Cal Poly Humboldt student dancers along with Linda Maxwell, Dance program leader, took a Spring Break road trip to Sacramento to visit three schools.  They visited Natomas Charter School, Oakville High School and Consumes Oaks High School. 

Students at Natomas Charter School learning a new combination from Cal Poly Humboldt Dance Students

Linda kindly answered my questions about their adventure. What did the students learn during the visit?

At each, we did a class warm up, followed by a dance combination in either contemporary style or jazz style.  We ended each session with a 15-minute Question and Answer session to allow the high school students to ask questions of our Cal Poly Humboldt students about what it is like to attend Cal Poly Humboldt and participate in the dance program. 

Is this an annual trip?

The Dance Program has done an annual recruitment trip for the past two years.  This has to do with (a) the urgency to recruit more dance majors and (b) timing of the cancellation of ACDA, American College Dance Festival. We typically use the IRA funding we receive for ACDA. However, next year, depending on the amount we get for IRA funding, we hope to do both: travel to ACDA (which next year is in the bay area, so less traveling expensive than some areas) and do a short recruitment trip.

How did you select car tunes for this trip?

This is a road trip!  We selected music to put on a device and then play, by each student and faculty choosing a song that started with a certain letter of the alphabet. So, we listened to everything from pop, metal rock, folk, instrumental, 70's hits, etc.

What did you enjoy most?

Seeing the excitement of the high school students, having fun learning the dance combinations that we taught in addition to the student's very interesting and thought-provoking questions. The Cal Poly Humboldt students were magnificent in their answers and in their dancing and demeanor on the trip. It was a joy to travel with this group of students.