Dance the Night Away, UHS’s 2022 Dance Showcase, took the stage January 21st through January 22nd. Although organized by UHS’ Dance Company, the showcase integrates dancers from all parts of the dance department and the general student body at UHS as an annual opportunity for all students to come together and perform.

“Dance Showcase is generally focused on the ‘performance’ aspect of dance rather than simply memorizing routines,” senior Shriya Deh said. “All in all, it’s a wonderful experience in which anybody can come and celebrate their enjoyment of dance through performing.”

For many dancers, this year’s performance was certainly beyond special and unforgettable.

“Every moment of the process and performance of this show was memorable,” senior Lilli Behpoor said. “From doing all the behind the scenes work, to seeing all these dancers perform their hearts out on stage, this year was definitely an experience I will never forget.”

Besides the show, many dancers found the preparation process itself to be equally memorable.

“Seeing everything come together during dress rehearsals through lighting, figuring out costumes, and running the pieces as if we were performing them really solidified how far we’d come from auditioning, learning or choreographing pieces, and practicing regularly to clean them up,” Deh said. “Dress rehearsals made the whole process very rewarding for me and it was exciting to see everyone’s final performance.”

As gratifying as the final performances were, the dancers faced many challenges before being able to perfect their pieces.

“The greatest challenge we faced was the behind the scenes work,” Behpoor said. “A lot of us have never directed a show before so we were all going into it with not much experience, making it stressful at times.”

Although these challenges caused minor hardships for the performers, many found these moments as useful lessons to encourage growth in themselves and in the cast as a whole.

“I’ve grown both as a dancer and a person, and even as a leader,” Behpoor said. “Throughout my years in dance, each experience I went through meant something to me because I learned from it, both technically and emotionally.”

The curtain has been drawn on stage but the performers, especially the seniors whose high school years will soon come to a close, hope to carry this passion and love for dancing deep into the future.

“Dance is one of those passions that I hope I’ll never let go because of how much it’s been a part of my life,” Behpoor said.