The Christmas music blares, feathers from red dresses fly in the air and wide, red smiles stretch across each face as the Silver Spurs squeeze in last minute practice before their Holiday Dancing and Dessert show. When the practice dance finishes, the team stands up and moves to the mirrors for touch-ups to their hair and makeup before the performance.
Once ready, the girls leave the dance room and walk over to the cafeteria. Inside, A Step In Time dance studio, the Nancy Neal Elementary Choir and parents waited for the show to start. While the families of the performers sat at the tables eating desserts, the Silver Spurs stood to the side and practiced their dances, making sure they would be perfect for the show.
“Alright ladies,” the team’s personal trainer, Tori Jaye Evans, said as the Silver Spurs gathered around her. “So we don’t have any of your pretty faces running into these pillars, or any kicking or running into each other, we are going to move to the stage.”
With the drill team director, Brooke Parlin, in the hospital for high stress levels, Jaye and the president of the booster club, Joanne Baylis, had to take charge of the night’s event. The team originally planned to have their show at the Center for Performing Arts, but with the venue already booked for the month, they had to perform at Legacy.
The girls murmured their complaints: this stage is really small, I keep running into the girl next to me, the curtain is in the way, you can’t see me now, I keep hitting the set behind this curtain. The girls continue to mention the faults, but the show went on.
Despite the problems, the dancers manage to perform the dances smoothly and make the night a success. Performers who were not dancing would stand to the side of the stage and hold the curtains back so every performer could be visible. Parlin got to watch the show through Facetime with her mother who sat in the audience.
“You were all wonderful,” Parlin said when she saw the girls the next day. “The dances looked great, everyone looked beautiful, and I am so proud of all of you. Thank you all, Ms. Jaye and Mrs. Baylis for making this night a success.”
