Dancing With the Teachers
Photo of the winning team. Photo courtesy of @cdm.hs on Instagram.
December 8, 2022
Dancing with the Teachers, a beloved and unique CdM tradition, showcased the talents of many teachers and students at 7 pm on November 9th. The big gym was packed with crowds of students, parents, and CdM staff, who proved to be an enthusiastic audience. Eight different groups of Orchesis dancers and teachers performed their own creative routines with the music and costumes of their choice. The whole gymnasium eagerly awaited the scores decided by the panel of judges; Andrew Ball, Erin Topping, and David Rinehart gave witty one-liners and scored the dancers on a scale of one to ten. Drawing inspiration from Dancing with the Stars, the event was hosted by two emcees, Senior Ella Avital and Senior Mac Schimm, and was enjoyed by the entire audience.
First up was Kim Rapp. Her dance was Hanna Montanta themed, earning a 9 from all three judges, and kicking off the night. Following her was Christy Mecxin performing a jazz number. Impressed with them dancing in heels, two judges rated her team 10, and a 9 from Rinehart. As the first teacher duo of the night, Mari Loerra and Ally Jabuka danced to “Pon de Replay” by Rihanna. Their jazz dance led all three judges to give them a 9. Next up was Chris Ziebarth performing a lyrical dance to “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush. Both Topping and Rinehart awarded the dance with a 9, but when it was Ball’s turn to give a score, he gave the dance a 6. Later, Ziebarth explained that “I got in trouble because I tried to bribe Mr. Ball one dollar, so he gave me a bad score.” Melissa Ault followed, with an alien-themed dance. The dance was out of this world, as it earned a 10 from both Ball and Topping, and an 8 from Rinehart.
Teaming up, Tammy Owney and Mitch Gardener were next up on the dance floor. With the theme of cowboy western, the team wowed the judges, with all three awarding the team with a 10. Next up was Ally McCormick dancing to Taylor Swift. Her team ended up receiving an 8 from all three judges. Nearing the end, Lucas Reynolds performed his dance in a money suit. The judges reacted positively to his dance, receiving two 9’s, and a 10 from Ball. As the last dance of the night Dennis Wilbanks was supposed to perform. Though, emcee Schimm had to dance in his place, surprising everyone. After their performance, the last team ended up getting a 10 from Ball and Topping, and a laughing emoji from Reinhart.
Following was a short intermission where the audience could vote for their favorite dance, and talk about all the cool and funny moments of the night so far. When asked, Topping expressed that her “former dance competitor Ms. Owney and Mr. Gardener,” was her favorite dance of the night, as she “loved their passion, [she] loved their funkiness, and [she] loved that they did country western.” Afterwards, performances from Sparkle, Orchettes, Dance 3, and Orchesis captured the audience’s attention once again. Then, it was time to announce the winners. Per the judges decision, Owney and Gardener won first place for the night. Next, the results from the audience vote were announced. Winning fan favorite, it went as Ziebarth hoped, as he was “hoping for the popular vote,” to earn his team a win.
By the end of the night, excitement was high, victories were celebrated, and many hidden talents were uncovered. While there were only two official winning teams, every single performance was unique, and met with loud applause. Even with all these great dances, one team in particular stuck out. Sophomore and Orchesis dancer Mallory Gamewell’s favorite performance of the night “was the country western” routine, and she is not alone in her opinion. Agreeing with the judges, she “thought it was really fun, and loved that they were a duo” of teachers. After yet another successful Dancing with the Teachers, CdM students are excited for next year and wonder if this year’s performances can be topped.
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