Lights shimmered across the stage and reflected off of the sequins that decorated her outfit. Her movements were as graceful as a ribbon in the wind and her feet so quiet, that only the keys of a piano and her breath could be heard. The audience was so engulfed with the emotion of the routine that it brought tears to the edge of their eyes.

  It was the first dance concert in the Combs Performing Arts Center; two shows for two nights. But though it was the first, it was also the last for the senior dancers.

  “I feel sad, because there are so many good memories of dance and it’s ending. But I’m kind of happy too because I get to take this experience into like, a new world,” senior intermediate dancer Myica Jones said.

  Jones performed a duet with sophomore advanced dancer Breanna Varley on Friday night.

  “We put the entire dance together in three days, but we still got in, so that was very emotional to know that it was my last dance with my best friend,” Jones said.

  Jones was not the only one to get emotional after the performance, Varley also struggled with the thought of losing her dance partner.

  “It hit me really hard, because she was always there to help me.” Varley said. “The dance was about Myica and how even though she’s leaving high school, she’ll still be able to help me.”

  Though Jones is leaving high school, she is getting a new beginning in college.

  The concert, titled “New Beginnings,” featured a variety of choreography styles ranging from Contemporary and Ballet, to Hip Hop and Jazz, that all had some connection to a new beginning.

  But that wasn’t all, the Friday performance featured two international. Both were Bollywood and consisted of fast, quick movements to Indian songs. One was a solo, performed by intermediate dancer, sophomore Naina Parshotam. The other was a group dance choreographed by Parshotam and sophomore Naryah Lipford that was performed by the fourth hour intermediate class.

  It was the first international group dance performed by CHS dancers.

  “We went through some ups and downs with choreographing the dance, but it was mostly Naina who choreographed it. I kinda just helped along,” Lipford said.

  The dancers learned a new style of movement in two weeks. That alone is surprising, but many RUSH Dancers had to perform more than 10 dances a night.

  “I feel like the day of concert is so much more fun and time consuming,” RUSH member Jade Kuykendall said. “But the time teaching it makes it harder for people to learn it, because people start getting frustrated.”

  Even though there was frustration and stress, the dance concert ended fantastically.

  “If I could say anything to other dancers that are trying to get into RUSH, I’d say to be confident,” Kuykendall said. “As long as you have that confidence, I think you’ll be fine.”