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Two Clark Middle School students performed in a professional dance production last weekend at the Lyric Theater.

Siblings Jamaica and Montero Tomlin, who are in sixth and seventh grade, respectively, danced in the Strling Dance Theater production of "Underground" on Friday and Saturday.

The production told a story about slavery and the Underground Railroad, and Jamaica and Montero played the parts of plantation slaves.

The siblings began rehearsing for the production in September, after being asked to take part when they took a dancing and acting class in Olathe.

"It was awesome," Jamaica said.

The performance used dancing instead of words to express emotions, she said, and each had different choreography to learn.

For both siblings it was their first time in a dance production.

"I just dance at home," Jamaica said, though she said she's done gymnastics for a couple of years at the Kansas Academy of Theatrical Arts.

"I want to be in other productions," she said.

Besides her choreography, Jamaica said she learned some history through the production.

"I learned that even though people were racist, there were still some people who liked African Americans, like Quakers," Jamaica said.

"I thought it was amazing, a very cool experience," Montero said, "performing at the Lyric Theater, dancing with Marc Wayne (one of the lead dancers) - just being able to help with the production."

Montero said he was a little nervous "dancing in front of so many people," but he didn't slip up.

"The choreography was not really hard," Montero said. "Just some parts at the beginning. As soon as I learned all my parts I helped others with theirs."

Montero said he learned some about the civil rights movement through the story told in the production.

Would he do it again?

"If they ask me I'll try," Montero said.

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