Community children ranging anywhere from kindergarten to eleventh grade were able to be a part of the Red Rhythm experience through the Mini and Junior Dance Clinics which allowed participants to learn a dance with a Red Rhythm mentor, which they performed for their parents at the end of the clinic and is being showcased to the public during Friday’s basketball games versus Independence High School at The Nest.
“It’s a good opportunity for participants because it really gets them to see what a usual class or practice looks like on Red Rhythm,” sophomore Red Rhythm manager Ava Clerkin said. “They can decide if the style of dancing and routine we have is something that they would enjoy to do in high school.”
The clinic helped potential future Red Rhythm dancers get acquainted with those on the team before they even join, which can ease the transition from middle school to high school.
“You can get involved with the team even really young, and you just get to look forward to doing it in high school,” freshman Kelsey Clapp said. “Myself and some of my friends did the clinic, and then tried out [for Red Rhythm]. It was just a fun experience to know the team before you actually are on it.”
The clinic is also designed to help promote the values of Red Rhythm, which aside from being helpful when performing can be also provide life skills.
“[The clinic] shows the leadership and the responsibility that you have to have, like earning all the things and getting the ability to actually dance,” Clapp said. “It shows some of the things you have to do for tryouts and qualities [of Red Rhythm], like smiling and things like that.”
Even for those who aren’t interested in auditioning for Red Rhythm, the clinic can be a good opportunity to learn more about dance techniques and styles, as well as improve their dancing skills.
“The clinic definitely helps them learn how to dance in a large team environment,” Clerkin said. “They did learn an entire dance in under four hours and helps them if they don’t have any previous dancing experience; figuring out how counts work, and just common dance lingo, and how these things flow.”
