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Sweet said they maintain that structure both
because the dancers enjoy “leveling up”
over the years and anticipating what piece
they will advance to, but also because those
who stay at the same level for consecutive
years already know the routine — meaning,
they get better the second go-round and the
instructors can spend less class time teach-
ing choreography.
“It is a nice win all around, where we
can get some more technique into our class-
es without having to learn the new choreog-
raphy every winter,” Sweet said.
The recital is also structured to be
affordable for the performers themselves.
They don’t have to pay recital fees or buy a
specific costume for their numbers. Instead,
they make their own based on what they
already own, such as Christmas pajamas
for the toddlers. The goal, Sweet said, is to
make the recital “very economical and fun
and festive.”
This year, the roughly two dozen danc-
ers who performed at Disneyland earlier
this month will perform these same routines
at the recital. Hip hop and cheer students,
who performed during halftime at a recent
Seaside High School girls’ basketball game,
will do their numbers as the audience
arrives.
“We are going to let them be the pre-
game show,” Sweet said.
‘Better than a movie’
For the dancers, being on stage is a rivet-
ing experience, especially as they absorb the
audience’s response and feed off the energy.
A class warms up at the Encore Dance Studio.
Candy and cars
COLIN MURPHEY PHOTOS
Students at the Encore Dance Studio practice a routine.
Smith’s favorite part is watching “all the
faces getting excited about what’s going to
happen next.” When people are not feeling
their best, they may turn on a movie or some
other form of entertainment, she said.
“Being there in real life is better than
a movie, I think,” she said. “With all the
music, the energy from the dancers comes
to you.”
Kaydence Bagley, 8, said that when
watching a dance performance “you’re
usually smiling or laughing,” waiting for
the climax of each piece.
She is excited for the audience to enjoy
the recital. “It will make other people hap-
py for the holidays,” she said.
Official Rules:
Photo Contest opens Friday, Nov. 9, and
closes midnight Sunday, Dec. 16.
The Daily Astorian staff will choose the
top 10. The public can vote online for
People’s Choice from Monday, Dec. 17,
through Sunday, Dec. 23.
Digital or scanned photos only, uploaded to
the online platform. No physical copies.
Additional community partners are
involved for this year’s recital.
Under the Big Top toy store, in the
Seaside Carousel Mall, is giving patrons a
20-percent discount if they purchase the toy
for the toy drive.
During the show, the nonprofit Encore
Performing Arts Foundation will draw the
winning ticket for a 2018 Toyota IA, which
the organization purchased from Lum’s
Auto Center at a discount. For the past few
weeks, the studio has been selling 600 tick-
ets for the drawing at $50 apiece to raise
money for the foundation, which provides
tuition-free community ballet classes and
scholarships for dancers.
Bruce’s Candy Kitchen also donated
candy for the audience to enjoy “as a thank-
you for coming and bringing gifts,” Sweet
said, adding, “We have a really fun show
coming up.” CW
Only photographers from Oregon and
Washington may participate.
The contest subject matter is wide open
(keep it G-rated).
Entrants may crop, tone, adjust saturation
and make minor enhancements, but may
not add or remove objects within the frame,
or doctor images such that the final
product doesn’t represent what’s actually
before the camera.
Submit all
photos
online at:
The winners will appear in the Jan. 3, 2019,
print edition of Coast Weekend; the top 25
will appear online.
Gift cards will be awarded for first, second
and third place, and People’s Choice. The
best photos of the Columbia-Pacific region
will appear in Our Coast Magazine 2019,
due out early next year.
www.coastweekend.com/cwphotocontest