IHS performs 15th annual Motown show
Published 1:35 pm Thursday, February 28, 2019
IHS fourth-grade students perform Motown. Photos by KEITH MCCOY
By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer
Isabella High School fourth-grade students showed off their choreography and dancing skills in the annual Motown performance.
This was the first year that students have created their own dance routines.
Students Anabella Collins, Abril Mendez, Kylee Till and Jeslyn Wilson performed in “Dancing in the Street” by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas.
Anabella said the low sway in the dance routine was her favorite part.
The dance moves for the song were decided by the girls. Each brought their ideas, and they combined them for the routine.
“I enjoyed that we got to work together … and be with our friends,” Abril said.
Jeslyn also said she enjoyed performing with her friends in the song.
The number of practices a week increased as the performance drew closer.
Anabella said she practiced a lot at home and every chance she could while at school.
Students were able to choose who they were in a song with.
“It was challenging for me to get up on stage and do it in front of an audience,” Jeslyn said.
Abril said her sister had been in Motown when she was in fourth grade, so Abril had heard some of the songs.
“That’s why I wanted to get involved,” Abril said.
Costumes were chosen from ones the school had used previous years.
“One challenge we had was with costumes because it was hard to find enough of one costume,” Anabella said.
Colten Leonard and Brady Franklin performed in “I Feel Good” by James Brown.
“It was really fun to do the dance moves,” Colten said.
His favorite dance move was “The Bee’s Knees,” where they crossed their arms over their knees and shuffled their hands from side-to-side.
Colten said his team looked the song up on YouTube and found a dance routine by the original artist. This was what they used for their choreography.
Brady also performed in “Ain’t too Proud to Beg” by The Temptations.
He said he enjoyed “working together and jiving, dancing and having fun” while preparing for the show.
“We just really worked together and combine our ideas,” Brady said.
Students performed the show three times on Feb. 26.
The performance highlights famous songs by Black artists from the Motown era and beyond.
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Photos available for purchase here.
