On the the final day of homecoming week, five senior guys will battle it out for the title at the king pageant, Oct. 16. After other activities, contests and videos, the real challenge begins: the king dance.
The king dance, one of the arguably most anticipated of the week-long festivities, sets the stage for the king nominees: Tyler Duerr, Tyler Revis, Landon Martens, Tim Miller and Doug Daniel, to vie for votes by providing the most entertaining performance.
The dance, performed twice during the pageant at about 7 minutes long, is choreographed by alumni Natalie McCallum and John Dinsdale, ’09 along with other senior helpers. The nominees held their first practice Oct. 6.
Although the nominees are involved in other activities such as football and cross country, they say they are still dedicated to perfecting their part in the dance.
“My job is basically to help teach dance moves to the nominees with the other choreographers such as Kayla Haydock [’10].” said choreography assistant Julio Ibarra, ’10. “The practices are great because everyone is having fun and is dedicated to learning all the dance moves.”
According to Duerr, practice is key for the nominees to insure their success, especially when attempting difficult dance moves.
“There is this one move that we all do that I am afraid that we will mess up on,” Duerr said. “However, I think that we can pull it off and just have fun. I think all the practicing will be worth it because it’s exciting to be able to participate in what was always one of the funniest parts of the year for me as an underclassman.”
While practicing for the dance, candidates say they are anticipating the event, appreciating the chance to take a part in a long-standing tradition, while showing their dancing skills in front of the school.
“I am really excited to perform in front of the school because I feel comfortable dancing in front of everybody,” said Tyler Revis, ’10. “If I mess up, I think it will be funny so I am not nervous.”
The king dance is kept a secret until performed, so the group songs and each candidates’ “solo” will be unpredictable. Students will vote for their choice of king at lunch following the pageant, with the winner announced later in the day.
The much-loved tradition holds many unknowns for freshmen.
“I have never been to the king dance before so I am not sure what to expect,” Katie Baker-Pauls, ’13, said. “I am pretty sure it’ll be funny watching the guys trying to dance. Since I do not know any of the nominees, I will vote for the funniest.”
For more information about homecoming and past king pageants, read the Oct. 6 article, Homecoming redefines Disneyland themes or the Oct. 3, 2008 article, Dance crowns homecoming king.
To watch the 2008 king dance, go the video archive page.
