Music permeated the air on Wednesday night with applause and loud cheers echoing off the walls of the city auditorium as Rome City Schools’ students took to the stage to celebrate Black History Month through song and dance numbers.
The program entitled “Dancing Through the Decades” featured different schools performing dance numbers or songs highlighting a different decade, starting in the 1920s with jazz and progressing through rock ‘n’ roll, disco, hip hop, and rap to the present day.
Each group featured several students taking to the stage wearing decade-appropriate clothing as well as some serious dance moves that got the audience clapping, cheering and sometimes even up on their feet dancing along.
Teachers Kristin Hall and Hillary Daniel teamed with teachers, administration and staff from throughout the system to put on the show, and it took a lot to put the program together.
“It’s a lot of hard work but everyone helps support this to make it all come together. The kids started practicing in January and have been working hard a couple of days a week up until now,” Hall said after the program. “I’m so proud of the hard work all of these kids have put in.”
Each school had several students and teachers involved in helping put together the routines. Some routines even included teachers, administrators and a couple of school board members, as those adults got to show off some of their own dance moves to the crowd’s delight.
“I think that’s the beauty of Rome City Schools. We truly are a family. It’s not about the individual schools like Rome Middle versus Rome High or Elm Street versus West End. We are all a family and our school board is part of our schools,” Hall said. “Yes. They are the board, but their faces are known in our buildings, and it was great seeing some of them on stage tonight.”
“Honestly, I’m not sure how the schools pulled it off to get the school board members on stage. But it goes to show you that we have a great support staff at Rome City Schools,” Daniel said. “If you ask a board member or somebody at the Central Office or administration for help, they figure out how they can help you and get involved even if they can’t do it themselves.”
The penultimate moment of the program came with the traditional dance-off between teachers and students which brought the crowd to its feet, as the attendees' applause decided which said would win.
“The teachers win every time, and it’s amazing,” Hall said, still a bit winded from the dance-off. “Our students are always willing to come up and participate, and we always have great teacher support.”
While both the students and the teachers showed some solid moves, the audience did cheer a bit louder for the teachers. Both sides received thunderous support.
The evening ended with Rome Middle principal Christian Barnes and Main principal Taurence Phillips leading the crowd in singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing”.
“It was a lot of fun,” Daniel said. “We’ve been practicing for two months. It’s been a lot of long days and a lot of work for these kids and teachers, but it’s so worth it when you see this.”