Elmont makes it to the finals
Dance team advances to the final round of MSG Varsity's 'Talent Show'
For the past five weeks, the Elmont Memorial High School Dance Team, including male and female students, has been competing on the MSG Varsity channel’s “Talent Show.” On June 5, the show’s finalé, the team will be one of eight contestants competing in the show’s Dance Ensemble Category.
The “Talent Show” categories include Male Vocalist, Female Vocalist, Vocal Ensemble and Dance Ensemble. The show, which airs on Sundays, at 6 p.m., is currently hosted by Jared Cotter, 29, an ex-American Idol contestant.
Ebony Perouse, a member of the Special Education Department, who has been coaching the Elmont Dance Team for the past three years, said that although the team has existed for several years, performing on the Talent Show marks its first television appearance. The team made it on the show after submitting an audition tape last April, and only had three weeks to practice before the show’s first episode, which was taped at the end of April.
Since making it on the show, Elmont’s Dance Team has been working extremely hard, Perouse said, practicing Monday to Saturday each week, and work on routines in their free time. Outside of the Talent Show, the team performs at Elmont High School’s Fall Pep Rally, Winter Pep Rally, Intercultural Night and basketball games, she added.
Although the majority of the dance team is female, Perouse said, the boys of the group bring a “special flavor” to the performances. “The young ladies and men on the team work together to create choreography for our performances,” she added.
Viewers of MSG’s “Talent Show” vote for their favorite contestants each week, and contestants with the lowest number of votes are sent home. In the past month, the school and its Dance Team have worked hard to get votes from community members, and the effort has paid off.
John Capozzi, Elmont’s principal, recently encouraged students and parents of the community to vote for Elmont’s Dance Team by putting out a call to the homes of students in the district. Additionally, members of the team made morning announcements in the school, and handed out pins and stickers to supporters, and placed posters around the school.
