gets some good shots of the performances and I am always busy in the sound booth during the show and I only have someone there to video the performances.  So, Makayla, who was our drill team President this past year, is featured in all of the pics.  But, I just like to have a memory of each dance here on my blog.  I guess next year I need to remember to hire a photographer! :)


 Military - I usually put military near the beginning of the show.  Not sure why, I guess because it is always first at Region and State?  Oh well, it always gets every one's attention and is a good way to start the show!
 This pic is of Makayla during the officer routine.  The officers always choreograph a short officer's dance and I'm always amazed at how great it looks with the short amount of time we spend on it.  This year they used the music, "Long Live", by Taylor Swift.  It was a song we had as a theme from the previous year.  Also, as a side note, the green tops I borrowed from Payson.  Thank you Paysetters--the tops looked great!
 Tiger lily - our dance routine.  The costumes looked really great on the stage with the lighting.   The dance looked good too!  Didn't have to worry about boundaries at this performance!  ha ha
 I'm going to miss my seniors - they are such strong performers!

 Our hip hop routine is always a crowd favorite!  I had a student write in their critique of the show, "the drill team should do more of this type of dance, or put it at the end of the show, it was the best performance!"
 The team definitely gets into hip hop!
 Lyrical routine - "Turning Tables".  This was my first time competing in the lyrical category.  It was a great experience.  Luckily I have some awesome lyrical dancers and we did ok for not really practicing it as much as the other routines!
 Makayla is a beautiful lyrical dancer.
 I love this photo!  It is the beginning of the Senior Dance.  This year we used the song, "Girls Run the World", by Beyonce.  It was a fun routine and we wore our dance costumes from last year.  They looked good for this routine too!
 Fun routine with a lot of attitude!
 Beautiful leaps!  Aubrey, on the left, is an amazing leaper!
 End pose!
 Another tradition of the showcase is the couples dance or the Guys and Gals routine.  Each girl gets a guy to come learn the routine and then perform it in the showcase.  It is always a crowd pleaser as well.  I think because it is a break from all of the regular drill routines and it involves boys!  This is Makayla and her partner, Tyler Thomas.
 The routine was to four popular songs at the time - "Starships", "Where Have You Been All My Life","Call Me Maybe", and "I'm Sexy and I know it".
 They did some fun partnering and lifts.
 It was a fun routine to watch!
 Tyler's face is funny in this one!
 The girls also have the option to perform a solo in the showcase.  Some opt not to, but some have every year they have been on the team.  This is from Makayla's solo.  It was so pretty!  It is always so fun for me to watch their solos!  I only wish she would have competed, she would have done well!

 We also performed our character routine, "Samba Adagio".  It was fun to review it, we seriously had not even thought about this routine since State.
 We didn't change our hair or makeup though, not enough time and we didn't want to have the audience wait for us!
 End pose - I wonder if she is thinking, "I'm never going to dance this dance again."?
 Our final number was a lyrical dance entitled, "This is Your Life".  It was choreographed by my assistant, Lexie White.  It was a beautiful routine with some cool lifts in it.
 I also liked the lyrics to the song, it really fit for a final number for the team to perform.
 Final bow - it's over.  Always a few tears shed after the show.
 The 2011-12 Drill Team Seniors - (minus Hailey Bishop) Six of the seven seniors were three year member and the last of the original Ellevés.  I will always remember the original team--those first three years.  Those teams helped establish the foundation of a great drill team at MMHS.
 Aubrey, Kaitlynn, and Makayla--All State Members and such a great part of the team for the past three years.  It's going to be weird without them and their parents.  They have been awesome to work with and great supporters of the drill team.
Awe, I love when the drill team alumni come!  Here are some of them that showed up to the showcase.  I hope I will see them come as much as they can to all drill team events!  Ellevés for life!

I really love the tradition that we started with the Showcase.  It is sometimes hard to go back and work on the competition routines again, and sometimes I think, why are we doing this, the girls are tired and you just want to do nothing and not come early to practice, etc.  But, that night, it is all worth it and I'm always glad that we do the show.

It is a special night and I love that we have it in the auditorium.  I also think that it is fun to include the new team and have them perform and then announce the officers for next year.  Another fun part is the introductions at the beginning and having the girls dress in a formal gown and be escorted by their fathers. 

All in all, I love the tradition that we started.  It is a great way to end the year and begin the new one!


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