Hereford High School Dance Company Keeps the Beat

One of Hereford High School’s newest programs is giving students something to dance about.

The Hereford High School Dance Company, which started in the fall of 2010, has already performed twice this year, and there's more to come.

Most recently, the group was chosen to perform Jan. 7 in the 22nd annual Maryland High School Dance Showcase as part of the evening performance line.

Company members are proud to have been among a select few groups chosen for the showcase.

“Each year, high schools statewide submit videos of their work,” said Erin Norton, Hereford High dance director. “The top pieces are chosen to perform in the evening showcase, and others are performed in the afternoon. We submitted a piece from our winter concert and were thrilled that in our first year of existence, we were chosen to perform among some of the best in the state.”

Under rules written by Suzie Henneman in the Office of Dance at Baltimore County Public Schools, all public schools that have fine arts dance classes within their daily academic schedule are eligible. The teachers of participating schools must also be members of the Maryland Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.

Norton has taught for Baltimore County Public Schools for eight years and is a member of the association. Before she was hired this fall to lead the new company at Hereford, Norton worked at New Town High School in Owings Mills, where she had also started a dance program.

Now, Hereford High School offers three dance classes during the school day as well as an after-school dance company with 16 to 24 members, depending on the season, chosen through audition. Students chosen for the Dance Company consider it an honor.

Already, many members have won awards and honors in dance.

For example, Hereford High School junior Shannon Heffernan was chosen this year for the Baltimore County All Honors Dance Ensemble, an honor for elite high school dance students who must meet high standards in performance, academics, attendance and leadership to  be considered for a rigorous audition.

The decision to form a dance company at Hereford has proved popular and successful. So far its dancers have performed in October at the Maryland Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance convention at the Towson Sheraton and the group’s first annual Winter Dance Performance, Dec. 2 at Hereford High.

Upcoming performances include a Student Choreography Showcase, Feb. 2 at Patapsco High School; the Hereford Spring Dance Performance, 7 p.m. March 17; the Baltimore County Dance Festival, 7 p.m. April 8 at Hereford High School; the Hereford High School Spring Musical April 14, 15 and 16; an all-county Honors Ensemble Performance and Gala, tentatively set for June 6.  Several other performances are to be announced.

Hereford High School is at 17301 York Road, Parkton, MD. For more information on the Hereford Dance Company, visit http://www.edline.net/pages/Hereford_High/The_Arts/Dance.