Fourth- through sixth-grade dance students perform their "Holiday Mix" skit and dance routine at the Holiday Showcase on Friday, Dec. 9, 2022, at Grant Union High School.

JOHN DAY — For 25 years, the Holiday Showcase has been an annual tradition that helps kick off the Christmas season in Grant County.

This year’s edition took place in the old gym at Grant Union High School on Friday, Dec. 9.

Attendees were treated to a number of choreographed dance routines from the Grant Union Gold dance team as well as dancers ranging from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade.

Highlights included Grant Union Gold’s performance of their basketball halftime routine as well as a separate Christmas performance which was the final act of the showcase.

Pre-K dance students danced to “Silent Night” while kindergartners danced to the beat of Faith Hill’s “Where Are You, Christmas.” First- through third-graders performed an adorable rendition of “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” and the most advanced students (fourth through sixth grades) performed a fun “Holiday Mix” that was part skit and part dance routine.

Solo and duet dances by Grant Union Gold members Alyssa Catalani, Haile Mecham and Kaylie Perkins were also featured prominently during the showcase. The three girls also performed a coach’s routine to “Light of the World.”

The 2022 Holiday Showcase was organized by Grant Union Gold dance team coach Ashleigh Romero, who was happy with the way the showcase turned out.

“The Holiday Showcase went very well,” she said. “We only have a team of three this year, which is the smallest team GU Gold has had since the program started in the ‘70s.”

Romero’s Grant Union Gold squad will debut two brand new routines at a competition in Sprague on Jan. 14 before heading to the Dance Drill Coaches Association of Oregon dance category championships in Gresham a week later on Jan. 21.

The team is unable to compete for an OSAA title this year due to the association’s rule that a team must consist of at least five dancers to compete. The Holiday Showcase was started in 1997 by 1188 Brewing Co. owner Shannon Adair to raise money for the dance team’s competitive season and became an annual event.

Level 1 (pre-kindergarten and kindergarten) coached by Autumn Holland and assistant coach Tori Holland

Pre-K performers: Paisley Andrew, Haven Broemeling, Arden Desjardin, Brynlee Rigel, Laney Saul, Harvyn Teskey, Ava Thompson, Logan Weaver and Wilder Waley

Kindergarten performers: Berlyn Bennet, Ellyott Davis, Averee Hutchinson, Taryn Ledgerwood, Emma Morris, Tegan Norland, Aspen Sharp, Emmy Lou Vaughn, Pepper Walton and Sadie Winegar

Level 2 (1st-3rd grade) coached by Tasha Palmer and assistants Brianna Majors and Alyssa Catalani

Level 2 performers: Skylar Billar, Spencer Braly, Aspen Cates, Briar Desjardin, Quincee Harper, Kenneth Hollowell, Cora McCosker, Aubrey Miller, Dylan Moles, Sydney Reitz, Adrianna Reed, Zoey Roseberry, Kaylee Ledgerwood, Parker Witty and Merit Waley

Level 3 (4th-6th grade) coached by Emma and Josh Mattison

Level 3 performers: Noxi Long, Shyann Gosnell, Tori Holland, Ember Philips, Ivy LaFramboiose and Annabelle Raschio