An inside look at the senior Halloween Skit

This October, there will be blood. But not in the way that you may expect. Every year, the juniors and seniors face off in a ruthless battle. Not of wit, and not of might, but of something much more sinister… the sheer ability to bust a move. 

The class of 2026, determined to take victory in this year's Halloween skit, has long prepared to bring you the show of a lifetime. From day one, our commissioners have worked effortlessly in the production of Eagle Rock’s fiercest routine yet: the gnarly escapades of Art the clown. This article will be highlighting the process of creating such a masterpiece, and hopefully reveling in the senior’s inevitable victory. 

All photos taken by Juliet Hays

The Soundtrack

In our synthesis of Art’s bold performance, we had to make some tough decisions. There were a lot of songs that fit the vibe, and creating the perfect atmosphere proved difficult. In the beginning, we had democratically elected some tracks that we deemed pertinent to our success. These included Circus by Britnney Spears, Nelly Furtado’s Maneater, and Gnarly by Katseye. 

However, there were some songs that sadly did not make the cut, such as Cannibal by Kesha. Encapsulating Art’s essence as a “girlboss” involved balancing literal slaying with figurative slaying, and in some cases sacrifices had to be made.

Anabella Caudillo, Skit Comissioner

The Chorero

For those who may not know, Halloween skit is not run by Dance Company. It occurs on a volunteer basis, and oftentimes, these volunteers do not have any experience in dance. This makes choreography a delicate matter, as even though we would love to bust some complicated moves, a dancer’s mobile capacity must be considered. This year’s skit committee did an excellent job at balancing aesthetics and—for lack of better words physical possibility. Anabella Caudillo, chief choreographer for the class of 2026, offers the following commentary:

“I think because I'm still very much learning how to dance, I kept the moves as complicated as I could handle. I took a lot of inspiration from dancing I've seen live or online and modified it for our purposes.” - Anabella Caudillo

The Plot

The storyline of our skit was simple: mass murder. That’s really all we want to see on Halloween. Absolute annihilation, especially of children. And that is exactly what we were determined to provide. There is not much more to say about the skit’s narrative, as the story itself is pretty blatant. We were divided into two groups, clowns and trick or treaters, and what happened next was simply an act of nature. 

The Props

Despite typically being helped by the class officers, this year’s skit—aside from the theme reveal poster—can be entirely accredited to members of the cast. This is especially true in the case of props, which instead of being

designed by the publicity department, were created by us dancers. Though simple, we did our best to make compelling designs: spooky, bold, and charmingly sloppy. Though far from professional grade, this gave the skit a homemade quality that sets the class of 2026 apart from our competitors. 

The Practice 

Practice began in early October, just preceding the arrival of Christmas products at Target. It began with brief stretches, as well as occasional theatre games, but quickly descended into sheer dancing. Before we developed the plot of the skit, we wanted to first ensure that our dancing was strong. The songs we chose were very fast, and it was vital that we adapt to the rhythm sooner versus later. Because of this, we jumped straight into choreo on day two, the minute after the

soundtrack was concrete. 

Maneater, the opening track, was by far the most fun to learn. As someone who can’t dance in the slightest, it was a great way to boost my confidence. The moves looked complicated at first, but they were just easy enough as to where I could actually do them. Since Maneater was one of the longest parts of the routine, it gave dancers a chance to really get into the vibe of the skit. I feel like the earlier we were into the routine, the more capacity we had to personify Art’s fierce attitude. The number was a great segway into more complex routines such as Circus.

Learning the moves for Circus was quite intimidating. Groundwork, though limited, was involved. For novice dancers, at least from my perspective, this was a major turnoff. I didn’t want to look like an idiot in the middle of the quad, and any kind of complex choreo would have guaranteed this reality. But, luckily for us, our skit commissioner was very skilled. The moves proved quite manageable, but still looked and felt impressive to execute. The number transitioned very naturally into the next track, Abra Cadabra, where we paired up.

Now to address the elephant in the room: Gnarly. I really only have one thing to say about this number: throwing it back is hard. 

The Dancers 

In the class of 2026, people who volunteered to be in this year’s skit were few and far between. Unlike our opponents, we were not blessed with a large population of dancers. As a result, we were very limited in our ability to create a super complex routine. Even so, we did our best, and hope that our efforts will secure us the victory. 

Though our limited numbers serve as a detriment to the “wow-factor” of our performance, I am of the opinion that they made the practice itself more fun. A lot of us already knew each other, and as a result, practice was more of a hang out opportunity than a chore. We had a lot of fun making jokes, frolicking through the quad, and most importantly, killing each other. If our performance was able to emphasize the fun we had, win or lose, I would deem it as a rousing success.

“I love dancing and I love teaching dancing so it wouldn't matter if it was 5 or 50 people. It definitely would’ve been harder with more members so maybe it's a blessing in disguise. Ultimately, I know [the juniors] cannot be as fierce as abracadabra and gnarly.” - Anabella Caudillo