Terpsichore is best known as the Greek muse and the daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne, but if you were to ask about Terpsichore around the halls of Ames High, you might find a different answer. “Terpsichore is a way to show a wide range of styles of dance to the student body,” senior and first year Terpsichore dancer Chelsea Davis said. Davis is a dancer in two of the eight dances that will be shown off this year at the Terpsichore performance held Feb. 22 and 23. Each of the dances is choreographed and performed by Ames High students. “I’ve been dancing since I was seven, and became involved in Terpsichore because some of my friends are choreographers and they asked if I would be a dancer for them,” Davis said. The choreographers and dancers are under the supervision of Ames High Modern Dance teacher Mary Kautzky. “The students choose everything for their dances,” Kautzky said. “There’s no theme that they are limited to, except that it must be suitable for a family audience.” The lack of a predetermined theme for the performances seems to only enhance the show and give an even more appealing range of dances. “There’s a lot of variety in the dances everyone presents,” senior choreographer Haema Nilakanta said. The eight dances represent many different styles, including Indian, hiphop, lyrical, and salsa. Nilakanta’s dance was heavily influenced by Indian dances. “It’s Bollywood style with Indian folk dance influence.” The number of students involved in each dance, length, and even the style of lighting is left up to the choreographers. Some dances have as few as two dancers, while others have as many as 16, with lengths spanning from one to seven minutes. This freedom of details helps to lend an even more unique feeling with each dance. With shows at 7:30 pm on both Thursday Feb 23 and Friday Feb 23, there’s no excuse why everyone shouldn’t try to attend these performances. Hard work, time, and creativity is apparent in each of the performances, and everyone should try and make to the show!