Putting themselves into the world of professional dance, seven of the eight dancers in Jim McDonough’s Holiday Grande concert tour are West Delaware students.

McDonough, a professional pianist, is performing in seven different locations across Iowa with an orchestra and backup dancers. Performances are normally three a weekend in places such as the Dubuque Five Flags Theatre and The Paramount Theatre.

Auditioning was simple for the girls. During a Rec Center Dancers class, Michelle Philgreen videotaped the girls dancing and selected eight girls. The directors chose Rachel Haight (12), Macey Kleitsch (10), Katheryn Opperman (Mount Vernon), Addison Reetz (9), Kennedi Rogers (12), Mariah Seeley (12), Annika Sutter (11), and Tamryn Washington (10).

Addison Reetz has performed for Jim McDonough before and appreciates the opportunity. “Performing in Jim McDonough’s show is very professional,” Reetz said. “You are surrounded by professional people who never miss a beat, whether it’s from them singing or the orchestra playing or Jim delivering lines.”

The show’s time requirement is extensive. The girls attended mandatory practices every Sunday night at the Rec Center since Oct. 22nd. Practices eventually progressed to six-hour tech rehearsals in DeWitt. The dancers also show up early to prepare for the performance.

“It takes up a lot of your time, which I hate. It felt like I wasn’t even home over (Thanksgiving) break because I was always gone practicing (for the show),” Haight said.

Although the girls are used to performing on stage, they still get nervous before a show. “I get a little nervous before a show just because I am afraid I am going to mess everything up, but usually, after I get the first dance over with, the rest of the show is unstressful and very enjoyable!” Kleitsch said.

Four different costumes are needed for three dance routines. One costume is white with a snowflake attached to the back, and another is a green long sleeved dress with gold Celtic accents. The girls were in complete awe when they first saw their costumes.

“We had all been in dance and had worn costumes for recitals, but these costumes were different,” Washington said. “They were expensive and STUNNING. They looked great on all of us. I remember when we put them on, we kept checking ourselves out in mirrors and had to take millions of pictures in them.”

The girls are sad for the show to be over, but they’ll alway have the memories to remember the fun times.

“Dancing in the show made me feel like we made Christmas come alive for everyone in the audience! All the shows went awesome, and I can’t wait to see if I make it next year,” said Rogers.