April 14th-17th, the APA Dance department held their first indoor show, Creative Forces, with an in-person audience since Fusion 2020, which took place a few months before California shut down orders were put into effect due to the COVID-19 virus. For many dancers in the program, it was their first time performing on a stage for a live audience since March 2020. 

Traditionally, Creative Forces is performed in the blackbox as a student-run, student-choreographed show, using dancers from tech classes (as opposed to main stage shows such as Fusion or Synergy, which are performed by audition-only ensembles and the senior-comprised APA Dance Company). This year however, for the first time, Creative Forces was performed on the main stage in the HBHS Auditorium. 

Student choreographers, limited to juniors and seniors in either the first or second year choreography classes, are given a group of dancers from an individual technique or ensemble class to set choreography onto and to eventually put onstage with student-planned lighting, music, and costumes. 

For Creative Forces 2021, all dancers and crew members were required to be COVID-tested on the first day of tech week, and were to all test negative to go on with the show. Luckily, all of those involved tested negative for COVID-19, and were given the option to not wear masks for the duration of time of which they were onstage, however, in the end only dancers performing a solo or duet opted to go mask-less when performing. 

As a student in the APA Dance, I was a choreographer and dancer in Creative Forces this year. Considering the circumstances that were put in place by the pandemic, in my experience, all of the dancers, despite grade level or role, were incredibly enthusiastic and willing to jump through the hoops it took to perform together again. 

While it was less than ideal to get a COVID test and to wear masks while dancing, everyone involved was willing to devote their time and energy towards making sure that conditions were safe, CDC requirements were met, and that the show could run as smoothly as possible. Even now, I am pleasantly surprised by the resilience and perseverance of artists during these trying times, and the bar for the next and final main stage show of the year, Synergy 2021 has been set high.