The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder
The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder
The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder
Junior Sravya Guda dances at Clayton High School to showcase her debut performance: the arangetram. The performance was the culmination of years of effort and preparation from Guda “This was my first time performing with a live orchestra. Usually, in St. Louis, a lot of students don't perform with a live orchestra for everyday events. If you're in India, it's a norm that you perform with a live orchestra, but it's harder to find here,” Guda said.

Blending worlds together

Will Gonsior, Opinions/A&E Editor • October 10, 2024

  “Ascending the stage” is a term that invokes the image of someone realizing their potential before an enraptured audience. This is the Tamil meaning of the word arangetram, the first solo...

“I'm excited for what the future holds. [Being a professional dancer] gives me a space where I can just be myself and I can transfer [my] emotions to my dance. My favorite [type of] dance is Jazz. It's really fun and there are a bunch of different styles within it. I can do a bunch of a bunch of tricks, [and] I like turns. I'm most happy [when I’m with] my dance friends because they just get me. We've grown up together, and they're really special to me. My biggest struggle is being a perfectionist, because with being a dancer [I] have to get everything right. [I have to have] the right counts, [and do] the tricks right, so [I] just have to be perfect [in] doing things. My favorite memory is probably [going to] nationals. We won the entire competition. We got first place, and it was really fun, seeing everyone in the audience tear up. We were all so happy, we just forgot about all of our worries.” - Poppi Wright, 11

Poppi Wright

Alexia Neeser, CJ1 Writer • November 10, 2023

“Even though I really love performing and practicing every day, my favorite part about the dance team has to be the people on the team and the bonds that I've made the past two years. That's really what's kept me coming back. I've made friendships on Longhorn Line that will last a long time and I have met my best friends through dance. This year, I'm taking harder classes than I did last year. So, my biggest fear going into sophomore year was having too much homework and having to either pull back on the amount of dance that I was doing on the dance team or quit dance altogether in order to get all my work done. Around this time last year, I dislocated my shoulder during a performance. It took me out of dance for a really long time while I tried to rehabilitate my shoulder. It was really hard for me because I couldn't move my arm at all. I pretty much lost any strength I had in my arm. I had to get it all back and it took a really long time. I had to work everyday to get my strength back. It was a struggle for me because I couldn't dance and I literally had to dance with one arm. A struggle for me right now is balancing everything that's going on in my life, like studio, Longhorn Line and homework. It’s hard because I try to make sure I get all my homework done, but also knowing all my routines and [being able to] go to practices and studio every night. I’m happiest at studio dance because that's where all my best friends are. When you go to the studio each night you can forget anything that happened during your day. It's kind of like a little escape from the rest of your life or whatever is happening at that moment.” - Lila Kayser, 10

Lila Kayser

Marley Wright, CJ1 Writer • October 17, 2023

“Dance is a big part of my life, and it has been since I was three years old. It’s not only really fun, but my closest friends dance with me at my studio, so It’s great getting to see them every day. A specific time I was really proud of myself in dance was when I completed my first solo in sixth grade. I felt proud that I was able to perform in front of such a big crowd, and I actually ended up doing pretty well for my first time competing. A challenging part about dance is when I can’t get a skill, and I don’t know the reason why I can’t. It can be really frustrating since all you want to do is be able to improve in the sport you do. I overcome this by just moving on to a different skill for a while to take a break, and eventually, I’ll come back to the previous skill and work on it for a while again. I love dancing, however, I don’t see myself pursuing it in the future just because it is so time-consuming, and dancing in college can be a big commitment.” - Paige Schnarr, 11

Paige Schnarr

Angie Ren, Staff Writer • May 24, 2023

Fully running through “Pippin” for the first time, sophomore Jack Mullen performs the opening number alongside his castmates to kick off tech week. Having been diagnosed with COVID-19 one week before the show, theater teacher and Director Amie Gossett relied on her students to step up to help the show run smoothly in her absence. “As a whole, this has been a very collaborative experience for all the kids. They’ve learned to take responsibility [while] pushing themselves to keep the show going. [They learned] to believe themselves in stepping outside of their comfort zone and to push for what they want,” Gossett said.

Turmoil to triumph: the Parkway West Dramatics Company puts on a fiery show in “no time at all”

Triya Gudipati, Editor-in-Chief • March 9, 2023

From a COVID-19 diagnosis to a broken wrist, the weeks before “Pippin” brought confusion, chaos and worry to the show’s cast and crew. So, how did the theater department transform turmoil into triumph? “Pippin,”...

After hearing that the King of Hearts dance got canceled, Student Body President senior Esha Francis immediately turned her car around and returned to school in search of a solution. After staying in constant communication with the rest of the LoCo Executive Board, Francis met with Principal John McCabe to reinstate the dance. “This year, McCabe and our student council have been more in touch than in previous years. I feel like there's a greater trust there. He told us that he knows that we can do it and that we're capable. We've put things together last minute for our school before, and he knew that we could do it. McCabe and I have a good professional relationship, we have a better connection, and we're on the same page about a lot of things, so I don't always have to go to the local sponsors to get things done. It's great that I have a direct connection to him - we can get things done within a day,” Francis said.

Save the last dance

Triya Gudipati, Editor-in-Chief • January 20, 2023

On Monday, Jan. 9, freshmen parents received an email from the administration notifying them that the King of Hearts (KOH) dance would be canceled. KOH, a biennial winter dance thrown by Longhorn Council...

“[The happiest moment of my life was when] when I did my first dance solo for the first time, it was contemporary and to the French song, "Je te laisserai des mots" [by Patrick Watson]. I performed it last season, so March through May, and got 11th overall in one competition for it. [I also] got platinum and high gold at other competitions. I've been competing for six years, but dancing for 13 years. Dance is like therapy to me, I get to express myself, especially with styles like contemporary and hip hop,” - Sam Johnson, 10

Sam Johnson

Triya Gudipati, Editor-in-Chief • January 16, 2023

Sophomore Lila Hartle poses before a dance recital in 2021. While Hartle’s eating disorder diagnosis prevented her from dancing, it motivated her to improve. “I wanted to continue dance as a career, and I knew that I had to stay healthy so that I wouldn’t end up hurting myself more,” Hartle said.

Problems, passion, perseverance

Nidhi Pejathaya, Staff Writer • January 11, 2023

Eating disorders are commonly associated with body dysmorphia issues; however, for sophomore Lila Hartle, that was not the case. What started as a small loss of appetite quickly escalated. Her eating disorder...

Sophomore Lila Hartle and other Bollywood night participants mirror sophomore Triya Gudipati’s moves during the first dance class. Hartle liked seeing her friend teach a different dance style. “As someone learning [this style] for the first time, [Gudipati] made it easy and friendly to follow along,” Hartle said.

Bollywood boogie

Achyuta Ambal, Staff Writer • November 16, 2022

Microphone booming and feet pounding, sophomore Triya Gudipati taught Bollywood hip hop moves to 21 participants. Gudipati held a Bollywood dance event in the North gym. The event was a follow-along...

Dancing under the spotlight, sophomore Renata Olmos Walz (second from left) performs with American Dance Troupe for the first time on Jan. 22. She performed three shows in one day at the Chaminade Preparatory High School theater, spending 11 hours at the theater on show day. “[After a performance,] I felt tired, but I want to do it all over again because [I felt] so much adrenaline and [performing makes me] happy,” Olmos Walz said.

Forming family through dance

Emma Herrmann, Staff Writer • March 17, 2022

Sophomore Renata Olmos Walz was born in Madrid, Spain, surrounded by the city's beautiful architecture and grew up enjoying many savory Spanish cuisines, such as empanadillas and cocido, with her father...

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