The Grant Union Gold Dance Team performs “When I Was a Little Girl” by Gwen Stefani on Friday, Dec. 15, 2023, in the old Grant Union gym in John Day.

JOHN DAY — Sixty dancers ranging in age from pre-kindergarten through high school donned their most festive holiday costumes to perform for a packed house in the old gym at Grant Union High School during the 25th annual Holiday Showcase held on Friday, Dec. 15, and Saturday, Dec. 16.

The showcase featured a number of individual solos, including Grant Union Gold Dance Team member Alyssa Catalani performing to “Noel” by Chris Timlin and teammate Hailey Mecham performing to “Je Te Laisserai Des Mots” by Patrick Watson.

Body Dance and Fitness participants also performed solos. Amelia Perkins from level two, which includes first- through third-graders, danced to “Santa Tell Me” by Ariana Grande, and Aubrey Miller from level three, which includes fourth- through sixth-graders, performed to “Frosty the Snowman” by the International Children’s Choir.

Dancers also performed group routines by skill level.

Level one (pre-kindergarten) performed to “That’s Christmas to Me” by Pentatonix. Attendees were treated to an adorable performance to the tune of “Let It Go” from the hit movie “Frozen” by the kindergarten dance group.

Level two performed to “Into the Unknown,” another song from the “Frozen” franchise. Level three danced to “We’re a Couple of Misfits” from the old “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” TV special, complete with elf uniforms emphasizing the theme of misfit toys. The fairly new Junior Gold team performed to “Santa Can You Hear Me” by Kelly Clarkson and Ariana Grande.

The Grant Union Gold Dance Team ended the formal group dances prior to the grand finale, performing to “When I Was a Little Girl” by Gwen Stefani.

Ashleigh Romero, the director of the event and coach of both the Grant Union Gold and Junior Gold dance teams, has directed the showcase for three years now and said she’s happy it is back to being a two-night event.

“It gives (the performers), especially the little kids, a chance to wear their costumes more than once and then to get that feeling of a performance more than once,” she said. “Usually, the more you perform in front of an audience the more comfortable you get, so by the last night they were more comfortable and confident and eager to perform, which is always good.

“I’ve definitely been through and witnessed a lot of them,” Romero said about the showcase. “It just gets better every year.”