As Sarina Ramirez enters the halls of Palatine High School, she is reminded of her high school years here as a dancer. Today, she continues her dream of dancing as a coach for the orchesis team she was once a part of.

“Coaching gives me the opportunity to share my experiences and express my vision of dance,” Ramirez said. “I’m proud of my team when I see that my vision is executed.”

This year, Orchesis has decided to make the club no-cut. Since this decision has been made, Orchesis has been constantly growing with talented dancers.

“I noticed that there’s a lot more people,” PHS student Joanna Avalos said. “The fact that it’s no-cut gives people a chance to express themselves which is pretty cool.”

Although Orchesis is a no-cut club, it has created an opening for students to express themselves through dance, thus increasing the number of members, it also has increased the chaos and stress that goes on behind the scenes of Orchesis.

“People don’t understand what we go through behind the scenes,” Ramirez said. “It’s not as simple as creating a dance and putting on a show. We [coaches] have to make sure that everyone is attending practices. There’s sixty-five plus dancers on the team that we need to keep track of. There’s also the hassle of costumes: ordering, sizing, and collecting money. Some dancers are in multiple performances so sometimes, everything we do is times two.”

The amount of dancers on the team seem quite large. This raises some curiosity on what makes students want to be apart of Orchesis.

“I love dancing and have a great love for music,” Orchesis member Mindy Tan said. “It helps me express my feelings and emotions. Orchesis has taught me discipline because I have to manage my time when it comes to school, attending practices, and practicing on my own time.”

Since it’s difficult to observe all sixty-five plus dancers, Ramirez must rely on the team to practice on their own time so that each dance looks the way she envisioned it. That way, the Orchesis dancers would be ready to perform.