This year, the staff’s Homecoming quad day on Oct. 14 was based on the “Game of Life” and consisted of three dances to pop music and a popular Bollywood specialty — Bhangra. As their script centered around playing a life-sized version of the board game, the teachers guided students through the different stages of life: birth, graduation and the choice of being a “childless cat lady” or a parent.
Their act also consisted of a comedy segment, where resource specialist Dan Wallace and science teacher Lisa Cochrum pretended to be the “Game of Life” spinner to determine the number of steps that the others could take on the walk of life, all while breakdancing like the Australian breakdancer at the Olympics, Raygun.
Both Cochrum and Wallace joined the act to perform the comedic piece to lighten the mood and make the performance more enjoyable for the audience.
Cochrum said, “My favorite part of the dance was definitely when Mr. Wallace [did] his high Donkey Kicks and his spin. [I then] watched the video [of Raygun], and it was identical. I was laughing my face off. I had been laughing about it all weekend so I could not wait for everybody to see his actual talent.”
The show featured four dances, which the majority of the faculty participated in. Over the past two weeks, they had been practicing during their lunch breaks in the dance studio, before a final dress rehearsal the morning of the event on Oct. 14.
Science teacher Kristen Thomson, a key choreographer for the staff, continued the tradition of involving students in the creative process. Their bhangra routine was co-choreographed by senior Shaan Jhanadran, while Thomson’s daughter, freshman Isla Thomson, also contributed to the choreography for the finale dance, “The Greatest Showman.”
Thomson dances front row for the finale dance.
Even though teachers were very familiar with quad day preparations, the group did face a few challenges during rehearsals.
“The ‘Greatest Showman’ dance is super fun but not easy,” Thomson said. “The last dance was supposed to be the easiest, but it ended up being the hardest. We almost cut the ‘Money, Money, Money’ routine because we were running out of time, but we pulled it together in just 10 minutes.”
For both Cochrum and Thomson, the performance was about more than just dancing — it was about bonding and having fun with colleagues.
Cochrum, who encourages her students to participate in events like Homecoming, wanted to set an example by joining in herself. Thomson shared that she loved the opportunity to connect with teachers from other departments, although she admitted to getting nervous before taking the stage.
English teachers Natasha Ritchie, Marcos Cortez, and science teacher Jennifer Lee cheerfully dance for the rest of the school during lunch.
Despite the jitters, both teachers and students agreed that this year’s staff act was a huge success.
“I would say it’s one of the best Homecoming dances in the 14 years I’ve been here,” Wallace said.
Sophomore Anya Taneja particularly enjoyed seeing her orchestra teacher, Beth Nitzan, in a new light.
“I really saw this new playful side [of Nitzan] because in class doing orchestra, she’s always super on top of things and organized and sometimes she’s serious when we need to do our work,” Taneja said. “But it was really fun to see a different side of her and her dancing skills are really good, which I didn’t expect.”
