Dance is an art form that incorporates physical interaction, movement, and collaborating with others. In these unprecedented times, some of these factors are not an option anymore. However, even with the distance, the dance department was able to find innovative ways for students to stay connected through dance.
Last spring, the performing arts program at CA collaborated to produce an end of the year project. Combining singing, instrument playing, and dancing, they made a video that was shared with the broader CA community. The video illustrated the pandemic we are in, the hardships people have faced, and our potential emotions post-pandemic. Students in the dance program had the chance to choreograph their own material and collaborate with their peers through Zoom.
Morgan Glazier ’22, who took part in the project said that she thought “the end of the year project was a great way for CA’s dance community to come together despite everyone being in different locations.”
This fall, the dance program will be occurring virtually for the first couple of months, and then slowly phase into on-campus offerings. Dance 1 and 2 classes are happening during the school day, and Dance 3 and Ballet Workshop are happening after school. These classes will be held three times a week. International students who are unable to attend the virtual class times after school have been offered personalized class options and still are able to fully participate in the program.
Maggie Myslik ’22 is taking the Ballet Workshop course this fall. She states that she “is excited to see how we find ways to make performances virtual and is so happy that we are finding a way to integrate the physical components of dance into a virtual world.”
This year, the dance program will be working with a company in-residence called Boston Dance Theatre (BDT). BDT is a professional contemporary dance company based in Boston, but they also have international connections. Their dance performances are based on socio-political issues, and they recently just launched a series of virtual performances centered around climate change and sea levels rising. The students in the dance program are very excited to be working with Boston Dance Theatre this year.