Parent: chauffeur, chef, conflict resolver, cheerleader,and checkbook holder. The list of titles goes on and on! And although we know exactly why we enroll our kids in this activity when we sign up, the season is long and the chores associated with being the one doing all the grunt work, outside of the classroom 😉 , can make us lose sight of why this commitment is an investment in our children. 

BUT the investment you have made paired with the hard work your student has done all year long are presented to you, your friends, and family in the annual showcase. This production is a year in the making, performers leave class sweaty and excited each week as they work towards their final show. Sharing the technique they have worked months at and the bonds they have made with their classmates to present a cohesive show is what these kids wait all year for! 

The showcases we have produced in the past will be unlike this years NEW full production layout, but we want to take a moment to reflect back on last year. Showcase 2019 “Melody Lane Journey Through the Decades” was SO MUCH FUN! Our awesome staff loved choosing timeless hits to carry the audience through the music of the last century. 

This year we will include our theatre students by casting them as characters in the story that guide our audience through acting/singing as our dancers tell the story through movement. Along with the regular dance classes, the Melody Lane Singers and Melody Lane Dancers Company will perform a few numbers for our audience, showcasing the unique talents of the Yakima Valley’s only youth performing arts troupes.

Moving into preparing for this year’s showcase we want to remind everyone to reflect on why the showcase is a great opportunity for students to develop skills that will benefit them into adulthood. 

1. Patience: the show teaches kids that working on projects long term means planning, preparing, and working consistently towards a goal and dealing with the obstacles that arise along the way.
2. Dedication: by practicing over… and over… and over… and then doing it again when teachers say “OK, run it one more time” performers are taught that nothing worth doing comes easily the first time. Think about those dance “tricks” you see, or vocalists that blow you away, and pointe work on stage. Those kids have worked not weeks, not even months, but years to get to that skill level! And this is their one opportunity to show the world that all those evenings in classes and living room practices had a purpose. 
3. Resilience: lastly the performing arts teaches students that failure is part of the process and that there are indeed others in this world who may be better than them at something. But instead of being upset by those things these kids are encouraged to showcase what THEY have achieved alongside their peers as a group that supports and loves each other!

This year’s showcase will continue to do all those things for our kids but from now on students from all our performing departments will be able to shine alongside each other. Dancers, musical theatre kids, drama and singers will come together as an entire student body to support each other as they each get a chance to shine at our “Melody Lane Under the Sea” Showcase 2020.