On May 5, Dance Arts Concentration seniors Anna Ely ’19, Sadie Jackson ’19, and Heather Shao ’19 took the stage for a final time during their collective senior dance recital.
Conceptualized and choreographed entirely by the three seniors, these performances carried an additional personal weight for all of the dancers involved. “What’s so special about this recital is that before, like in the dance concert or pep rally, I’ve always been dancing someone else’s choreography, but this is something that I can really make about myself,” said Shao. “It’s my senior recital.”
Containing a whopping 14 pieces, the recital explored numerous themes and dance styles, ranging from a contemporary piece about body image to a classical ballet trio.
The preparations for the recital weren’t easy. Since the dancers were so involved in both the choreography and rehearsal process, the recital demanded a significant amount of extra work on top of their classes and other performances within the dance program. In fact, many of the pieces shown had been in the making for years. Ely said, “Over the last four years, as Arts Con students, we’ve been building up a repertoire. For me, the pieces came together in the last few months, but I would say they all started a long time ago.”
The dancers also admitted that there was a bit of procrastination involved, too: “This was definitely my first year of focusing on it. If you ask Kalya, we were really late and procrastinating on it, which is really bad,” Jackson said with a laugh.
Outside of the rehearsal process, the dancers have also taken charge of nearly all other aspects of the performance. They designed their own posters, made promotional announcements at school meeting, and even picked out the music to be played while guests got seated. However, all of this work was done with joy: “I think it really reignited my passion for dance,” said Shao.
This recital was an opportunity to showcase individual dancers’ work made during their time at Choate in a way not possible during the larger mainstage productions; each piece seemed to carry more personal weight than the last. As this was their last performance, these seniors took this recital as a chance to reflect on their time at Choate. “I really like to draw from my personal experiences [when choreographing],” Shao said.
One of Jackson’s dances focused on her recovery process after a hip surgery during her junior spring. In her piece, a projector plays old footage of her dancing just weeks after her surgery — as such, in the video, she has adequate exterior support for her hip. In front of the video, Jackson danced the same dance in sync with the video of her old self, this time, using her body weight for support.
To Jackson, the piece represents her comeback after injury. “That’s kind of been like my story at Choate: I keep getting hurt, but I keep recovering,” she said.
Additionally, some dancers used their dances to speak on social issues. One of Shao’s pieces tackled body image. The group danced to a spoken word poem by Mary Lambert: “Body Love.” “When I listened to the poem, it was just really beautiful. Honestly, choreographing this dance really helped with myself struggling with these issues,” she said.
The topic of body positivity is close to home for many dancers. “Dance is something where a lot of girls are really aware of their body image, and it can get very toxic. I think combating such issues using the medium itself can be very powerful.”
Shao’s dance elicited strong emotions from the audience, too. Jenny Guo ’21, a dancer in Shao’s piece, said, “The first time Kalya saw the piece, she cried a little. I think that shows how moving the dance is.”
The final piece was a tribute to the three dancers’ camaraderie. “Me, Anna, and Heather decided pretty recently that we should probably do a dance together. We’re doing a trio accompanied by Whims, so that’s going to be really fun,” Jackson said before the performance. The Whimawehs, one of Choate’s all-female a cappella groups, sang “House of the Rising Sun,” by The Animals in the background while Ely, Jackson, and Shao danced together.
Unlike past recitals, where the focus has been on the dance company as a whole, these recitals put the spotlight on the seniors as individuals. “For me, one of the joys of this moment is really having them have the chance to take stock of what they’ve learned in their time here — how they’ve grown, what inspires them, what they want to say in this moment,” said Ms. Kalya Yannatos, Director of the Arts and adviser to Dance Arts Concentration students. “It’s really theirs. They’re owning it.” Shao echoed this sentiment, saying, “It’s really about us, and I feel like that’s what makes this final one really special.”
Though the focus may be on just three dancers, each was sure to emphasize the support of their “dance families.” Shao said, “I’ve just been super, super grateful. I think that this whole process made me even closer to my dance family, which is really awesome.” Guo added, “We are a very lively group, and sometimes too much so. A lot of times, 60-minute rehearsals would end up being 30-minute ones, because we would be joking around for most of the time!”
The performance itself took place in the dance studio, which is located in the Worthington Johnson Athletic Center (WJAC). The smaller setting allowed for a more intimate connection between the dancers and audience. “The dance studio is very vulnerable, because people are right there on the floor with you,” Ely said. On the other hand, though, she noted that “having a studio showing invites the audience into the choreographic process and how we’re creating the pieces, rather than them just receiving it.” Ms. Yannatos added, “It creates the potential for a more immediate energy flow — it’s right there.”
The recital also marked a bittersweet transition point in the dancers’ lives, as it was their last performance at Choate.
On one hand, the seniors are sad to leave the tight-knit dance program. “The dance family has been such a huge part of my life and I’m so close with a lot them.” Jackson said. However, each dancer is excited for the new experiences that lie ahead. Ely said, “I’m very excited to move on. As much as I’ve loved being a part of the program here, I think more than anything I’m ready for something new — new styles, new ideas.”
Ms. Yannatos said that she was sad to see the seniors go, but that she’ll be happy to see them thrive outside of Choate. “I’m excited that they’re flying off to new broader, bigger horizons. I’ll miss them all, but I’m so happy that I’ve had the chance to work with them.”
This recital served as a conclusion to the three seniors’ lives at Choate, representing four years of growth. Each dancer emphasized how they’d branched out stylistically since freshman year. When Jackson first came to Choate, she’d only ever danced classical ballet. “Ever since I was two … only ballet. That was it, my whole entire life,” she said. Now, though, she’s expanded to contemporary, modern, and jazz. Similarly, Ely had never tried hip-hop before Choate. During her freshman year, she auditioned for the hip-hop club on a whim — by senior year, she was co-president of the group. “That’s the biggest way my dance vocabulary has changed,” she said. “Hip-hop has influenced the way I dance now.”
Though Ely, Jackson, and Shao may be graduating, they will leave behind a group of exceptionally talented dancers, currently underclassmen. Dance Arts Concentration will continue to grow as the dance program as a whole gains a stronger foothold in the Choate community. Ms. Yannatos said, “We went from one Arts Con senior last year to suddenly four, with more seniors wanting to be part of it as well. It’s just exciting to see the momentum.”
