Glen Burnie Students Put on Their Dancing Shoes

For 39 years, Dianne Rosso has directed the Dance Program, beginning with one course and expanding to full daily program with two dance teachers teaching 10 classes a semester.

“That’s more than any other public high school in the state,” Rosso said.

The program, open to all students at Glen Burnie, is preparing to produce its spring , a show that is so popular patrons are not able to purchase tickets at the door, Rosso said.

“We had to go to presale only because the entire community comes out,” she said. “We are like the Kennedy Center of the North. People in the county know they can see a great show.”

Senior , 17, has been dancing since she was 4 at a private dance studio and has taken classes at Glen Burnie throughout her high school career. She is a member of the school’s dance company and won honorable mention from the Maryland Distinguished Scholar in the Arts.

“It’s the way I express myself,” Goodfellow said when asked why she took classes at school in addition to her private training. “[I was excited] finding out they have it at high school. It’s really my thing.”

Goodfellow said participating in dance classes at school gave her an opportunity to choreograph routines, something she hasn’t done at her private studio. She choreographed a piece, “Wild Party,” that will be performed Thursday night.

“I learned how to work who people who never danced before and people who’ve never been choreographed before. It’s challenging, but it’s good,” she said.

Goodfellow said she hopes to dance on Broadway in New York after studying dance and musical theater in college.

Senior Andrew Spadaro, 17, said that although he’s taken dance classes his entire high school career, he’s not sure he’ll continue to dance after graduation, adding that he kind of stumbled upon his first dance class.

“My freshman year all the other classes were taken and I was kind of dropped into the [dance for the athlete] class. My brother’s friends, who were seniors, were in the class so I just made friends with them,” he said.

Rosso said she began offering the dance for the athlete class in 1990.

“It is probably the most popular course offered,” she said. “We work on footwork, timing, speed, agility and coordination. The coaches love it because that’s what they want in male and female athletes.”

Since stumbling upon his first dance class, Spadaro—a football and lacrosse player—said he’s taken two classes every semester he’s been at the school.

“It’s just fun. Being on stage is different than being on the field,” Spadaro said.

The Glen Burnie High School Evening of Dance will take place Thursday at 8 p.m. in the school auditorium. The two-act performance will feature more than 300 dancers and 27 performances from Glen Burnie students and special invited guests. Tickets can be purchased in the school’s main office between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m.