Boys & Girls Club Preps for Iconic Annual Lights On! Show
LAWRENCE, Kan. – From records to eight tracks to Spotify, kids have been rockin’ out to musical icons for generations. The Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence will showcase some of the all-time best icons for the annual 2023 Lights On! event. The beloved dance competition will feature superstars ranging from Elvis to James Brown to Taylor Swift.
Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence (BGCLK) will host the 2023 Lights On! at Lawrence Memorial Central Middle School, Friday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m. The public is invited and encouraged to attend this free event.
For the last six weeks, all 12 Club sites have been hard at work, putting together a dance routine to a mashup of hits by the artists they were assigned at random. What is extra impressive is how hard the mentors work with the kids to help them learn a dance routine when many of them have never had the opportunity to dance before.
“Lights On! blows me away, because I won’t dance in front of hundreds of people,” CEO Monica Dittmer said. “Yet, we have 9-year-olds working up the courage to do something they’ve never done before onstage with a group of their friends. I am incredibly proud of their hard work and the way they support each other wholeheartedly. Watching their mentors prep them for weeks leading up to the big performance is really special, too. This is one of those memories that kids and staff keep for years and years to come. Please come out to watch!”
Beyond its before and after school programs, BGCLK serves many purposes. Part of creating an optimal Club experience is facilitating a sense of belonging and creating opportunities for youth that they may not get to experience otherwise. The annual Lights On! event does exactly that. This dance competition provides the chance for Club kids to shine on stage for all of their families, friends and fans in attendance.
Sean Kellerman, a member of the Kansas Football and Men’s Basketball radio broadcast teams, will serve as the evening’s emcee. He also shares his skills with youth on a daily basis as the Unit Director at the Boys & Girls Club at Deerfield Elementary site. When the curtains open at 7 p.m., one dance team from each Club site will hit the LMCMS auditorium stage to showcase their moves. Performances will feature songs from world-famous icons such as Beyonce, Prince and Elton John.
Each Club site recruits 15 kids (maximum) for their dance team and a dedicated staff member or volunteer creates a three-minute (maximum) routine. The panel of judges has the most difficult job of the evening with every site competing for the coveted Lights On! trophy, including the teen team from the Center for Great Futures.
Judges are tasked with scoring the dances in categories such as degree of difficulty, creativity, effort and overall showmanship. This year the panel includes Hanan Misko (Lawrence Arts Center) and Jamie Keiter (Kansas Enrichment Network).
Launched in October 2000, Lights On Afterschool is celebrating its 24th year. This is the only nationwide annual event celebrating after school programs and their important role in the lives of children, families and communities. The national celebration of Lights On Afterschool Day is a tribute to the organizations across the country that keep their “lights on” after school hours. Approximately 8,000 afterschool programs are expected to participate in the 24th annual Lights On Afterschool celebration.
The Afterschool Alliance organizes Lights On Afterschool to draw attention to the many ways afterschool programs support students by offering them opportunities to learn new things. The Lights On! events send a powerful message that millions more kids need quality afterschool programs. As a partner of the alliance and the largest afterschool program in Lawrence, the Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence works every day to help fill that need.