The lights were dimmed, the music prepped – and the students and staff glittered. (Especially the disco outfits).

Such was the scene at Springdale Job Corps on Thursday, April 26th, for the annual “Dancing with the Stars” event.

Students are paired with staff and each group is randomly assigned a genre of dance, to which they must create a routine using their own ingenuity as well as the assistance of other staff, students, and instructional videos. They must create the theme by selecting their own song as well as costuming and any props they may use.

MDM Productions, a local sound/lighting company, provided the sound mixing and lighting support for the event.

Five groups entered the competition, dancing the foxtrot, the waltz, interpretive dance, disco and salsa. Contestants were judged by style, creativity and use of technical dance steps. To keep with the spirit of the event, three judges were consulted after every performance and literature instructor Michael Schultz, who emceed the event, interviewed each pair after their performance to gauge their interpretation and get their feedback.

Patrick Willis, career counselor at Springdale, commented it was “so different performing with the lighting effects” and his partner, auto body student at Springdale, Christien Hiland, added, “I felt like our performance was good – that all of our practice showed! It was busy though; we had to plan out my work based learning schedule in between!”

Judges were Kandi McHenry, math instructor at Springdale, Bob Wright, Human Resources Director at Springdale, and guest judge Nancy Pyburn, former center director of Tongue Point Job Corps in Astoria, Oregon.

The event was a fundraiser for student government association at Springdale, and students and staff alike were encouraged to purchase tickets for $1 to vote on their favorite. Each student was issued one free ticket for voting.
Students and staff eagerly await the results to be tallied, as the judges input as well as the students votes will be compiled and announced on Monday, April 30th at the weekly meeting for all staff and students at Springdale.
Despite the competition, all students and staff had a blast – and it showed. Between the sparkles, the smiles, the makeup, and shockingly, a little bit of Copacabana, the contestants showed the crowd they had what it takes to go that extra mile.

For more information on Chugach World Services, Inc. please visit www.chugach-ak.com.
For more information on Management & Training Corporation please visit www.mtctrains.com.
For more information on the National Job Corps Association please visit www.njcaweb.org.
For more information, contact:  Asha Aiello  – Business & Community Liaison
(503) 695-2254 (ext. 244) or aiello.asha@jobcorps.org