By Claire DuMont
Staff Writer
Mira Costa staff members competed in the fourth annual Dancing with the Teachers competition on March 10 where they performed dance routines following the theme of “Battle of the Artist,” tickets were $7 at the door.
Spanish teachers Nancy Geczi and Sandra Martinez-Sellan won first place for their performance of “Ellen vs. Twitch,” vice principal Kristen Wolberg and Coach Sean Finnerty placed second for their performance of “Rihanna vs. Chris Brown,” and english teacher Stefani Owen and academic support counselor Keshia Fields placed third for their performance of “Mick Jagger vs. David Bowie.”
“I’m sad that Dancing with the Teachers is over,” Wolberg said. “Ms. Johnson and the dance classes put so much into this event to make it such a success, and my partner and I had a blast.”
Yearbook adviser Valerie Park, principal Dr. Ben Dale, math teacher Daniel Debevec and science teacher Karl Kurz judged and gave comments based on how well the teachers danced and if they were enjoying themselves. The purpose of Dancing with the Teachers is to show the students a different side of their teachers, according to Wolberg.
“Dancing with the Teachers is an opportunity for teachers to work with the Advanced Dance students and collaborate to learn a dance and perform it for the students,” English teacher Maddie Hutchinson said. “It’s mainly for entertainment.”
The Advanced Dance class has been preparing for the show for three months, according to senior member Shavon Aaron-Wright. They chose the theme “Battle of the Artist” and selected songs that were school-friendly and the most popular for each artist. This theme was chosen because it worked with a variety of songs.
“I’m most excited for the performance,” Aaron-Wright said. “I love seeing the progress that the teachers have made from the first time I met with them to the day of the show.”
A total of 20 teachers participated in the competition. According to Aaron-Wright, the dance class reached out to teachers to participate shortly after they choreographed each dance. They did this by asking their teachers individually and putting an announcement in the bulletin. They paired up teachers that wanted to work together as well as those that did not have a partner.
“I decided to participate because I am a new teacher,” Hutchinson said. “I wanted to put myself out there and show that I am willing to participate in anything that makes the students happy.”
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