Parker Pitisci dances across his graduation stage.

Do you remember your Valedictorian’s speech? What about the Salutatorian’s speech? Do you even remember who they were? I can say with a clear conscience that I have no memories of the content of those speeches, even though they were delivered by my two best friends in high school. (Sorry, ladies!) I do remember that they both intentionally didn’t use the clichéd “mountain” or “road” metaphors in their speeches.

Luella High School’s (Henry County) graduating class of 2013 will remember their Salutatorian’s speech for years to come. And, should they begin to forget it, they can refresh their memories by checking in with YouTube. Parker Pitisci wanted to show appreciation to his friends and educators and somehow words just weren’t enough. Fortunately for the 6000 family and community members in attendance – and now us, too – art is there to help express Parker’s sentiments. Through dance, he engages with his classmates and teachers, who can be seen in the video below standing and clapping along to Parker’s performance.

Keep watching all the way through to the end. Just when you think it’s over, he dances off the stage to one of the most popular songs of the year. I won’t spoil it for you: