Starting this school year, students can now enroll in a dance class or participate in the newly formed dance team. Open to all grade levels, these programs give students a chance to explore dance without needing prior experience.
New dance class instructor Michelle Shannon brings years of professional experience to the dance room.
“I’ve been dancing since I was really little. I danced professionally on stage for many years, and I taught and assisted through high school. In college, I was the assistant to the tap instructor,” Shannon said.
Although she has taught and choreographed kids independently, Shannon begins her official teaching career at Burlingame this year.
“One of the things I want to make sure of is that they have a great time in the class, and that everyone feels the love and nobody feels excluded,” Shannon said. “I really want them to feel confident moving their bodies and knowing what that body has for them — and making them sweat a little bit.”
Junior Savannah Carranza, with a lifelong background in dance, said she especially appreciates the low-pressure environment of the class.
“Ms. Shannon’s a great teacher, and I just love how everyone has fun. No one really cares, we all just kind of branch out and dance,” Carranza said.
Sophomore Sanaiia Jackson echoes that sentiment. Although she had not taken formal lessons before, Jackson said she is eager to join the class and develop her skills.
“My goal for this class is to get better at dancing and to make new things,” Jackson said. “My favorite part of the class is all of us dancing with nobody judging us.”
Along with the new class, students can also join an after-school dance team. While the class focuses on learning a variety of dance styles, the team functions as an extracurricular group that performs at school events in a high-energy setting. The team requires rehearsals outside of school and auditions for advanced roles.
Like Shannon, dance team coach Audrey King grew up dancing and majored in dance performance in college. King said she hopes to build a dance community on campus by creating two teams to accommodate different schedules and skill levels. The first, the Panthers’ Dance Team Ensemble, will be open to all students.
“It’s designed to have practices that are specific to upcoming events, so you don’t have to sign up for the whole year,” King said. “Ensemble’s intended for everyone from beginning to even advanced, because I know advanced dancers are really busy at the studio every night, so practicing, so sometimes they might not be able to do other commitments.”
Another addition to the dance program is the show team, which has yet to officially launch.
“The show team is going to be audition-based, which is for your more experienced performers or dancers who have a little bit more technique training,” King said. “They’ll be performing at the rallies with ensemble, as well as at some of the football games and basketball games.”
Sophomore Holly Simson said the ensemble team fits with her busy theater schedule, which allows her to participate in both activities.
“I just want to be able to dance in some way at this school during fall, especially because there’s no musical going on,” Simson said. “I’m hoping to get the spirit up at events and have a lot of fun all together.”
With a supportive class environment, inclusive team structure, and dedicated instructors, the new dance department at Burlingame has a bright future ahead of them.“Even getting together in groups to remember the choreography, I just think that’s such a positive start to hopefully a long journey panthers dance,” King said.
