Blog: Costume concerns
Sydney Wilson, JagWire copy editor
April 26, 2013
As with any other stage production, costuming is key in the development of the characters. If a costume doesn’t fit a character, then the audience struggles to get into the story. However, certain costumes can cause difficulties in dancing. Tutus, while gorgeous and essential for any ballerina,... (more...)
All bands and choirs score ones at state
Sydney Wilson, JagWire Copy Editor
April 24, 2013
The music department made history when all three choirs and both bands earned one ratings, the highest, in the KSHSAA State Large Group Contest at Eudora High School on Wednesday, April 17. Both blue and silver band, as well as Jag Chorale, Jag Chorale women and Jag Chorale men earned the top ratings. Junior... (more...)
Flipside review: The Diviners
Sydney Wilson, JagWire copy editor
April 20, 2013
There is no better way to spend a rainy day than curled up with a good book. If you are into mysteries or the supernatural, Libba Bray’s new book “The Diviners” may be the perfect one for you. Set in the middle of the roaring ‘20s, the story follows 17-year-old flapper Evie O’Neill.... (more...)
Learning the languages
Sydney Wilson, JagWire copy editor
April 19, 2013
Foreign language teacher Tamara Carrell shares her knowledge on a variety of languages. How did you come to teach here? I was teaching [in Virginia] last year, but my father became ill. He lives here, so I wanted to move to be closer to him because I was told that he didn’t have much longer... (more...)
Assistant principal resigns
Sydney Wilson, JagWire Copy Editor
April 17, 2013
Associate Principal Jennifer Smith recently announced her plans of resigning at the end of the school year. Smith has been working for the school for nine years. Smith has decided to leave in order to expand her horizons in the educational community. “[I want] to allow myself to further pursue... (more...)
Blog: A rehearsal of realization
Sydney Wilson, JagWire Copy Editor
April 17, 2013
While it would be nice if everything was rainbows and daisies in ballet, that is definitely not the case. There is a lot of hard work that goes into ballet, and as in anything else, that means nothing is going to be perfect. What makes it worse is that we are supposed to be perfect, which is... (more...)
Blog: Raising the funds
Sydney Wilson, JagWire Copy Editor
April 5, 2013
After spring break, everyone starts kicking in gear for the spring show. This means a flurry of rehearsals and costume fittings and trying to get everyone into the studio at once. It also means that it’s time for fundraising. I’ve mentioned before my extreme dislike of fundraisers, but... (more...)
Boys golf team places at invitationals
Sydney Wilson, JagWire Copy Editor
April 5, 2013
The boys golf team placed seventh in the Mill Valley Jaguar Invitational on Wednesday, April 3. Sophomore Jack Casburn finished in seventh place individually after shooting a 78 at the Prairie Highlands Golf Course. Senior Weston Noyes placed 30th, Sophomores Ben Hadden and Jalen Oehlert tied... (more...)
Snow days bring extra day of school
Sydney Wilson, JagWire copy editor
March 14, 2013
Although they gave extra time for sledding, recent snow days mean that school will be in session on Friday, April 26 to make up for the missed days of school. Some students, such as junior Olivia Harding, believe that students should not have to come in on this day. “I don’t want to come... (more...)
Blog: Hard times in rehearsal
Sydney Wilson, JagWire Copy Editor
March 8, 2013
Dance isn’t always fun and games. It’s a pretty serious art form and anyone who doesn’t treat it as such usually doesn’t last long. We still always try to enjoy ourselves, because what’s the point of doing something so difficult and time consuming if you aren’t having fun doing... (more...)
Blog: Learning the part
Sydney Wilson, JagWire Copy Editor
March 1, 2013
Finding out that you are being trusted to do something challenging is both encouraging and terrifying. Encouraging in that someone obviously feels that you are capable of handling it, but terrifying in that, now that someone has put their trust in you, you really don’t want to let them down. My... (more...)
Blog: (Re)learning the steps
Sydney Wilson, JagWire copy editor
February 7, 2013
Learning ballets is always fun, but there’s something special about learning choreography that no one has done before. Knowing that what you are doing is entirely new and that you will be the first to show it to the world is a little exhilarating. Of course, it also comes with its own challenges.... (more...)
Blog: Back from the break
Sydney Wilson, JagWire copy editor
January 11, 2013
It’s always nice to come back from a break, even though it sometimes feels really awful. Having those two weeks off was rather nice, but by the end I was desperate to get back to dance. However, I had made the brilliant (read: stupid) decision to spend most of my break in a sedentary position,... (more...)
Choir hires temporary accompanist
Sydney Wilson, JagWire Copy Editor
January 11, 2013
Due to choir director Sheree Stoppel’s petition to the Board of Education on Monday, Nov. 12, a temporary accompanist position has been made available. Accompanist Kay Spikes began working with the choirs on Wednesday, Jan. 9. Stoppel has already noticed an improvement in how she is able... (more...)
Blog: Behind the scenes, part 2
Sydney Wilson, JagWire reporter
December 17, 2012
While the dancing is the focus of any ballet, part of what makes the show interesting is the costumes and props that go along with it. The help identify characters and exaggerate differences between dances, but they’re also sometimes just really cool. There are two different ways to obtain... (more...)
Controversy surrounds speculated ending of the world
Sydney Wilson, JagWire copy editor
December 12, 2012
The Mayan calendar: The Long Count Calendar was used by the Mayans as a regular calendar, but it also extended many hundreds of years into the future. The calendar ends after 13 b’ak’tuns (about 5200 years), which would be on Friday, Dec. 21. Many people think that the world will end on... (more...)
Blog: Toughing it out
Sydney Wilson, JagWire copy editor
November 30, 2012
Injuries are extraordinarily common in dance. This is largely because it is such a physical activity and it forces your body to move in ways that aren’t entirely natural. It’s actually a little surprising that dancers don’t get injured more often than they do. That being said, dancers... (more...)
Blog: Pushing through
Sydney Wilson, JagWire copy editor
November 9, 2012
The Nutcracker is the single most famous ballet in this day and age. It is a classic tale that has been associated with Christmas almost since the beginning. Every single ballet company does some version of The Nutcracker; it’s practically against the law to not do it. That being said, most... (more...)
Blog: Rinse and repeat
Sydney Wilson, JagWire copy editor
October 29, 2012
There are good and bad things about being in a small dance company. Some of the good things include getting a more personalized instuction so you can improve more quickly and getting to have more and larger dancing opportunities. However, one of the bad things is that you are often asked to... (more...)
Portal logins changed
Sydney Wilson, JagWire copy editor
October 26, 2012
The school district recently initiated a district-wide change of student usernames over the weekend of Saturday, Sept. 29. The eventual goal of this change is to give all students district email accounts. Technology Integration Coordinator Lisa Lund said that the email accounts are meant to... (more...)
Blog: Take the lead
Sydney Wilson, copy editor
October 18, 2012
I’ve had a lot of different kinds of parts throughout my years as a performer and although I’ve spoken at length about being in a corps and dancing in a group, I’d like to take this opportunity to talk about another part: the lead. Being the lead in a dance is not the same as being a... (more...)
Blog: One Elegant Evening
Sydney Wilson, JagWire copy editor
October 12, 2012
Yesterday was One Elegant Evening, the first and largest funraiser my company puts on for the entire year, and although it went pretty spectacularly, I am still glad that it’s over. One Elegant Evening is a pretty big deal. The money we get out of it helps pay for things like new costumes... (more...)
Blog: Already excited for Nutcracker
Sydney Wilson, JagWire copy editor
October 5, 2012
It’s pretty unusual that, only three weeks into a show, I have a strong opinion on how the show is going to go, but I can already tell that this year’s Nutcracker is going to be a good one. It is an interesting feeling, and definitely preferable to the overwhelming sense of dread I began... (more...)
Profile: junior foreign exchange student Marinela Koleva
Sydney Wilson, Copy editor
September 26, 2012
A foreign exchange student from Kardzhali, Bulgaria, junior Marinela Koleva has been adapting to life in America. “It was really overwhelming at the beginning, because I didn’t know anyone,” Koleva said. “But it’s been over a month now, and I’m getting used to [living... (more...)
Blog: Busy beginnings
Sydney Wilson, JagWire Copy Editor
September 14, 2012
The season has only just started, but we at the American Youth Ballet have already hit the ground running. The beginning of the year is always kind of a crazy time, just because we’re trying to get so much stuff done- getting the company ready for the new year, getting back into shape after... (more...)
Students present the play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
Sydney Wilson, reporter
May 15, 2012
Fairies filled the stage of the Little Theatre on Friday, May 4 and Saturday, May 5 as students performed Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Director Jon Copeland was unconcerned with the difficulties of doing a Shakespearian play. “Last year, [the students] did... (more...)
Last thoughts on Swan Lake
Sydney Wilson, reporter
May 8, 2012
Even though I’ve been counting down the days until Swan Lake since February, Theater Week has somehow managed to sneak up behind me and hit me across the head with a cinder block. Repeatedly. I don’t think it really started to sink in until last night, when I was in Gardner getting my swan... (more...)
The show must go on
Sydney Wilson, reporter
May 1, 2012
The last couple of weeks before the show are always stressful. So many things are coming together, and we’re introduced to a lot of new things all at once- sets, costumes, stage, lighting and sometimes even people. No matter how hard you worked before this, these last two weeks are always... (more...)
Respect the corps
Sydney Wilson, reporter
April 24, 2012
On Saturday, I was over at the house of one of the girls who plays Odette in Swan Lake (we have a split cast system and a lot of understudies in order to get as many people in as many roles as possible. There are two Odettes and two Odiles, one for each show, and they each understudy at least... (more...)
Almost there
Sydney Wilson, reporter
April 18, 2012
To me, there is almost nothing more gratifying than watching a ballet come together. Seeing something you’ve worked hard at for several months really start to take shape gives you this sort of pride in what you’re doing, and reminds you exactly what you love about it so much. We ran through... (more...)
Fundraiser frustrations
Sydney Wilson, reporter
April 12, 2012
I hate fundraisers. Unfortunately, there’s no escaping them. There isn’t a lot of money to be made in the dance world, but the costumes and sets can all be rather expensive, especially if they’re being made from scratch. The money has to be supplied either out of the company’s pocket... (more...)
New Anime Otuko club available to students
Sydney Wilson, reporter
April 5, 2012
Students interested in anime, a form of Japanese animation, now have an outlet in the form of a new club called Anime Otuko. Junior Kelsey Winscott and senior Cynthia Shi started the club because of their shared interest in anime. “[Cynthia and I] both loved anime, and other people at... (more...)
Summer intensives
Sydney Wilson, reporter
March 27, 2012
Much like many sports have summer conditioning, dance has summer intensives. These two to six week programs are usually run by professional companies or college programs, and are ment to expose student dancers to the rigors of dancing in an actual company- dancing eight hours a day, eating... (more...)
Recovery
Sydney Wilson, reporter
March 20, 2012
I spent the two weeks before spring break recovering from an injury- a sprained foot, to be exact. This was my first really serious injury; and let me tell you, I hope it’s my last. It was an awful experience, but also one that really helped me realize my own strength and endurance. I was... (more...)
An inside look at the plot of “Swan Lake”
Sydney Wilson, reporter
March 7, 2012
Swan Lake is one of the most famous ballets of all time. When people think of ballet, this is the ballet they subconsciously picture; the pristine white tutus and graceful, flighty movements have imbedded it in the public conscious as the ultimate ballet. However, few people actually know what... (more...)
Ballet hierarchy
Sydney Wilson, reporter
February 29, 2012
Just like in any other company, a ballet company has a hierarchy. What level of the hierarchy you are on is a direct measure of your skill as a dancer (at least in the style and look the company you’re in is going for). Progressing through a company is also very difficult because of the stiff... (more...)
Ballet mythbusting
Sydney Wilson, reporter
February 22, 2012
“You’re in ballet? Is it anything like Black Swan?” If you’ve ever wanted to understand the phrase, “If looks could kill,” ask a dancer that question. It’s a very quick way to make enemies, but it also brings up a couple points about how ballet and the arts are... (more...)
Little Swans of Horror
Sydney Wilson, reporter
February 7, 2012
Most people know next to nothing about ballet. However, there is one dance that even the clueless will usually recognize: the Four Little Swans dance from Swan Lake. Also known as the Dance of the Cygnets, this dance is often what jumps to mind when people think about ballet. The beautiful... (more...)
Injuries in dance
Sydney Wilson, reporter
January 31, 2012
People who participate in any type of physical activity are prone to injury, and dance is no exception. Dance, and especially ballet, isn’t natural for the body, and it therefore puts a lot of strain on the muscles. The threat isn’t just for muscles, though, nor is it the biggest- tendons... (more...)
Sometimes dancers have to laugh it up
Sydney Wilson, reporter
January 25, 2012
Dancers often have to do challenging things. We have to lift and hold our legs up by our faces, jump eight feet in the air, and turn around 20 times. However, sometimes the hardest thing for a dancer to do is not these physical feats, but having to go out on stage and look ridiculous. I’ve... (more...)
Ready, set, go
Sydney Wilson, reporter
January 18, 2012
Nutcracker is over, and you’ve just gotten back from an absurdly long break. You’re sore and exhausted, and starting to question why you’re doing this whole ballet thing to begin with. So what do you do? You start learning a new ballet, of course. Generally, when we’re about to start... (more...)
Break time from dance leaves void
Sydney Wilson, reporter
January 10, 2012
Dancers do not like missing class. Class is the most important part of dance training, even more so than performances. Auditions (which are what will get dancers jobs and performance opportunities) are always classes. Class is how we stay in shape, and where we push ourselves to improve. Because... (more...)
New nurses adjust to handling daily issues faced by students
Sydney Wilson, reporter
December 15, 2011
School nurse Andrea Allison sits in a quiet office, working on reports on Monday, Dec. 12. “It’s finals, so people are taking advantage of the time to study. It’s not too busy today,” Allison said. It isn’t always like this in the nurse’s office, however. “There may... (more...)
Theater week- technical rehearsal
Sydney Wilson, reporter
December 9, 2011
Technical rehearsals are really the main reason we spend so much time in the theater. There’s no way to practice things like falling snow, or a growing tree, or even simple stage lighting in the classroom. Tech rehearsal is the time when the show really starts coming together. The best part... (more...)
Theater Week- Spacing
Sydney Wilson, reporter
December 9, 2011
The best thing about spacing is that you don’t really have to do anything. The worst thing about it is that you don’t get to do anything. Spacing is simply moving the dancing from the classroom to the stage. We spend the entire first day in the theater making sure we go to the right spot... (more...)
Theater week
Sydney Wilson, reporter
December 6, 2011
It’s time. After almost five months of hard work and long rehearsals, it’s time to show everyone what you can do. Welcome to the longest, sorest, most stressful and yet most fun week of your life. Welcome to Theater Week. One wouldn’t think that moving into the theater would be that difficult,... (more...)
Character chat
Sydney Wilson, reporter
November 29, 2011
Contrary to popular belief, remembering choreography is not the most important task a dancer has during a ballet. While doing the correct steps in the right order is a big part of what we have to do, putting on a good performance is crucial, and the only way to do that is with performance quality. Performance... (more...)
Casting call
Sydney Wilson, reporter
November 15, 2011
Casting is one of the most important tasks for a director in a ballet. From the masses of eager dancers, one must piece together a coherent cast list. Each dancer will be judged for their best ability in order to fit them for the perfect part. Except when someone leaves the company a month... (more...)
What’s the pointe?
Sydney Wilson, reporter
November 8, 2011
Pointe shoes are the ultimate symbol of a ballet dancer. The image of someone standing on their toes inspires awe, or at least pain, in every mind. Naturally, I get a lot of questions about pointe shoes, and since I’m going through extreme shoe drama (more on that later), I figured that now... (more...)
Nutcracker nightmares
Sydney Wilson, reporter
November 1, 2011
I’m here to tell you about my life– specifically, my life as a dancer. I’ve been dancing for over nine years. I started off as a competition dancer, but I’ve recently made the switch to a ballet school. Through hard work and countless hours of rehearsal, I have become a senior company... (more...)
Organization helps breast cancer survivors return to daily life
Sydney Wilson, reporter
October 20, 2011
Back in the Swing is celebrating the start of its second decade with “Cause for Celebration,” a series of fundraising parties being held all around the Kansas City area. Back in the Swing, a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to helping breast cancer survivors, was founded... (more...)
KCMO accreditation lost
Sydney Wilson, reporter
October 20, 2011
The Kansas City, MO school district is losing its accredidation on Jan. 1, 2012. This isn’t the first time the disrtict has lost accredidation. Interim superintendent Dr. R. Stephen Green believes the school can overcome this obstacle. ”Our district now faces a critical test of... (more...)
Homecoming game has largest attendance yet
Sydney Wilson, reporter
October 14, 2011
Those who attended the Homecoming football game experienced what may have been the largest crowd at Mill Valley High School. There weren’t enough seats for all of the people who attended. The amount of cash raised at the gate was almost 30 percent larger than the previous largest. This does... (more...)
Choir donations exceed expectations
Sydney Wilson, reporter
October 5, 2011
The choir raised over $350 at its concert on Monday, Oct. 3. The money was being raised to buy music for the choir at Joplin High School. Vocal music teacher Sheree Stoppel is pleased with how much money was raised from the over 300 attendents. “It went well,” Stoppel said. “This... (more...)
Choir concert donations to benefit Joplin
Sydney Wilson, reporter
September 29, 2011
The school choir is singing for Joplin at their next concert. They are using the opportunity to raise funds for music for Joplin High School’s choir department. There will be boxes for people to place donations in at the beginning and end of the concert. The concert takes place on Monday,... (more...)
School hosts Arrive Alive
Sydney Wilson, reporter
September 22, 2011
jagPRIDE hosted Arrive Alive DUI/Texting Prevention Program on Friday, Sept. 16 to educate students on the dangers of drunk and distracted driving. Behind the senior café, students were able to get behind the wheel of a real car hooked up to a simulator to experience driving distracted. Students... (more...)
New center gives distinctive shape to Kansas City arts
Sydney Wilson, reporter
September 22, 2011
What began as a sketch on a napkin has become a real home for the arts in downtown Kansas City. After 16 years of preparation, the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts celebrated its grand opening Thursday, Sept. 16. Already on the schedule is a wide variety of productions from the center’s... (more...)