For many years, Dance Body has been a prominent feature of Community High. This fall, things have changed drastically as the Dance Body members continue to adjust to a new instructor, Connie Trahar.

Last year, Dance Body was extremely disorganized due to many subs and inconsistencies. “Literally, we would go to class sometimes, there wouldn’t be a teacher, we would just sit around and do homework or whatever because Deborah was teaching but she would be absent a lot because of sickness,” said sophomore Adina Nadler. It wasn’t until the long-term sub, Alison Hurd, arrived that things began to fall back into place.  Even though the class improved without a permanent teacher, student dancers were forced to take initiative with class and performances.

Trahar understands the challenges dancers have faced, and hopes to turn

things around, “I feel bad for them that they have had a lot of subs because it can be difficult, just not consistency, and it can get confusing, like the message of what you want to do with  Dance Body.  It can be confusing as to what is expected of them, and then just opportunities. I want to be consistent with them and try to have as many opportunities with them as possible, and give them a lot of chances to succeed in dance,” she said.

Despite the difficulties Dance Body has faced, Trahar is very motivated and excited to teach.  “It’s really nice, it’s a great group of people.  I love that they come from diverse backgrounds of dance, so that makes it interesting and fun,” she said. Trahar is also very happy with how the students have handled their past challenges, “I think the students have done a great job with being motivated to take the initiative and make sure the performances come together and things like that. I’m really proud of them that they did that and that they are motivated,” Trahar said.

Students appreciate the organization Trahar has brought to Dance Body. “This year, we have a new teacher, she is more classically trained, and again, it is way more organized.  I do like it because I feel like it’s an actual class, instead of last year which was a lot of sitting around,” said Nadler.

Along with a new teacher, Dance Body has also experienced some logistical changes. The former multi-block class has been separated into two different classes. The original Dance Body class is taught by Trahar, and is geared towards the performances. The other Dance Body option is a CR, taught by student dancers Lizzie Rolston and Chelsea Cendrowski. “I’ve heard it’s really fun because Chelsea and Lizzie teach it and they’re both really amazing dancers. It looks really fun and hard, I wish I had signed up for it because it is just an extra dance class,” said Nadler. Trahar thinks it is a great way for the students to get extra practice, “I believe there are a bunch of students in my class that take the CR, which can be helpful because they can break down things and work on other things in the CR class that maybe they just didn’t have time to in my class,” she said.

Students like Trahar’s experience and passion for dance. She also has great goals for Dance Body. “This year, I would like to see them grow even more from where we are starting at the beginning of the year, and each of them grow individually and become great artists.”