CASA from a Performer’s View!

IMSA holds four culture shows throughout the school year. This year, October was Alma Latina’s (ALMA) turn to shine, with the showing of Casa de Alma – or home in Spanish – displaying Hispanic heritage throughout the student body. 

Casa is held on Friday, October 10th, and Saturday, October 11. Both shows include the same dances. However, October 10th brings in students to come and watch, while October 11th brings in parents.

Casa, similar to the other culture shows, has many different groups of dances. It has one for each grade, sophomore dance, junior dance, etc. However, it also includes dances from the Hispanic culture, eg. Bachata. One more dance group that is included in every culture show throughout the year is known as Modern. 

In many IMSA students’ eyes, modern is seen to be the “best” dance. Dancers have to audition to be a part of the group because it includes choreography that is not as simple as the other dances. 

Being a part of Sophomore dance allowed me to capture some culture of the Hispanic heritage through the music that is being performed. However, I believe that a lot more is shown through classical Hispanic dances. Therefore, it’s important to incorporate dances that capture the culture’s diversity.

The culture shows allow students to express themselves through their dances and spend time with their friends, practicing for the big nights. Long hours of practice time, relearning forgotten choreography, and getting nitpicked on hand and foot placement are big players in the time that leads up to performance night. 

Many students describe the time as “a mess until performance day.”

Sometimes it can be a mess until the big night, with all the uncommitted dancers who just dance for fun, the students who don’t attend practices, and the people who only do it for their friends. But at the end of the day, students can come together and create a show that displays amusement and culture for the rest of the student body and their parents.

The IMSA student body is filled with vast amounts of culture and diversity due to students’ ethnicity, race, religion, sexuality, and gender preferences. The culture shows are one of the IMSA students’ ways of letting people know that they celebrate and honor different customs and traditions through dances.