Last week, our dancers took the stage again ready to compete for gold, but this time their teammates looked a little different. On November 19th, a select couple of students, teachers, coaches, and administrators got the opportunity to dance alongside the Silver Stars as a way of raising money for their season. This creative fundraiser was to help support the dancers as they travel to Orlando, Florida for Nationals in just a few months. Dance coach Jodi Northcut praises the success of this event.
“The fundraiser was successful!” Northcut said. “We ended up raising quite a bit of money for the girls to go to Nationals.”
Not only was there a small cost for an entry ticket, there was also a cost to vote for the champion as well as some silent auction tickets that were for sale. With a huge turn out the team was able to raise over $5,000 as they head to Florida at the end of January. While the team was proud of how much money was raised, they felt even prouder seeing how many people came out to support them. Senior Silver Star Mallory O’Neal’s favorite memory of the night was simply seeing how many people came to watch.
“I just loved seeing everyone come out and support our team,” O’Neal said. “Because, you know, sometimes dance and cheer get overlooked, and so this was really nice.”
With the turnout being highly appreciated, Northcut did play a small role in making sure there would be a strong support system while selecting the participants.
“We looked for people that we thought had good personalities who would go out there and try but that would also have groups of people that would come and support them,” Northcut said.
In order to have a successful event, people from all different positions were asked to participate in the first ‘Dancing With the Stars’ event. One is the Associate Superintendent of Springdale Public Schools, Shannon Tisher, a former Dixie Belle at Southside High School.
“My favorite part of the competition was having the opportunity to support the Silver Stars and to dance again,” Tisher said. “When I was growing up I did dance, cheer, and gymnastics. I really loved to dance.”
With some previous dance experience, her and her partner, Emma Skiles ended up placing 3rd overall for their performance. Tisher mentioned that they worked great together and had a plan for how they were going to practice and execute their jazz dance.
“She sent me a video of the first half of the dance, so I could practice at home. After that we met in person to choreograph the second half of the dance and practiced together,” Tisher said. “We worked really well together to share ideas, and she helped me clean up some of the moves and steps.”
While most of the pairs had to find time to meet up and practice, one pair had the advantage of being in the same home. Sophomore dancer Kaiylnn Cornelison was partnered with her older brother Luke Cornelison.
“We practiced our dance at the house a lot,” Luke said. “We put in about two hours.”
With the advantage of close proximity, the siblings said they made good memories through this process of practicing together.
“It was a lot of fun!” Kailynn said. “Lots of laughing and goofing around.”
Other participants like Junior Cole Ryerson, had the opportunity to dance with his good friend, Silver Star Addison Hickman. The duo had high hopes for their performance not only because of skill, but also because of the strong friendship they share.
“We have been great friends since seventh grade, we actually both won an award that year that said ‘most likely to be on So You Think You Can Dance,’” Ryerson said.
With partners that varied from strangers, to siblings, to best friends, all the groups put on a unique, entertaining show for the audience. A special member in the audience that night, Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse, came out to show his support of the team.
“I thought it was awesome to have the mayor there,” Northcut said. “He originally was going to be a participant in a dance and he ended up traveling the week before when they taught their dances. So he just told me, ‘I can’t dance, but I would love to come and support and be a face.’”
Although unable to perform, Sprouse attended the event and even said a few words before the evening began.
“It was really cool to have that, it felt very community-oriented,” Northcut said.
According to the Stars, the participants, and the audience, the night was a complete success in both the fundraising aspect and the community aspect. O’Neal and her partner, Rowan Graham were awarded the trophy at the end of the night for their hip-hop dance. Looking towards the future, Northcut has already had students and staff members asking to be a part of next year’s event.
“I hope they do it again next year,” Tisher said. “And I know the show will be even bigger next time!”