The Leander High School PAC was filled with music and applause as dancers ruled the stage. At iDance on Oct. 25 and 26, dance teams from across LISD, including our CPHS Celebrities come together to perform one big show together. Practices for iDance started back in summer at the same time the Celebs start prepping for football season, and senior captain Hannah McQueen gave her input on how this year’s practice went.

“We learned both our hip hop and lyrical routines [during summer],” McQueen said. “My role, along with our directors, was to help plan out costuming and modifying choreography. Once we got into the swing of the year, we began fixing formations and the choreography and preparing the additional iDance routines throughout our regularly scheduled morning practices.”

Because of the non-competitive nature of iDance, all the schools come together to unite for one big performance. Several celebrities voiced that this was one of their favorite aspects of the show, that they could all perform together, especially in the final number where each school’s team dances to a specific part, and for the finale the seniors from each school perform together for a big finish.

“I enjoy performing with the other schools because it’s fun to make friends with dancers from the other schools and hear about how different places run their dance teams,” said senior Brittany Ballou. “Even though iDance is a show and not a competition, the vibe can become quite competitive and stressful at times. Nevertheless, iDance is super fun and I will miss it.”

While “Music” is one of the more elaborate dances, due to the collaborative nature of the piece, this year’s contemporary performance, “Colors of the Wind,” was a favorite among the celebrities themselves, including sophomore Sydney Polishook.

“[I loved “Colors of the Wind”] because contemporary is my favorite style and it comes the most naturally to me,” Polishook said. “I did struggle with formation changes, because it’s really hard when you stop using a mirror to know where you’re walking too. So we walked through it a bunch of times and practiced until everyone knew where they were going.”

While newer members were excited to attend their first iDance, tears were shed by several seniors experiencing their final show.

“Because the past few months have been so busy, I had forgotten to stop and soak up the last rehearsals and all,” McQueen said. “It didn’t really hit me until the closing show. This was my third iDance to perform in, but my older sister was also a celebrity so I’ve attended many of the shows. As a senior, I had more performance opportunities in the show, with an additional officer opener, officer piece and the senior finale. Also there are cool traditions that the captains get to take part in like features in the dances and the stretching all of the teams before show time. That was fun and very surreal.”

While the whole process can be stressful and taxing on the Celebs as they try to balance iDance practice, football and pep rally routines, and regular class work, McQueen has found a mantra that keeps her eyes focused on the reward the performance brings.

“Over [the course of] my high school career, I think the one saying that has prompted the most of my improvement is: ‘you only have today, in this moment,’” McQueen said. “Every morning I haven’t wanted to wake up and go to practice or to practice on my own. This has motivated me to take advantage of the opportunities in front of me and put in all of my effort. With senior year, I’m really trying to continue the same mindset because this time next year, I won’t be in the same place with the same amazing organization, and I want to be sure to get the very most out of it.”