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Eight FSHA students participated in the 2014 L.A. Archdiocesan Youth Day liturgy in Anaheim on March 13. Youth Day is part of the four-day long Religious Education Congress. Every year, 15,000 teens from Catholic high schools and parishes from across the Archdiocese and beyond gather together for a day of prayer, rallies, workshops and Mass. FSHA students Brianna Gandarilla ’17, Angelina Grego ’17, Reed Pickering ’17, Katie Arial ’16, Alyssa Carter ’16, Madeline Lewis ’16, Brikk Bralley ’14 and Megan Seymour’14 had the opportunity to serve as Ministers of Liturgical Movement (liturgical dancers) for both liturgies during the day. Under the direction of Kristina Ortega, senior religion teacher, the students began preparing for Youth Day in January.
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This February, FSHA welcomed world-renowned dancer and choreographer Sean Cheesman to the school. Cheesman, who is currently a fixture on the hit TV show “So You Think You Can Dance” and has worked with such pop icons as Michael Jackson, Prince and Britney Spears, originally planned to choreograph an Afro-Jazz gospel number for FSHA’s annual Dance Concert in April. This collaboration was the result of a longtime friendship between FSHA’s dance teacher, Cindy Montoya, and Cheesman; they met more than 20 years ago as background dancers for Paula Abdul. Cheesman taught a group of 20 dancers (all members of Junior and Senior Saltatrix) a piece of an Afro-Jazz routine. After rehearsing it with them for an hour, groups of four were called out to the floor to perform the routine they just learned. Of those girls, Cheesman picked his top 10 dancers and gave them individual critiques.
Many other guests crowded into FSHA’s exercise room to watch the auditions. Leslie Kawai ’80, a former FSHA parent, a member of FSHA’s Board of Directors and a dancer, was one onlooker. “Sean Cheesman is giving our girls an incredible life experience,” she said. “Being able to learn from a successful working choreographer provides an insight into the life of a professional artist and gives a preview of what to expect out in the dance world.” While Cheesman was unable to return to FSHA to further prepare for the Dance Concert due to a family medical emergency, he plans to visit again soon.
12 FLINTRID GE SACRED HEART ACADEMY
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