100+ dancers to come “Home Again”
By Melinda L. Lucas
The Albany Dance Theatre Company will present “Home Again” this Saturday, June 4 at 7:00 p.m. in the Albany High School auditorium.
The performance is free to the public and will include about 110 dancers from Albany and four surrounding communities.
“This year, we will feature seniors Johnnie Hise and Hannah Rogers of Moran and Abigale Wylie of Breckenridge,” said owner and co-director Betsy Black Parsons. “They will be performing together to ‘Graduation,’ which is part of the whole theme of Coming Home to Albany.”
The senior dancers also have individual solos during the recital.
Dances with titles such as Courthouse Square, Movies at the Aztec, Fandangle, and Swimming at Webb Park will carry out the “Home Again” theme.
Busy Schedule
The dancers and directors have been very busy with rehearsals taking place at the high school auditorium every day this week, including the dress rehearsal scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Friday, June 3, with dancers instructed to arrive by 1:45 p.m. to be ready to practice the finale first.
“We are working from 8:00 a.m. until around 8:00 p.m. every day this week,” said Parsons, who is also the choreographer. “There are so many things that we have to do to get ready for the performance.”
Free Admission
There is no admission charge to the Dance Theatre Company’s 72nd annual recital, and seating is first come, first serve excluding the reserved rows.
“Except for the family members of the senior dancers, there is not any reserved seating,” said Parsons. “The doors to the auditorium will open between 6:00 and 6:30 p.m.”
Hundreds of family members and friends of the dancers are expected to attend the show.
Those who have a conflict and cannot come to the recital are welcome to attend the dress rehearsal, according to Parsons.
The dance recital has been held in the school auditorium for more than 70 years, with the only exception in 2020 when a smaller seniors-only event was staged at the Whitney Theatre due to COVID concerns.
