![“[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)
Dance show auditions launch preparation for annual production
Upper school dance teacher Karl Kuehn looks on as students audition for the annual dance production. Auditions took place on Sept. 14.
September 16, 2019
Auditions for the annual dance production took place on Saturday, Sept. 14. Students of all ability levels from all four grades were encouraged to audition, even if they had never danced before. This year, 173 upper school students auditioned, an indication of the popularity of the dance show.
Everyone who auditions for the dance show was cast no matter their skill level. Based on their auditions, students are placed in a dance or dances, depending on their availability. Rehearsals for the production of the dance show start on Sept. 23 and will continue until the performance dates of Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. The schedules for the dance production will be sent out this week.
“It was a great experience because it was kind of professional, so it’s like preparing you for a real audition,” said freshman Eileen Ma, who auditioned for the first time. “It was really different because in middle school, it was more casual… but at the high school, it’s more legit.”
The theme of the two-act dance show this year is “Remix and Reimagine,” the first act being about remixing and the second being about reimagining. All the songs in the first acts will be remixes of the original, while all the songs in the second act will be a reimagined version of the original, like a cover, mashup or an acoustic version.
“[The theme] provides enough structure for the choreographers to keep it fresh and interesting, but it is open ended, where they have a lot of freedom with the music that they can choose,” said upper school dance teacher and production director Karl Kuehn. “Because so many songs have different covers interpretations and remixes nowadays, different versions are easily accessible.”
This year there are eight student choreographers who have all taken courses in dance composition and choreography. The student choreographers choreograph their own dance in the production, as well as choose their own song, the deadline for which was Friday, Sept. 13.
“I think that because it’s a more broader theme then in the past, we’ll have a lot of interesting song choices,” Chloe Chen (12), a second-year choreographer, said. “It’ll have a really diverse vibe and atmosphere because there’ll be a lot of different music choices from all sorts of genres, and also, all sorts of decades.”
