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Posts Tagged ‘dance’

Get your dance on!!

Posted in Dance, Fundraisers, tagged , , , , , on February 4, 2016| 1 Comment »

All your pertinent info in one swirly poster. (Image courtesy Cindy Van Dyke)

All your pertinent info in one swirly poster. (Image courtesy Cindy Van Dyk)

Dance till your toes drop off, for the kids.

Far From Normal and owner Cindy Van Dyk are hosting a fundraiser dance Saturday, Feb. 6 to raise funds for the Foundation for Coupeville Public Schools.

The event will be held at the Coupeville Rec Hall from 8-11 PM, with classic rock provided by Mojo Filter.

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the door.

Beer, wine and soft drinks will be available for sale, as well, should the dancing parch you.

The Foundation has spent the past 20 years working to help give Coupeville students and teachers an extra measure of support.

It has funded many opportunities for students, including visits to Padilla Bay Marine Science Center, the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, and sailing to Sucia Island on the Cutty Sark.

This year one of the grants issued by the Foundation will go to fund an artist-in-residence who will work with CMS and CHS art students.

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Go big or go home? Island Dance goes big!!

Posted in Dance, tagged , , , , , on January 17, 2016| 1 Comment »

Island dancers (l to r) Tessa, Skyy Lippo and Kelsi. (Photo courtesy Joe Lippo)

   Whidbey Island dance divas (l to r) Tessa Sherman, Skyy Lippo and Kelsi Lampe. (Niki Lampe photo)

The dance is strong in these ones.

Five of Whidbey Island’s best stage warriors stormed the big time in Seattle Saturday and will return home bearing big honors.

They were performing as members of the Island Dance Performing Team at the Rainbow National Dance Competition.

And now we’ll flip you to our dance dad/constantly-tweeting man on the scene at the Highline Performing Arts Center, Mr. Joe Lippo, for the following report:

The alarm goes off at 5:30 AM…

Why? Because you have to be at the venue by 8, because you go on at 10.

And 5:45 PM.

That’s right, you’re going on stage a full 12 hours after you rolled out of bed.

How do you react to that? Most of you would just quit, but five girls from three Whidbey Island high schools reacted very, very differently.

But we are getting ahead of ourselves.

At the 10 AM show, the entire Island Dance Performing Team took the stage to compete in the Large Production class of dancing, and put on a heck of a show.

But, it was a new show, and all the kinks weren’t worked out yet.

They got third. They were mostly happy with that.

Mostly.

At the 5:45 performance, it was the highly competitive Small Production category.

Skyylynn Lippo (Coupeville), Kelsi Lampe (Oak Harbor) and Tessa Sherman, Grace Colby and Nikki Greene (South Whidbey) danced their hearts out, completed the piece, and then waited.

They were wiped out. Tired. Some still had solo acts later that day.

Coach Jamee Pitts was hoping for a third-place finish.

But it was a new piece, and all the kinks hadn’t yet been worked out.

In the dance world, when awards are handed out, the announcer says something like: “And in third place…”

Then the music from the piece will start. It’s kind of like the award shows.

So…

When third place was announced, then second place, with no mention of Island Dance, coach Jamee said “It’s OK, I’m still proud of those girls, they did their best.”

Only the last part of that sentence was drowned out by some very familiar music.

That THUD you may have heard this evening around 6:30 PM was jaws hitting the floor as Island Dance was announced as the new (if unlikely) regional champions.

Dancer Kelsi Lampe: “I heard them announce third and second, and I was thinking ‘OK, next year we will do better’ and then I heard OUR music playing!

“We all just looked at each other, not really believing it. Then we went and got the awards!”

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Get your dance groove on!!

Posted in music, Tennis, tagged , , , , , on January 16, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville HS tennis coach Ken Stange shows off his dance floor-ready moves. (Wendy McCormick photo)

   Coupeville High School tennis coach Ken Stange shows off his dance floor-ready moves. (Wendy McCormick photo)

The dance floor will unite them.

That’s the plan, as Coupeville High School tennis coach Ken Stange welcomes folks to his South End establishment, kicking things up a notch with an appearance by a band that includes a fellow teacher from Oak Harbor.

Stange, who left teaching behind this year when he purchased Bailey’s Corner Store in Clinton, is bringing in acclaimed Island band Jacobs Road next weekend.

The well-known cover band includes drummer Mitch Aparicio (former Wolf sports star turned co-owner of Penn Cove Brewing Co.) and OHHS teacher Erik Christensen.

The group will be playing classic rock (ideal for singing along and dancing) at Bailey’s Corner next Saturday, Jan. 23 from 6-10 PM.

There’s a nominal $5 cover charge, so basically we’re talking $1.25 per hour — not at all unreasonable.

Especially since, if you’re smooth, you can probably fill up your autograph book that night, as well.

If you haven’t been to Bailey’s before, it’s at 7695 Cultus Bay Rd in Clinton.

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Wolf senior dances to a new beat!!

Posted in Cheer, tagged , , , , on August 27, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Andrea O'Brochta

Andrea O’Brochta

“Behind all the hairspray and mascara is truly an athlete!”

Andrea O’Brochta is only in her first year as a cheerleader, but the Coupeville High School senior already has a strong appreciation for the work involved in her new pastime.

“I think many people fall into the cheer stereotypes that they see in the movies,” O’Brochta said. “We practice endless hours, and have given up a majority of our summer to learn the skills needed to properly perform stunts without harming one another.

“And dancing isn’t always fun and games,” she added. “There’s a lot of technique that goes into each dance routine. Which really works up a sweat!”

A veteran dancer who started at the tender age of three, O’Brochta was talked into joining cheer by friends (and now teammates) Jovanah Foote, Maddy Neitzel and Jazmine Franklin.

As a new member of the Wolf squad, she got her first chance to attend cheer camp this summer, where she and her teammates worked with professionals and competed alongside cheer teams from across the state.

“I joined because I love to dance,” O’Brochta said. “I love learning new choreography and getting to bond with my cheer family.

“Also, I figured I’d try something new for my senior year. I wanted to get to know more people and make new friends.”

Those friends are a huge part of her life (“I enjoy the company of my friends and family”) and, when she’s not spending time with them, O’Brochta can be found pursuing a number of other passions.

“My main interests are dance, music and photography — even though I’m not very good at it,” she said. “It’s hard to pinpoint every favorite movie because that would be a very long list; I love any movie genre except the horror genre.”

Though, sometimes, doing nothing much at all is the best choice.

“I like to spend my time with my mom or napping from a long exhausting practice,” O’Brochta said.

“My mom is involved greatly of shaping who I am; she’s always been encouraging me to do new things and reach goals that I have set.”

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She’s a freakin’ ray of sunshine, she is!!

Posted in A freakin' American hero, Cheer, Dance, Happy birthday, Track, tagged , , , , , on April 8, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Sylvia Hurlburt: Queen of the Universe

Sylvia Hurlburt: Queen of the Universe

Sylvia Hurlburt is better than you and me, but she probably won’t admit it.

The Coupeville High School junior, who celebrates a birthday today, can pretty much do just about everything there is to do in this world, and do it all extremely well.

Dancer, tap and ballet and everything in between.

Speed demon track star.

Energizer Rabbit cheerleader with more pep than is humanly possible.

Intrepid photographer with an uncanny eye for detail.

The list goes on and on, and we’d be here all week (and maybe beyond) if we listed all her talents and accomplishments.

Not that she herself would take that time, because her greatest talent is this — Sylvia remains as easy-going, approachable, super-friendly and modest-about-her-own-awesomeness as any young woman you are likely to encounter.

If there’s an out of control ego raging away in there, she hides it really, really well.

So, it is up to us to frequently remind the world of how amazing Miss Hurlburt is on a daily basis.

To honor her for the way she dotes on her older brother, Larry, her parents, Kristin and Troy, and the trillions of friends she holds dear.

The way she brightens the world every time she steps out into it, a walkin’, talkin’ burst of happy radiance.

There is no artifice to Sylvia.

She is the real deal, a genuinely sweet, caring, smart as all get out superstar blazing a bright, burning trail across the universe on a daily basis.

She is going places, on her way to doing great things.

That we get to share a slice of her life, to witness her growth, is a treat.

May this day, and every day, be full of joy for her. Perfect karmic payback for a life lived well.

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