Bright lights, sparkly costumes, and fancy backdrops: it’s time for Extravaganza. Extravaganza is a spectacle of dance routines primarily performed by the Pacesetters and Southettes, but also includes Southlanders, Cheer and Drumline.
“It’s kind of like a showcase of everything that we’ve done o
The event is April 26 and 27 in the auditorium at Shawnee Mission South. Tickets for students are $5, for adults $7, and for military personnel who come with ID $5. Pacesetters and Southettes will be selling tickets in advance, and they will be sold at the door as well.
This year’s theme, “Soundtrack of Our Lives”, features songs pulled from movie soundtracks or songs that mean something to the performers.
“We work together to make up the dances and it’s pretty much all us that do it,” junior Pacesetter Megan Mitchell said.
The students have been working since the beginning of the second semester to prepare for this show. “It takes so much work,” Maybee said. “Every single year there’s always something that hasn’t gotten done because there just never seems to be enough time.”
Extravaganza holds a lot of tradition, but after over 30 years, one will be broken. This year, due to lack of participation, there will be no Faculty Dance, a performance in which teachers and other faculty members perform on stage. “When I first started it we would have 15 to 20 teachers participate,” choreographer and social science teacher Jackie Turner said, “but that has changed.”
Turner said that the faculty members that would participate would put in hours of practice and always gave a great performance. “It’s a shame this tradition has to end, but hopefully we’ll see a renewed interest next year and be able to bring it back,” Turner said.
By: Hanan El Shoubaki
