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Meet the Cast of the Little Mermaid

“The seaweed is always greener, in somebody else’s lake. You dream about going up there, but that is a big mistake,” will echo throughout the auditorium next month.

This year the Dance Department will be venturing under the sea as they performing The Little Mermaid.

Under the direction of Jacquenette Blaydes, The Little Mermaid will take place Nov. 18-19 on the Abbey Foltz Stage. Students from GlenOak High School, Oakwood Middle School, Glenwood Intermediate School, Saturday Enrichment Classes, and Pre-K to 12th Grade will come together as a cast of 240 take the Stage.

Tristan Monteith will play Prince Eric Friday, Nov. 18, along side of Madison McGuire as Ariel. Grace Orwick And Noah Unkefer will swap them roles as they perform the other two shows.

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Saturday’s Ariel, Grace Orwick, who has been in dance for eight years, has some challenging choreography. Being a lead is extremely difficult, with in school rehearsals, along with after school rehearsals.

“No matter if I’m at school, ballet class, at home, I spend between one hour to four hours practicing ,” Senior Grace Orwick said. Along with challenging choreography, high school students have Honors Classes , AP classes and CCP classes.

Friday’s Ariel, Madison McGuire, who is in her 14th year of dance, and level IV believes it is challenging, but it is well worth it in the end. Some challenges dancers are facing are memorization and the time commitment.

“My favorite part about being a lead is the fact that I am a role model for the younger girls,” senior Madison McGuire said.

Friday’s Prince Eric, Tristan Monteith, thinks the best part about being a lead is the uniqueness of the choreography leads do compared to everyone else.Which can also be one of the most challenging parts, since you have no one to look off of.

“Becoming the character is also one of the most challenging things to do. It is like a part time job in terms of the time commitment,” Sophomore Tristan Monteith said.

Monteith, who is in his first year of level III dance, has been dancing between five and six years, can balance the hectic dance schedule as well as all the extracurriculars he is involved in. He looks at the ballet as a tradition and if you do not do your part, it is like letting down the family.

Saturday’s Prince Eric, Noah Unkefer left no comment.

Stress is strong, whether you’re a senior in Level IV Dance, with AP and CCP Classes struggling to keep high GPA’S. Or if you’re a six year old boy, not wanting to blow kisses to girls because they have cooties.

Some may remember the first time The Little Mermaid was performed as an all school ballet through Plain Local Schools back in 2009.

“We want show growth from our previous performance which was the first all school ballet, Since this year’s senior class was in the original at a younger age,” Director Jacquenette Blaydes said,

Tickets will begin to be sold Oct. 15th at 8 a.m. and will be a flat rate of $8.

“Dancers are going to improve their performance is this year’s props and choreography will be better than ever before,” Blaydes said.

[Updated Aug. 19, 2017: This article has been reformatted for consistency.]

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Meet the Cast of the Little Mermaid