12-22-00

The Sykesville Raiders Competition Squad (SRCS) Senior All Star Dance Team will soon be making their way to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans where they will perform during halftime. The 12 girls on the team earned this honor last March during the Americheer Nationals, a competition held at Walt Disney World where they placed third in the nation in the pom category. The top three winning teams in each category in the competition were invited to perform in the Sugar Bowl. On December 30, they will join the other winners in the half-time show.

Most of the SRCS All Star senior dancers were originally cheerleaders for the Sykesville Raiders football teams, local teams which are sponsored by the Freedom Area Recreation Council and the Freedom Optimists and include players up to the eight grade. When the girls got too old to be cheerleaders for the young players, they continued their association as a dance team. Now, there are also two younger dance teams, the Pee Wees (fourth grade and under) and the Youths (sixth grade and under). Many of the younger dancers still cheer for the Sykesville Raiders during football season.

The SRCS dance teams practice at their studio at Carrolltown Center in the 1700 block of Liberty Road in Eldersburg. If you want to catch the senior team performing locally, they will be entertaining during half-time at the January 11 Towsen University basketball game.

For more information, call 410-795-8408 or check out their web site at www.eteamz.com/srcsdance.

On December 18, students at Piney Ridge Elementary school were treated to a lively and humorous performance by the Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble, a multi-talented group from Annapolis.

As they came onto stage, the dancers wasted no time captivating the student’s attention, opening the show with a fast moving French-Canadian step dance. The quick coordinated movements and steady rhythm mesmerized the youngsters who watched intently. By the time the entertainers invited the children to clap their own rhythm, the students were willing and ready to join in the fun as they learned more about dances from different cultures.

The dancers explained that in “percussive” dance, not only does the body move across the stage, but, also, every time you put a foot down, it makes a sound that becomes part of the music. The feet become a percussion instrument of sorts. To demonstrate, the dancers changed costumes and did the African Boot Dance, a dance from the African mining tradition. It’s done wearing mining boots which make a big “snappy” sound. Miners used the sound to develop a joyful percussive dance thereby establishing their own dance tradition.

In a comical slapstick routine using recyclable plastic trash, the troupe showed the students how everyday items can produce a variety of interesting sounds, making great percussion instruments. They followed this with a lesson on how to use the human body as an instrument, lightly slapping it in different ways to evoke varying sounds, an African American tradition.

The show ended as it began, with high energy dancing, in this case Appalachian style clogging with improvised solo dancing referred to as “busting loose”.

“I liked it, and I liked how they used the props to make rhythm” said fourth grader, Jacob Halverson. He also admired the way they showed different cultures.

The program was sponsored by the PTA Cultural Committee co-chaired by Elaine Mezeivtch and Elaine McLeod. “The students at Piney Ridge Elementary School...enjoyed learning new percussive dances and moves” said Ms. Mezeivtch. “[the program] provides them with experiences that they wouldn’t get otherwise” she added.

Birthday greetings go out to Jim Purman, archivist/curator of the Sykesville Gate House Museum of History. On December 16, Mr. Purman celebrated his 75^th year on this good earth. “I share it with Beethoven, the Boston Tea Party and actress Liv Ullman” he said in true historian style. While some people bemoan having a birthday so close to Christmas, not Mr. Purman. “I have always loved having my birthday when I do...It’s like a double barreled Christmas” he said. Here’s wishing you many more.

The South Carroll Senior Activity Center will be celebrating 2001 a few days early this year with a New year’s party to be held on December 28. The party will be in the lunchroom/auditorium of the center and will follow the noon lunch service. Starting at 1 p.m., entertainment will be provided by Louis Redd, a singer from Baltimore County. There will also be hats and noise makers available. “Last year, the seniors had a lot of fun wearing the hats and blowing the noisemakers” said center manager, Karen Larrimore.

If you plan to come for lunch, you must call by December 26 and let personnel at the center know so they can prepare enough food. The number is 410-795-6591. Lunch cost for non-seniors is $3.11.

The South Carroll Senior Activities Center is located at 5745 Bartholow Road. A complete list of center activities is included weekly in South Neighborhoods of Carroll County.

Health and Fitness and the Freedom Area Recreation Council

are sponsoring yoga classes beginning January 9. The introductory yoga lessons, which are taught by a certified instructor, promote relaxation and self-empowerment. You will learn yoga breathing techniques to release tension and invigorate.

Classes will be held for eight weeks on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. The cost for one class per week will be $52. If you wish to attend both classes each week, it will be $104. Bring two small blankets and wear comfortable clothes. Registration is due by January 4 and can be done by calling 410-549-5583.

Health and Fitness is located at Carrolltown Center in the 1700 block of Liberty Road in Eldersburg. It is in the Peebles wing of the mall, across from Fun Quarters.

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