The weekend of April 12 and April 13 the Majestics and Sapphires had their Illusions showcase, performing for the last time this season. Both teams have dedicated hours of their time to their team and for it to come full circle is wonderful and heartbreaking all at the same time, especially for our seniors this season.
Senior Colonel, Hazel Castellano, and Senior Lieutenant Elise Fletcher had their last duet “Goodbye.” After years of early morning rehearsals, and moments of triumph they had one last dance, and when it came to a closing they ran to embrace each other knowing their chapter was coming to a close.
“This duet has meant a lot to me and Elise from the moment we found the music, when we started choreographing it together, to performing in front of an audience, and then finally performing it one last time at illusions,” Castellano said. “Elise has been one of my best friends not only on the dance floor, but in life, and the idea of us going our separate ways just seems unreal. Performing that duet one last time and just getting to have that moment with her was an experience I’ll never forget. We were crying the whole piece, and at the end, we both looked at each other and just knew we needed to hug it out, so that’s what we did. It was a super special moment for us both.”
This dance was an emotional roller coaster for both performers, but it made their ending more memorable especially since in this coming fall and in the next year they’ll be the farthest they’ve ever been from each other.
“Our last duet was super emotional for us since we’re both going to different states for college,” Fletcher said. “Hazel is one of my best friends, which made dancing for the last time together so sad. We were both in tears and ended the dance with a hug which was such a special moment.”
The embrace of the two dancers during their duet was a big moment during this showcase, but this was the Spring showcase which means we didn’t only get to see the Majestic we got to see all dance teams and classes including the Sapphires.
“Doing the dances was muscle memory by the time our last show came around,” senior leader Nidhi Warrier said. “Dancing was so freeing, and it felt so good to finally show people what we’ve been working so hard on.”
The Sapphires and Majestics take about a month to prepare for this performance. It’s a really time-consuming vigorous time after the team’s competition season but it all comes full circle.
“We do the same dances every single day to perfect and polish our pieces,” sophomore line member Brianna Cornejo said. “It’s my favorite season, we spend lots of time together but it never gets boring, even though we’re doing the same dances every day we always have something to do.”
One thing all these performers look forward to toward the end of all their hard work is the It’s the last final performance that the dance teams Bigs and Littles get to dance together.
“It’s a bittersweet moment, I felt really sad but also fortunate to dance with my big, Abby Carrsow for one last dance,” Cornejo said. “It sucks that this was our first and only year together, but it was the best first and only year I could ever ask for with her.”
Every dancer had smiles and tears filling their face on and off the dance floor this past weekend, but just in case there wasn’t enough here is one final piece of advice from the Senior colonel.
“I’m going to miss seeing all your faces every day, and I love and am so proud of all of y’all. It was such a sweet ending to an incredible four years,” Castellano said. “I wish everyone the best, and to the underclassman we’re leaving, my best advice is to soak it all in. It goes by so quickly, so make the most of it.”
