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Dance school students to perform on cruise ship

Students from Pat’s School of Dance rehearse a Hip Hop number they will perform on a Carnival cruise.

By Amy McCraw, Published: June 18, 2024

Dancers from Hendersonville’s Pat’s School of Dance will perform for passengers on a cruise ship next week as it sails across the Caribbean.

“We’re hoping we have a packed show,” said the dance school’s co-owner and director Sheraton Shepherd Phillips, the daughter of John and Pat Shepherd, the dance school’s founders.
The performance on the Carnival Vista cruise ship will include 60 dancers ages six to 18. The program is an extracurricular activity that gives students the opportunity to travel and dance at special events across the country.
Some of the youngest dancers going on the cruise, including Pat’s 6-year-old granddaughter Charlotte Shepherd, said they are just excited to get to dance on a ship and spend time with their friends. Charlotte’s friends, 9-year-old Camdyn Wright, 10-year-old Savana Harrington and 9-year-old Kyleeah Waller said they too are more excited than nervous and just want to have fun on the trip.
Lucy Ray, 11, and 13-year-old Ava Allender said they have not been on a cruise but have danced at football games and other events.
They said they are excited to dance on the ship, visit some Caribbean islands and spend time with their family and friends.
Many of the older teen dancers who will be performing alongside the younger kids have danced on other cruises, at college football bowl games and other special events.
They said they too expect to have fun and make memories with their friends.

'Just dance your hardest'

Briana Harrington, the 17-year-old sister of Savana, said the trip will be the third time she has performed with the dance school on a cruise. Going on the cruise with the other dance school students makes it exciting, she said.
“You walk down the halls and you see your dance buddies,” Harrington said.
She said her sister and the other younger students should enjoy the ice cream and all-you-can-eat food buffets on board.
Samantha Kanipe, 14, said she has danced at other special events but not yet on a cruise.
She said she plans to enjoy her time on the ship.
Kanipe also offered a few words of wisdom for the younger students.
“Just dance your hardest,” she said. “Remember it because it’s something you can always look back to.”
Cole Reasoner, 16, and Jeremy Klingensmith, 17, are two of six boys from the dance school performing on the cruise.
Reasoner said the trip will be his first time dancing on a cruise, but he has danced at bowl games and at the Flat Rock Playhouse in the past.
He said he was looking forward to performing on the ship.
“It’s an amazing experience,” Reasoner said, adding that one dance scheduled to be performed on the cruise is an all-boy number. “Not a lot of studios have a lot of boys. Boys are here to dance too.”
Klingensmith, who has performed on cruises, bowl games and at the Playhouse, said he too felt fortunate to have other guys dancing with him on the trip.
“It’s a lot of fun to perform at these events because you get to go with your friends,” he said.
Klingensmith said he thinks the younger students going on the cruise should make the most of the experience.
“Just go have a blast,” he said.

Dancin' at Sea

Pat’s Performing Arts program applied to be a part of Carnival’s Dancin’ at Sea program last year and was later offered the chance to perform on the cruise ship, Phillips said.
Carnival then offered Vista, one of its larger cruise ships, to the Hendersonville dancers after they worked the trip into their busy schedules. About 200 parents, siblings and other family and friends will join the dancers on the trip.
The cruise will set sail on June 23 and will include visits to islands in the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos and the Dominican Republic along with all the fun and food on the cruise ship.
The Hendersonville dancers will perform 10 dances during a 30-minute show on board the ship on June 28 before the cruise ends on June 29.
The students will also participate in a workshop with the professional dancers on the ship and work with Carnival’s technical crew when they rehearse. Carnival dancers will teach the Hendersonville students part of their show during the workshop.
“It’s a great opportunity to get to see what it’s like on a cruise ship,” Phillips said. “It’s such an exclusive opportunity to dance and perform.”
Students in Pat’s Performing Arts program also performed on Carnival cruises in 2017 and 2019.
“The last time we did it, it was so special for the kids. It’s a unique opportunity,” Phillips said.
Seeing professional dancers at work also gives the students a glimpse of what it might be like to try a career in dancing.
Phillips worked as a dancer at Tokyo Disney and other graduates from Pat’s have gone on to work on cruise ships and other entertainment venues.
“We have lots of kids that move on to dance professionally,” she said.
Pat’s School of Dance includes about 400 students with 95 participating in the Performing Arts program.