Buffalo Grove Orchesis dancers rock Orange Bowl
Buffalo Grove High School's Orchesis dancers rocked the field during the halftime show at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Fla., Jan. 4.
The group was one of 17 high schools and dance studios around the country invited to perform in front of an audience of 61,000.
The event was televised on ESPN, reaching a global audience of millions. The show highlighted the Grammy Award-winning pop/rock band Train, who played live while the dancers performed choreography created by renowned dance artist Mandy Moore.
During the trip, Orchesis members took professional dance classes with world famous choreographers such as Cris Judd, backup dancer for Michael Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and many TV awards shows; Michael Schwantz, choreographer and backup dancer for Lady Gaga and Katy Perry; Anthony Thomas, the lead choreographer for Janet Jackson's “Rhythm Nation” video; Liz Imperio, who choreographed the American Idol finale with Jennifer Lopez in 2011; and, of course, Moore, the Orange Bowl lead choreographer and artist on the TV show “So You Think You Can Dance.”
The trip concluded with the live Orange Bowl halftime show.
For the Orchesis dancers, the opportunity to perform at such a high-profile venue, working with world-famous choreographers, was the opportunity of a lifetime.
Michelle Carrison, director of Buffalo Grove's Orchesis, said, “The week was a life changing experience for the dancers!”
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