 Alex Oquendo has just made a huge comeback! This week, Alex taught his own choreography to the advanced dance team for the first time. This is quite an accomplishment since some of the "students" in his class have been choreographers and teachers for longer than ten years. "I feel like I am back home, doing what I aspired to do since 4th grade," he says. The original aspiration was interrupted by none other than COVID 19. Currently a high school senior with academic honors, Alex made a return to the dance team last year, then became an immediate success as a full mentor/teacher this year. We know he's enthusiastic about becoming a part of a team with such longevity and success. As many of you know, our choreography and teaching team brought our competitive dance team to a HIGH GOLD medal, first in category, so they are a pretty tight-knit group. Giving credit where it is due, that coaching team included current vets Deandre Ward, Marlon Harris, Ronald Dorsey and Jevaughn Henry, as well as former members Kevin Kelly, Aissatou Diallo and Torey Robinson. Here's a video of the big debut. Wishing Alex many seasons of choreography and teaching! We are happy to see him fully return to our staff! Here's a video of the debut - this is the FIRST time our Diamond Team learned/practiced this choreo!
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Video of interview with Torey Robinson, (former performer and director, current choreographer and guest teacher) after his national tour this summer. Torey visited our Summer Experience and will be back during Season 36 for more visits and guest teaching/workshopping. Summer has begun, check back for more videos and photos.
Early Acceptance for Yazim to UNHYazim is a veteran mentor in his 9th year at Daedream. He will be studying Marine Biology at UNH starting in the Fall of 2023. Mentor of the Week, Week 1 - Mariah
Mentor of the Week, Week 2 - Taraji Fresh-mentor of the Week, Week 3 - Aaliyah Mentor of the Week, Week 3 - Yazim Cast member of the Week, Week 3 - Jason W. See our mini vid here: youtube.com/shorts/wWJ1X3NhVx0?feature=share Congrats to all of our castmembers and stars for October!  Leader Ron Dorsey Jr., has made Dean's List at SCSU for two consecutive semesters! It's a great honor, and we decided to catch up with the senior college student about his college success and the new upcoming season of Daedream in a brief interview. Q: How difficult was it to achieve two semesters back to back of Dean's List in Southern's Education Program? A: It definitely was a lot of work. I actually had a heavy load of courses. It's not impossible, though. If you work hard enough, you can achieve it. At this point in my college career, I am taking classes in the area of education, which I enjoy, so it was easier to get involved. It came easily to me because that is my area of focus and something I enjoy. Q: Do you have advice for students of any age regarding school and achievement? A: I think when it comes to school, from elementary to high school, the best thing you can do in those grades is to try your hardest. Sometimes, you may not like a certain class, or it is not your favorite subject. Sometimes, you do not get along with teachers or classmates that try and bring you down. But if you work hard enough you can get through those years and make fond memories with friends along the journey. The thing about college is, if it is something that you really want to do then you should do it. Try and get through the first two years, and following that, your classes will be in your major, bringing you closer to your goal. A misconception told to young people sometimes is that you cannot make it without college. If you know something you really want to do, and it does not include college, go ahead, work hard until you reach the goals you set for yourself. Making a life for yourself without is okay, too, as long as you figure out what you want to do and stick to it. Q: What can you tell us about the upcoming Season 35? Can you give us any sneak peeks or hints? A: It's always hard to say things about the season because it's better as a surprise, but just know that the Daedream team, Ms. Francis and I have spent a lot of time on the choreography, the story and preparing. We also have taken the time to train our up and coming "Freshmentors," to lead them down the path to becoming good teachers for our cast. We have given them excellent tools with the backing of the veterans, to accomplish the tasks that we will assign throughout the year. This will make practice time to go much smoother. Because of all this, I am very excited to see how the team works together this year. Stay tuned to our Instagram, Facebook and Blog to be kept up to date. www.facebook.com/daedreamnh www.instagram.com/daedreamnh Registration is open for our . . . 35th Season of love for the arts and positive community development.ORIGIN: The idea was taken from a Rogers and Hammerstein musical called "Carousel" that Ms. Francis used to watch with her Dad when she was a child.
FIRST USED: In the Daedream Production, "A Year in the Life," in 2015, in a segment called, "June," based on the Broadway musical mentioned above. QUOTES about "The Swing Phenomenon": "It was fun, I liked it. When I did the swing for the first time, I was kind of scared, because I saw Mariah do it, I was scared she was going to hit the floor, but then she didn't. When I did it, I feel like I was flying. It's really cool and I was really excited to get to do this." ~Layla, 4th grader "It's not as hard as it looks. It's all about trusting your partner and arm strength." ~Marlon, age 24 "The most important thing about the swing is trust between yourself and your partner. You have to trust yourself to have good footwork but you also have to trust your partner to fall through to propel the swing, because if they are nervous about going toward the ground, it won't work.' ~Ron, age 21 "It feels nice, but it's very scary at first. You never know." ~Mariah, 8th Grader |
