On October 20-24, Mills had its first spirit week and rally leading up to the homecoming dance. The whole week was Super Mario themed, with ASB and leadership hosting the Super Mario Rally on Friday. Excitement and energy radiated throughout the gym, as students cheered and watched the grades compete against each other in minigames. This rally also featured performances from various clubs and groups around the Mills community, allowing students to showcase their talents to the school.
There were multiple dance performances at the homecoming rally, with one of them being from the Mills Advanced Dance team. They delivered an impressive performance, dancing to ‘Sugar On My Tongue’ by Tyler, the Creator. But this didn’t come without its preparations, as dancer Margalit Ring (10) remembered. She shared, “We took time during class and practiced, cleaned, and rehearsed our dance until it was basically perfect.” Ring also highlighted that teamwork played a huge role in the success of their performance, as they had to work together to execute their dance well.
When asked about her initial thoughts, Ring stated, “At first, I was a little nervous because it’s the first performance and you’re in front of a big audience,” emphasizing the uncertainty of performing. “I felt like there was a lot of support, and the crowd was really enthusiastic,” she added, recalling the rally’s atmosphere and spirit from the audience.
To close out the rally, four members from the Mills Dance Club performed and showcased a powerful dance, as well as their dynamic with one another. The group danced to various Tate McRae songs, showing experience and hard work. The four seniors have performed together from the beginning of high school, and have been leading the Mills dance program ever since. Senior and member Aislinn Xiao shared, “This is our last year performing, so we really want to go all out with our performances and give it everything we have.”
Dance is not only a form of art, but also an opportunity for self growth. For Ring, she mentioned, “Personally, dance is a form of expression. You can showcase a lot of yourself through dance but you also get to experience and show other people.” She has been dancing all her life and has developed a deep personal connection with it over time. Additionally, Xiao said, “Dance has really improved my ability to just throw myself out there, and to try and place a spotlight on myself,” showing how dance has helped her with confidence.
As the school year continues, many look forward to the upcoming rallies. Xiao mentioned how the Dance Club will have more “WOW” factors in future performances, like smoke and effects, as well as an increase in difficulty in their choreography. As a message, she added, “I hope others on the dance team can continue our ‘legacy,’ as we brought dance culture back to Mills. Before we were freshmen, Mills didn’t really have a dance program and now it’s grown so big.” The Mills dance program has a lot in store for their coming performances, so stay tuned!
