Performed by: The James E. Taylor High School Pacesetter Dance Team

Directed by: Darby Boyd Wiles

For over 20 years, Darby has taught dance at studios and high schools in Houston and the DFW area. Her freelance choreography has appeared in dance concerts and shows, musicals, video productions, and the NBA. Darby Boyd has directed dance programs at Irving High School, Haltom High School (both in the Dallas/Fort Worth area), and is in her eleventh year directing the dance department at James E. Taylor High School. Ms. Boyd has directed five original dance production shows with the Taylor Pacesetters: Adventures in Paradise, 2010, Journey under the Big Top, 2012, The Crown, The Wand, and The Cloak, 2014, Earth Forgotten, 2016, and Stronger than the Storm, 2018. The Taylor Dance Program was featured in the 2016 January/February Spotlight section of Inside Dance magazine for their original production shows. Additionally, Darby has written and implemented aerial dance into the dance curriculum at Taylor High School, making it the only public high school in the nation to offer it for fine arts credit.

Darby was honored as a seminar presenter at the 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2016 Texas Dance Educators State conventions where she shared her philosophy of dance curriculum, choreography techniques, and show productions. In 2013, Darby was a Semi-Finalist for the Texas Dance Educator’s Association Director of the Year Award, and in 2017 Darby was voted by TDEA’s membership as the Director of the Year. Ms. Boyd additionally has served as a Houston Regional Representative for TDEA for six years and is currently serving on TDEA’s Executive Board as First Vice President.

In 2015 and 2016, Darby was the High School Dance Presenter for the Center for Educational Development in Fine Arts (CEDFA) State Summit in Austin, TX, in which she wrote and presented two days of sessions for dance educators from across the state. Darby is additionally a certified Fine Arts Training Cadre for CEDFA.

Choreography by: Darby Boyd Wiles, Sarah Peterson, Ashley Zuercher, Ezrie King, Kaelyn Kelly, Hannah Stevens, Bridget Bangert, Jennifer Gannon, and Sofia Gualy

Music Composed by: David Michael Hyde