Junior Amanda Menes performed in a showcase of The Elite Dance Teams at the Paul Shagoian Theater at Clovis North High School, Feb. 11. This showcase featured students from The Dance Studio of Fresno and The Dance Studio 2. There was a show at 4 p.m. in addition to a 7 p.m. show, with Menes performing at both.

The featured dancers came from a variety of age groups and presented different genres of dance. The dancers wore costumes and used props appropriate for the song they were performing. For example, in a performance of “Splish Splash” by a group of six and seven year olds, the dancers wore costumes that looked like towels and used cut-outs of bathtubs as props. In a performance called “Time,” the dancers used an hourglass as a prop.

In the 4 p.m. show, Menes was featured in three pieces: “Come Home,” “Addicted to Sound,” and “The Glamorous Life.” At the 7 p.m. show, Menes was featured in two pieces: “Killing Me Softly” and “Wonderland.”

Menes enjoyed performing the most in “Addicted to Sound” because the performance was in her favorite style of dance. She also liked the dance because of its uniqueness.

“‘Addicted to Sound’ was probably my favorite performance just because I like contemporary, and that’s my favorite style,” Menes said. “It’s also just kind of different and odd.”

Menes feels confident about her performance, noting that she was able to fix the mistakes she had made in practice. She believes she did a good job in portraying her character.

“I feel pretty good about my performances,” Menes said. “I fixed all the corrections that my director told me to fix, and I felt like I was showing the audience my true character.”

Sophomore Ashley Garcia attended the performance to support her six year old sister, Matea, who also performed in the showcase. Garcia was very impressed with all of the performers.

“I thought all of them performed very well,” Garcia said. “I really like the tap dancing a lot and seeing how talented they all are. I think it’s good to get kids going at a young age. It looks like they really get into the music and they kind of just lose themselves. It’s cool to see.”

Garcia also believes Menes performed exceptionally throughout the showcase and was impressed with her dance skills.

“Amanda danced really well,” Garcia said. “I’ve seen her perform before, since she and my sister usually perform at the same events. She’s a great dancer, and I’m really impressed with her.”

Social Science teacher Jordana Siebert also attended the event and enjoyed seeing Menes’ passion for something outside of school.

“I had never seen her dance before; she had just told me about it,” Siebert said. “I had been wanting to go, and it was really cool to see her as kind of a star of the show in some of the elite performances. I thought the performances were awesome; they were all very different. It was really cool to see her in her element. She really came to life and it was cool as her teacher to know how much work she’s putting into something outside of school. I loved getting to see her passion in it.”

For more news, read the Feb. 8 article, NOTS tickets deadline approaches (VIDEO).