Advanced Dance I: Choreography students performed self-choreographed dance routines in their Fall Dance Showcase on Dec. 8.

Upper School Performing Arts Teacher Queala Clancy said the pieces in the showcase were designed to challenge students and help them learn to compose their own dances.

“Each of the dances in the showcase were a representation of a different module or prompt,” Clancy said. “I gave [the students] a certain prompt to work with, and from there, students were tasked with creating a dance based on that particular prompt, in hand exercising and exploring different methods of generating material.”

Clancy said a fundamental motive she had in organizing the showcase was introducing students to different genres of dance.

“I wanted students to learn to value different dance genres, including hip hop, ballet, modern, jazz, folk and cultural dances,” Clancy said. “The challenge was making sure that the students could value different dance genres and use their awareness to strengthen their choreographic voices. Being a beginning dancer, students are exposed to a limited number of genres, and I believe it is on me to expose them to as much as possible.”

Dancer Isobel Chamas ’25 said though she was anxious to perform at first, she grew more comfortable as the show progressed.

“Performing was nerve-racking at first, but as the show went on, I grew used to having an audience,” Chamas said. “Now that the show is over, it feels sort of bittersweet, but I am relieved that my hard work paid off.”

Chamas said she appreciated seeing the assortment of dances her classmates performed.

“It was moving to see other students’ pieces and quite inspirational as well,” Chamas said. “We all have different styles of dance, and I love taking this chance to learn from other classmates.”

Dancer Tess Rosenfeld ’25 said though preparing for the performance proved difficult, she is proud of the work that she and her classmates produced.

“The first thing that I felt after the show was relief,” Rosenfeld said. “One thing that I found challenging was dealing with the time commitment. Balancing dance with school was difficult, but through open communication with Ms. Clancy, we were able to make it work and put on a performance that we are proud of.”

Clancy said one of her goals for the rest of the season is to help students use their choreographic skills to communicate with the world.

“I want students to think about how they can use their choreographic skills in the greater world,” Clancy said. “In the first half of the season, we honed in on how to generate material, and as we continue throughout the season, I want our next step to be on how to utilize this material. I have a dance activism assignment coming up, and I am excited to see how students will utilize this material.”