By Marni Barta and Emily Friedman

It was Sept. 5 when the Advanced Dance II class began collaborating on the project that would take them until March to perfect.

The first step was to pick a theme, and under the leadership of dance teacher Cynthia Winter the 15 members of the class created a journey which they will tell through their pirouettes and leaps on Feb. 29, March 1 and March 2.

“Every year it is a new experience with a different group dynamic,” Winter said. “It is always exciting to see, but the process is still focused on an ensemble.”

The concert will not be broken into individual numbers. Instead, it is an hour and a half of dance sequences that come together to tell one story.

The music plays an important role in conveying the story because the lyrics and sounds help trigger the imagination and get the message across to the audience.

The Rugby stage will be decorated with a special set piece, which has not yet been revealed. The set will be incorporated in the performance in a way that is unfamiliar to a majority of the dancers.

For this reason, Becca Greenbaum, a lead dancer from Diavolo, a company specializing in incorporating outrageous sets, came to help the dancers adjust to working with the set.

In addition to the 15 members of the company, there will be four guest dancers from Advanced Dance I participating in the concert.

“I’m really excited about the performance and have a lot of fun when I go to rehearsals,” guest dancer Lauren Wolfen ’09 said. “I look forward to them on weekends.”

“I am very excited about this year’s concert,” Winter said. “We have a very talented, energetic and dedicated group of young people who are passionate about what they are doing.”