As sophomore Catherine Dorr walked into the auditorium for her dance class recital, she was slightly worried about  her performances.

“The day of the recital was the first time we got to practice on stage, so for it being so fresh, it actually went pretty well,” Dorr said.

Dance coach and German teacher Antonela Kljajic recently had her beginner’s dance class students put on a performance for 7th period classes and parents. This is the first year the Mill has offered a dance class as an elective.

“I was really excited because my students got to show off what they’ve been working so hard on this semester, ” Kljajic said. “The recital counted for their exam grade.”

The mixed class danced to three songs with three different dancing styles.  The first was a jazz piece to Davis Essex’s “Rock On.”  For this routine the class wore sparkling purple jazz hats and danced in small groups. The next was a contemporary routine to Sam Smith’s “I’m Not the Only One,” which was a more emotional piece and contained a few dance solos. The recital concluded with the entire class dancing in an upbeat hip hop routine to Milky Chance’s “Soul and Dance.”

The Jazz Choir, An Octave Above, was one of the 7th period classes invited to the recital. “I specifically enjoyed the first routine because they looked like little grasshoppers,” sophomore and Jazz Choir member Clare Busey said. The eclectic routine contained intricate dance moves and made the dance memorable.

Some of the students in the class also gave some feedback on how the performance went. “I enjoyed we got to express ourselves through dance,” senior Alex Schade. “The recital really helped us connect as a family.”

Sophomore Avery Grillo also felt the performance was a success. “I think it went a lot better than expected,” Grillo said. “My favorite song was ‘I’m Not the Only One’ because I was lucky enough to get a solo.”

The performance went extremely smooth and allowed the dancers of all levels to perform for an audience. The class will be returning next year as an elective.