By Chip Chandler — Digital Content Producer
The number of young dancers who'll perform in Lone Star Ballet Dance Academy's upcoming showcases is nearly countless.
Well, at least LSB artistic director Vicki McLean had a hard time coming up with the impressively large number of young students who'll dance in Academy Unleashed performances beginning Friday in the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts, 500 S. Buchanan St.
"A whole lot," she laughed. "Gee, how many kids are enrolled and are going to be dancing? Close to 500?
"It's a big show."
Students from the Amarillo academy will perform at 7 p.m. Friday, followed by those from Borger and Hereford academies at 2 p.m. Saturday, more Amarillo students at 7 p.m. Saturday, and Dumas and Panhandle academies at 3 p.m. Sunday.
Admission is $5 in advance or $7.50 at the door. Call 806-372-2463.
The Unleashed performances are "the culmination of everything (the students) have been working on all year long," McLean said.
"It's the dances and the technique, the understnding of music and the combination of music and choreography," she said. "They're learning a tremendous amount of things. I've always said you can't be dumb and be a dancer, and that's why: There's so much to think about. There's the analytical side you have to understand, and the artistic side and the emotions that you're bringing to life with the music."
Students ages 3 and older will perform.
"I think it's really important for them to know the feeling of being on a stage with the lighting and full costumes," McLean said. "There's something very special about the way the atmosphere is.
"That's the joy of this particular show that these children have been working so hard for. It's fun for the parents to see what their children have been doing, and it's fun for the students to perform. They get hooked," she said. "I did at age 3."
Chip Chandler is a digital content producer for Panhandle PBS. He can be contacted at Chip.Chandler@actx.edu, at @chipchandler1 on Twitter and on Facebook.
