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Show Ballroom dance team s an excellent program P-0. ftlok I f By MARCELLA WALKER I was fortunate to be able to attend An Evening With Ballroom Dance at Pleasant Grove High School recently. The program was very well done, as usual. As I have said before, I wish we would have had these kinds of activities ac-tivities when I was in high school. These kids today are so lucky to have programs like this. Pleasant Grove especially has been blessed to have really excellent programs. Students have not only learned skills and developed talents they otherwise would not have been able to do, but they have been able to receive college scholarships, travel to Europe and all over the United States. Several students who have graduated from Pleasant Grove High School have been able to continue with their dancing on the college level and this is great. I was especially impressed at the Ballroom Dance concert with the performance of Steve Livingston and Lisa Brown. They obviously have a special gift that far outreaches what they would learn in the classroom. For romance, the Sleeping Beauty and Her Prince number by Brian Kerr and his partner was wonderful. A special treat for the audience came with the guest performance of the Utah Valley Community College Ballroom Dance team which is also coached by Elaine Hansen, Pleasant Grove's teacher. Kurt Holman, Elaine's first ballroom dance protege at Pleasant Grove High School, and his partner, Amy Olsen, members of the BYU Ballroom Dance Team, performed for an enthusiastic audience. In fact, they were called back for an encore because of their exciting dance presentations. Elaine used the pair to demonstrate some different types of dance steps for the audience. Elaine had the "A" team members mem-bers who learned the "Footloose" number as sophomores, perform it for the last time. I was not really happy about this because I have enjoyed that number each time it has been performed and feel bad that they are not going to do it again. Elaine presented several awards for achievement to the students who had been voted best by their colleagues. Then Elaine presented the Glass Slipper award, which she gives every year to someone who has helped further dance at the school, to Stephanie Walker. Stephanie is a former dancer at the school and now assists Elaine, coaches the Drill I I Team, and is a member of the fto Ballroom Dance Team. You have to be proud of fc : students who are willing to put intk :. extra time out of class to perfec ; their skills and develop their talents : It is interesting that nearly all i these students who are taking lit; to be in ballroom dance, or in scut i of the other programs which migt: be determined "arty", are involve, in several areas of cultural arls aid are also very good students. It galls me when I hear that Ite type of classes would be the ones I: be sacrificed in this educate financial war that seems to be goc; on today. All of the areas of cultural artsn : of great benefit to these students e they not only give them t(-portunities t(-portunities to perform, but it also j a way of earning scholarships as: ; furthering their education. I recently heard two mote ' talking to Principal Neil ChristeK about next year's class schedu; having Orchesis and A Cappei Choir, or something like that, lists ( at the same time and they wonfc; ( if it could be changed. Their children wanted tobeafc take both classes and it would no! s possible unless the schedules changed. I certainly hope it n ; because the students should havefe opportunity to take both if they : to. Cultural arts classes a: programs provide a wealth ol if portunity for students and it does: matter what area they are n interested in, it will still be of F benefit to them when they go- life- Of course, students shouldntK-loaded shouldntK-loaded with the cultural artsfc classes that they do not have jir-for jir-for the basics. They musthavet first and foremost, but there t-place t-place for the arts and if the b , not carry it on, who will? , |