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Dancers Achieve ‘Body Awareness’Students Pay Their Dues for Theatre LifeBy TERRI ANDERSON “Together now! Watch me! Watch the lines! Watch the mirror!”Senior high theatre instructor John Steele moves rhythmically to a modern, “blues-type” number as he leads a group of 24 teenagers—12 boys and 12 girls—in an innovative, body awareness dance class that may be the only one of its kind in the state The Plano Senior High School actors and actresses, chosen after auditions from a field of 63 students, devote 20 hours a week to learning more about their bodies and the ways they should move on stage.See more photos on page three.“This is a pilot program. To our knowledge, dance is not offered in any other high school in the state,” explained Steele. “The class requires one hour every day and three hours every night, but you just have to pay your dues to be an actor.”Actors and actresses must have agility, the professional actor and dancer added. His pilot dance class at PSHS “tries to put 10 years of training into four months” in an effort to give the students that essential agility.“We’re trying to have the best possible (drama) program, and we realize how important dance is,” Steele noted. “They’re developing a body awareness. They still don’t look like professional dancers, but that’s not our aim.”Preparing for “Kaleidoscope ’78,” an avant-garde, multi-media theatrical production, the 24 dancers are literally working night and day trying to fit the strenuous dancepractices into already busy schedules which include part time jobs, regular schoolwork and, during the recent lengthy football season, practicing for the state playoff games.Of the 24 students, only a few aspire to stardom in the professional theatrical world. The dance class, however, is taught as if every student planned to major in theatre arts in college.“This is such good training for them,” said the instructor. “But they enjoy this too. They have a lot of fun.” “The work is worth it to me,” claimed dance co-captain Brandon King “You’re cleaning up your muscles. It’s not like you can go and lift big things, but you’re toning up.” King said his coaches on the football team were interested in the dance class. He was quick to add that none of the football players teased him about his dancing or “put it down.”“Lots of athletes don’t treat it lightly,” he said. “They know it’s a lot of work.Steele agreed with his pupil, pointing out that “guys always dance like men and women always dance like women.“Kaleidoscope ’78” is the first production of its kind ever undertaken by the PSHS theatre department. The original, student-written script tells stories through dance from the viewpoints of the actors and actresses“It will be everything you can put into a theatrical production,” said Steele “Anything we can do in the theatre to entertain you will be in‘Kaleidoscope,’ but it won’t be at all like a dance recital.”The production, to be presented Feb. 9-11, will be choreographed by Steele, who said he would “leave holes” in the dancing so the students could add what they wanted to addNine different numbers make up the first half of “Kaleidoscope ’78” while the second part consists of a salute to the glamorous theatrical comedy of the vaudevillian days.Steele, co-captains Brandon King and Camille Johnson, assistanttechnical director Tim Wilson and the rest of the dance crew are especially excited about a new stage floor, purchased with box office receipts from “Godspell” just in time for the dance production.The theatre program is one of veryfew high school departments which are financially self supporting John Steele hopes that the box office receipts from the Feb 9-11 run of “Kaleidoscope ’78” will help the department continue offering in novative programs such as the dance class in order to “have the best possible program. ”•*,' * v2Jit* c.Dance is essential to actors and actresses who wish to develop agility on stage, says Plano Senior High School theatre instructor John Steele (third from left, front row). His innovative dance class at the senior high is probably the only such instruction offered in the state. Steele’s 24 students devote 20 hours a week—onehour during school and three hours each week night—to developing an awareness about their bodies. The students are currently rehearsing for an avant-garde production entitled “Kaleidoscope ’78” to be presented in February. (Staff photo bv Mike Newman).
Newspaper Details
Plano Daily Star Courier
Plano, Texas, US
Wed, Dec 28, 1977
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Jennifer M.
USA 10 Feb 2025
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