Nearly 200 San Benito High School dance students are ready to stomp out bullying, and they would like others to join them.
Beginning on Thursday, May 4 and extending through Saturday, May 6, the students will be performing in “Stand Up,” this year’s annual Spring Dance Concert series that is “centered on raising awareness of bullying and inspiring others to take a stand against it,” according to a school-wide email sent by SBHS dance instructor, Heather Nichols.
Held in the school’s auditorium, “Stand Up,” begins at 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and 4 p.m. on Saturday.
In an email to BenitoLink, Nichols explained that she wanted a theme “that was not only entertaining, but meaningful,” adding that bullying comes in various forms and affects the school and the “community at large.”
“Stand Up” will feature students of varying abilities, who are enrolled in Nichols’ dance courses and who participate in one of the school’s, three dance clubs.
Some of the choreography is the result of teacher-student collaboration, Nichols said.
SBHS sophomore and dance student, Maya Flores, explained in an interview with BenitoLink that in the opening dance number students “will express the way people feel who are bullied.”
Mirrors that reflect the impact that bullying has one’s self-confidence and desks that underscore the way bullying affects the learning environment are incorporated as props in some routines.
Several different dance styles and genres will be showcased through large group, duet, and solo performances, Nichols said in her email.
The teacher hopes that “Stand Up” inspires its audiences to be catalysts for positive change, both for themselves and others.
Flores, Nichols’ student of two years, has taken her instructor’s lessons to heart.
“We [the dancers] are all sending a message to stand up, not just for yourself but for others, too,” the 10th-grader said.
More information:
Performance location: SBHS auditorium
Dates and times: Thurs., May 4 @ 7 p.m.; Fri., May 5 @ 7 p.m.; Sat., May 6 @ 4 p.m. Doors open 30 minutes prior.
Ticket prices: Pre-sale tickets are available from the SBHS Student Payment Center: $5 — students w/ASB card, children 2-12, and senior citizens; $6 — students without ASB; $8 — adults. All tickets will be sold at the door for $10.
Contact Heather Nichols for additional information by email at hnichols@sbhsd.k12.ca.us.