Keira Gallagher ’28
The dance concert is consistently the arts event of the season, and this year is meant to be the best yet. With organized coaching staff who are committed to their craft, dedicated dancers who are determined to put on an amazing show, and everyone working behind the scenes to make the concert technically possible, Moving Masterpieces’s components of afrocaribbean, hip-hop, modern, and jazz are sure to impress.
Months of preparation are underway before the first week of dance even begins. As the coaches finalize intricate details, dancers are only just starting to transition from fall activities to the winter dance season. Alice Nicholson, upper school dance coach, states that “we choose themes and start our ideas the week after [the dance concert]. So it really is months in advance.” While the general dances in the concert are consistent, it’s the detail in the subtleties of the theme that make it special.
This year’s theme is certainly worth the time previously described by Nicholson because it contains multiple unique features. The overarching theme is hinted at through the title of the concert, Moving Masterpieces, as it ensures that each exhibit is based on its own piece of pre-established art. For example, the jazz exhibit is meant to embody the essence of Moulin Rouge!, while the Afrocarribean dance is derived from The Funeral by Ellis Wilson. Furthermore, one of the dances is meant to represent the Mona Lisa, while the final represents the strength of historic queens such as Nefertiti, Rani Lakshmibai, Catherine the Great, and Wu Zetian. Student dancer Alex Reiser ’28 comments on the theme, saying “The artistic theme is gonna really help to bring all the dances together, and it’s interesting for the audience to watch.”
Photo courtesy of Ellen Erikson
This season, new dance coach Rebecca Hite brings a “new style to the dance world of EA,” in the words of Reiser, as she prefers an instrumental approach to her choreography. Coach Nai-Whedai Sheriff chose to contrast the historic element of the Mona Lisa by implementing music from Beyoncé and Barbie. These differing elements work together to create a visually fascinating and auditorily appealing performance.
Once auditions are completed and the dancers are assigned to their pieces, the real fun begins. The daily routine consists of warmups led by a senior, which are the only consistent daily activity as the rest of practice changes from day to day. Some days are dedicated to one single dance, while others dabble in various exhibits. Through the participation of different dances, student dancer Vivian Cook ’27 describes this changing schedule as “a really great way that we structure it so that everyone is getting a chance to bond with each other… everybody’s involved. Everybody gets a chance to be with each other.”
Another element that connects the dancers is the inherent community that comes with being on the dance team. Effie Goebeler ’29 states that the culture is her favorite part of dance, saying, “It’s a really great community, and everyone’s so supportive.” Cook adds, “I just love being a part of the dance community because it is such a special place.” The team also came together in a situation where they may have been slightly out of their comfort zone, placing the Marley floor in the theater and helping out with the more technical work.
This year especially required a supportive community, as Sheriff underwent surgery and relied on some of her dancers in order to properly teach parts of her choreography. She described these moments as humbling as she was able to appreciate the way in which she could “ ‘paint’ movement on them through my words and then having them demonstrate for the rest of the class.” She describes her process of choreographing as a patient work in progress in which she pieces it together when inspiration hits. The process of learning such dances is methodical. The dancers are able to learn the bulk of the basics in the few weeks leading up to winter break, before working out the kinks afterwards.
The 2026 dance concert is the ultimate culmination of arts, bringing together performing, musical, and visual works. It provides a moving medium to implement artistic desires that may not be satiated otherwise. The months of hard work, a year’s worth of planning, and moments where Reiser notes, “You can’t put it into words, you can only dance,” has resulted in the final event in which “We are the moving masterpieces,” Goebeler adds.
