As the school year begins to wrap up, the Reedy Sapphires are ready to finish their year-long season with their final presentation. Known as Spring Show, the recital takes place every year around April, and it commemorates all the tireless efforts of the year. 

“I think Spring Show is an amazing representation of this year. It displays our contest pieces as well as traditional pieces,” Senior member Madelynn Chapa said. “It’s like a big show of everything we can do.”

Last year, the Sapphire season was cut short due to the emergence of COVID-19, canceling the final presentation. Many members were sad to find out the district had to shut down their chance to show off their year-long work to family members and friends without a postponed date. 

“Dance isn’t so focused on [in fine arts], so it is a big accomplishment for us to show others the hard work we do,” Freshman member Karley Naguib said.

Due to meticulous planning, the district approved a regulated Spring Show with only a few changes this year, including fewer guests per dancer and shorter dances. 

“We had to cut down on dances for contests, [had fewer] dances for [the] show, and hardly any team gatherings and many other fun things,” Naguib said. 

Another change brought on this year was an evolution to the theme of the show. Sapphire Director, Kristy Platt, wanted to highlight an essential aspect of dance that previous shows lacked: soul. 

“The theme for this year’s Sapphire Spring Show is Soul,” Chapa said. “This has been different from the past [because] we had a lot of object-like topics. For example, we’ve done an ocean theme and a circus show theme. This year was more of a branch of music and an aura.”

Still, many traditions that characterize the Sapphire organization will appear in the show. 

“One tradition we do is the retiring of our hat ceremony,” Chapa said. “This is a significant event for Seniors as our dance career on the Sapphires has come to a close.”  

The hat retiring ceremony occurs after the last night of Spring Show, and revolves around the Seniors taking off their Sapphire hat for the last time. The ceremony celebrates the graduating class and their time on the team by announcing each member’s future plans and legacies. 

“It’s very emotional but also a good way for us to have closure,” Chapa said.

Emotions are running high among the members this week, but it is clear that excitement is prominent. 

“Everyone works so hard, and it’s an amazing rush to perform for a traditional audience on stage and to hear the applause,” Chapa said. 

The Sapphire Spring Show will take place on April 15 and 16 at the Reedy High School auditorium.