It’s a little after 7:00 on a Wednesday night. While many students are spending time at home, eating dinner, recuperating from after school activities, doing homework, or watching TV, a select few are east of town at the Dance Factory for their weekly classes.

The dancers shuffle across a dark, chilly parking lot through the glass doors of the studio and make their way back to the waiting room. The warm room fills with chatter as they pull on their shoes, tie back their hair, drink water, and stretch to prepare for class. The doors open and they enter the spacious, luminescent studio.

Laughter and conversation continue to echo as the music blares and the warm up/stretching routine begins. Gracefully moving bodies and pleasant faces line the floor and reflect back through the vast mirrors at the front of the room. The studio vibrates with the love of dance.
This group of 13 girls and one boy represent the highest skill and experience level of the North Platte Dance Factory. To participate at this advanced level, students must execute hard work, dedication, and passion for the art of dance; on top of their other daily obligations.

This year, the Dance Factory offers a selection of 36 classes, including: classes. The classes have been divided into six different levels, each with certain criteria to be met in order to maintain a spot. “A lot of it is about setting personal goals in order to meet the standards of the next level. Without standards to meet, dancers would hold themselves back from achieving all they could. Being required to meet certain criteria and building block skills,allows for constant progression in the curriculum,” said head dance instructor Becky Wagner.

Throughout the first part of the year, dancers had monthly opportunities to audition for spots in a higher level. The focus of the first several months is increasing and fine tuning strength, flexibility, and technique. Students have participated in challenging across-the-floor routines, short combinations, and goal-setting to test their level of flexibility, strength, and skill. As the new year begins, the focus switches to producing the best quality performance possible at the annual dance recital in May.
Each class has seen their costumes, heard the songs for each piece, and are beginning to learn choreography for their routines. There is a lot of work to be done over the next four months to prepare for the big event.

This year, in addition to recital preparations, the Level 6 lyrical class will be adding a brand new experience to their dance career. They will be performing at the Crowns and Gowns prom dress fashion show event in February. The class will perform several short pieces to add up to 20 minutes of dancing. They have recently begun using their class time each week to master the energizing choreography of several new pieces. “I think this is a really cool opportunity for us to show the community what we spend countless hours each week working on. I’m really looking forward to it because the choreography has been fun to learn,” said junior Erica Whipple.
For many students, dance is an experience unlike any other. “I love the group girls there. I like to dance, I like music, it’s a workout and it doesn’t feel like one. I can show up in the worst mood and I always leave happy,” said senior Clover Doherty. The hours of memorizing choreography, mastering skills, and working to overcome challenges, are all worth it in the end when the music starts and the dancers bring it to life.