![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Performing arts light up Santana Row
Liana Wang (10) leaps during a varsity dance routine at the Santana Row tree lighting ceremony. The ceremony took place last Tuesday.
November 21, 2015
Dazzling visitors to Santana Row with an hour long performance, the Varsity dance troupe, JV dance troupe, Kinetic Krew and Downbeat performed at the Santana Row Tree Lighting Ceremony on Tuesday.
Santana Row celebrates the holiday season annually with the Tree Lighting Ceremony which includes a variety of performances and the lighting of a 40-foot Christmas tree.
Kinetic Krew had their first performance, dancing to a dubstepped version of “Jingle Bells.” This is the first all-boys dance team at Harker. It was created this year to give male dancers the opportunity to be part of a dance troupe.
“It’s nice, considering that before we didn’t have a high school dance team for boys, but now we do, and I enjoy it,” Timothy Wang (9), a member of Kinetic Krew, said.
The JV dance troupe performed routines to the Christmas classic “Let it Snow” by Michael Buble and Lady Gaga’s hit “Applause.”
Both dance teams spent several weeks preparing for this performance. They rehearsed their routine for “Let It Snow” for about a month, according to Rachelle Haun, director of the JV team. Dancers started learning the routine for “Applause” a few months ago, but then stopped to practice for their performance at the Family Picnic in October.
“They pretty much use the entire class time every time they come in to just get the choreography down,” Haun said.“There’s been a lot of new skills for them, so they’ve had to work a little bit harder to reach them.”
The practices prior to this show were intense. Performers worked hard transitioning between their picnic performances to their holiday performances. Members of Downbeat especially worked on learning new scores of music.
“They have to learn a lot of music because they also go on tour right after Thanksgiving,” Jennifer Sandusky, co-director of Downbeat, said. “ It’s a lot of music [learned] quickly, so right now they have their pieces for Santana Row learned really well and they are starting to learn the choreography.”
Downbeat prepared an up-tempo jazz routine of “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas,”and a jazz rendition of “Deck the Halls.” The Varsity dance troupe performed a swingy jazz number to an upbeat big band version of “Jingle Bells.”
This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on November 20, 2015.
