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DODGE CITY —
The 2010 Dodge City High School floor show, "Red Carpet, Black Tie," will be presented at 7 p.m. Dec. 11 in the auditorium.
Every year, the crowded calendar at the high school makes room for an evening that lets talented students stretch out a little.
For the band, orchestra and choir, the floor show is a chance to work in different configurations and experiment with music selection.
For talented students who may not be enrolled in one of the school's performance groups, due to scheduling conflicts or the nature of their artistic interest, he floor show is a chance to surprise their peers with their personal take on artistic expression.
The show, which is a tradition that began in the 1950s, is programmed from a range of acts that show up for auditions.
"People come out of the woodwork," said Rachel Crockett, a senior who's helping organize the show. "It's always fun to see what unique talents people have that you never knew about."
The show is a project of the Student Council.
"We get to keep the profits," said Jared Stremel, a senior member of Student Council who will sing "Save the Last Dance for Me," "and we'll choose some project to do with that money. We buy things for the school. One year, we bought some trees."
Under the direction of Student Council sponsor Jim Mapel, auditions are scheduled just before Thanksgiving each year. Each chosen act rehearses on its own in preparation for production week. One rehearsal, then one dress rehearsal, then it's show time.
"We wonder every year if enough acts will show up at auditions," Mapel said Wednesday, "but they always do."
Mapel was Student Council sponsor for 16 years and was asked to continue as floor show director when he stepped down as student council sponsor two years ago.
Over his 18 years with the show, he's seen changes in what the kids are interested in. While piano solos dwindle, newer genres like hip-hop dancing become more popular.
"We're seeing the garage bands come back this year," Mapel said.
He added: "I enjoy floor show because of the fact we have so many talented students in the school and for some of them, floor show is their only chance to perform. Since we have only one practice, a dress rehearsal and then the show, there is not the pressure for it to be perfect as say, for example, the musical. And the main thing — it is fun."
The 2010 Dodge City High School floor show, "Red Carpet, Black Tie," will be presented at 7 p.m. Dec. 11 in the auditorium.
Every year, the crowded calendar at the high school makes room for an evening that lets talented students stretch out a little.
For the band, orchestra and choir, the floor show is a chance to work in different configurations and experiment with music selection.
For talented students who may not be enrolled in one of the school's performance groups, due to scheduling conflicts or the nature of their artistic interest, he floor show is a chance to surprise their peers with their personal take on artistic expression.
The show, which is a tradition that began in the 1950s, is programmed from a range of acts that show up for auditions.
"People come out of the woodwork," said Rachel Crockett, a senior who's helping organize the show. "It's always fun to see what unique talents people have that you never knew about."
The show is a project of the Student Council.
"We get to keep the profits," said Jared Stremel, a senior member of Student Council who will sing "Save the Last Dance for Me," "and we'll choose some project to do with that money. We buy things for the school. One year, we bought some trees."
Under the direction of Student Council sponsor Jim Mapel, auditions are scheduled just before Thanksgiving each year. Each chosen act rehearses on its own in preparation for production week. One rehearsal, then one dress rehearsal, then it's show time.
"We wonder every year if enough acts will show up at auditions," Mapel said Wednesday, "but they always do."
Mapel was Student Council sponsor for 16 years and was asked to continue as floor show director when he stepped down as student council sponsor two years ago.
Over his 18 years with the show, he's seen changes in what the kids are interested in. While piano solos dwindle, newer genres like hip-hop dancing become more popular.
"We're seeing the garage bands come back this year," Mapel said.
He added: "I enjoy floor show because of the fact we have so many talented students in the school and for some of them, floor show is their only chance to perform. Since we have only one practice, a dress rehearsal and then the show, there is not the pressure for it to be perfect as say, for example, the musical. And the main thing — it is fun."
On the big show
Four bands will represent the trend. Forgotten Names will offer "Black-and-Blue Prints," an original song. Chasing Tomorrow will sing "Stand in the Rain" by Superchick. On the Floor brings "Five Minutes Ago," an original rock song. And Los Hijos Legitamos will perform "La Abeja Miope" by Biazeros Musical De Durango.
The school's musical groups will be represented by "Lean on Me," the "Glee" classic sung by Class Act; a selection from Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" by the orchestra; and "Cream of the Crop" from the jazz band.
Other groups on the program will be the cheerleaders doing a Lady Gaga mix and the drill team with a La Bamba remix.
The color guard will do a routine to a medley of five songs incorporating four different pieces of color guard equipment.
And a group called The Line Ravers will dance and drum to the techno song "Sandstorm."
Seven singing acts round out the roster: Katie Smith will sing "Shine for You," a song for which she wrote both music and lyrics; Jared Stremel will sing "Save the Last Dance for Me"; and Mary Russel will sing "Never Alone."
Emilyjane and Alice Pyle will sing "Sisters," from the Irving Berlin classic "White Christmas." Matt Pflughoeft and Adrian LLamas will sing "I Swear This Time I Mean It," by Mayday Parade. Rebecca Oberley and Friyana Shah have created their own vocal and piano duet. And Cale Morrow and Talia Falcon will sing "A Stud and a Babe," from "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change."
The whole show is tied together and hosted by a team of emcees, who write their own material.
"The emcee skits will be really funny," said Justin Dewell, who will serve as one of the emcees for the show.
Royalty
Each year, a slate of candidates for floor show king and queen is nominated from among the show's participants. During rehearsals, everyone working on the show votes, and the king and queen are crowned midway through the show.
One night only
The show is at 7 p.m. Dec. 11 in the Dodge City High School auditorium.
Tickets for the show, "Red Carpet, Black Tie," will go on sale at noon Monday in the athletic office at the high school. All seats are reserved, and tickets are $5 each.
Sales will continue at the athletic office from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday until all tickets are sold.
