This is a very exciting year for the Performing Arts team. We have now officially launched the dance portion of the Juilliard collaboration which has many exciting things in store. The Juilliard Creative Classroom has been used for the past two years as a resource in Music and is now available for Dance as well. It has been created for all ages with activities focused around 6 core works. These include styles in Modern, Contemporary, Ballet, Flamenco and Bharatanatyam. Not only are the students experiencing and observing diverse and professional dancers and choreographers, but are also enhancing their dancemaking and analytical skills as well.
In addition to the wonderful things happening during the school day, we have also added several dance classes before and after school including Tap, Jazz, Ballet and Dance Team. Currently the Dance Team is working on repertoire from Martha Graham’s Appalachian Spring. Although it is a very ambitious repertoire, the dancers have been eager to learn it. The school year has already begun with such a positive start in the Dance Department and I am eager to see how the new collaboration and additional classes help make dance an even more special and inspiring experience for the students in our school.
Hope Penner, Dance Specialist