Dixon High School Dance Team to Take the Stage Saturday with Special Guests

They’ve performed at pep rallies, drawing cheers and admiration from their fellow classmates, but on Saturday night DHS’ Dance Team will have the opportunity to perform for the entire community.

The girls will take the stage at Dixon High School’s Theater along with , Sacramento-based Galena Street East and in Dixon.

 “We are a brand new dance team, they started in January so this is kind of the big show they are doing,” said Penny Solano, the Dixon High Dance Team’s advisor.

Saturday’s show, set for 7 p.m., will serve as a fundraiser for the DHS Dance Team as well as the three other teams that they are performing with.

Dancing is not a cheap, Solano said. Costumes can cost $60 or more, competition fees cost $35 per person for each dance they compete in. The club will use proceeds generated from the ticket sales Saturday to fund the team for next school year, Solano said.

“It’s not just about the money,” Solano said. “It’s about proving to the school that we are self-sufficient.”

 For dancers such as 16-year-old Heather Bencivengo, a sophomore at DHS who serves as one of the team captains on the squad, Saturday’s performance will be a chance to show what she and her teammates can do.

 “I like being able to dance at school because that’s my life,” she said.

Bencivengo and her fellow dancers – the squad is comprised of nine girls so far – have been practicing three days a week for six hours a week to get ready for the show.

 Solano said the dancers will perform a variety of dance styles – everything from jazz to musical theater to hip-hop to Irish dance. Solano’s goal is to establish the dance club as a sports team

 “We are still not officially a sports team, we are considered a club,” she said. “To me, this is a sport. It’s just as physically vigorous as any other sport.”

Solano said there is a lack of performing arts at the school that the Dance Team can fill. She also said that many students at DHS have no interest in playing other sports such as volleyball or basketball, but dance is something that they might enjoy doing as an alternative.

If the school decides to bring the club into its sports program, it could count as a semester of physical education for juniors and seniors who are members of the team.

 Tickets are on sale now at Dixon Dance Studio, Galena Street East  and Pride Gymnastics & Dance Academy for the pre-sale amount of $8.  You can also purchase pre-sale tickets by e-mailing dhs.danceteam@yahoo.com.

The tickets will also be available at the door on the night of the performance, May 14, for $10 apiece. The show begins at 7 p.m., at Dixon High’s Theater, located at 555 College Way, Dixon.