'We really feed off of our audience': LCI dance students ready to perform in front of a crowd following two-year hiatus

Students at the Lethbridge Collegiate Institute are preparing for their first live performance in about two years.

For the first time in over two years, the Lethbridge Collegiate Institute's Arts Dance Academy students are getting ready to perform in front of a live audience.

Eighty students will be performing a variety of dances from ballet, contemporary, hip-hop, modern, tap, house and breaking in just a little over a week.

The LCI’s arts academy dance production "Awakening" isn't just about the transformative power of dance, it also embodies the joy of coming back to live theatre.

“We’ve all been working so hard, we've been going after school, we’ve been practicing during lunch breaks, and we just really want to make this show the best for coming back,” said Grade 10 dance student Sierra Heshka.

“And really, the show is going to be amazing.”

Confidence amongst the performers appears to be running high, despite the first performance just 11 days away.

“We’re feeling pretty good, and we’re confident in our dances,” said Heshka.“Yeah, we might have a little bit of nerves, but we’re such a confident group.”

Students have been rehearsing for the show since September. They plan on coming out on stage with some extra jump in their steps now that they have a live audience.

“We haven't been able to actually perform on stage in a while, and we really feed off of our audience. If they're clapping, we're going harder, if they're crying, we're going harder, like, we really make it better with our audience,” said Heshka.

For students who are set to graduate this year, performing in front of a packed house makes these shows even more significant.

“It’s very sentimental to me,” said graduating dance student Taylor Wichers.

“It’s almost like my going away show, and I’m very thankful that I could do it in person. We did have to push our show from February to March, just because of COVID so things have just been so up in the air, and its a little nerve wracking but I’m definitely excited.”

In her seven years of teaching, the students' dance instructor said there has never been this much excitement around a performance.

“It is incredibly hype, and we're incredibly excited to have a live audience again,” said LCI Arts Academy dance directorGeordan Olson.

“We were starved of a live audience for two full years, and we didn't see it coming obviously, and so, the fact that were going to be on a stage with a full house, is a dream come true.”

Olson said her students are more like family. She builds strong relationships with them during their time at LCI, so when it comes to their final performances, it leaves her feeling emotional.

“I train my students from Grade 9 to Grade 12, so by the time they're in Grade 12, and we spend every single day, once a day together for four years, and so by the time they leave, they're like my other children,” said Olson.

“They’re very special to me, and I’m always sad to see them go at the end of the year.”

The performances will be held at the Yates Memorial Centre on March 13 and 14, and tickets are available for purchase online by clicking here.