This winter co-curricular season, members of the Dance Company presented both contemporary and classical techniques in their annual performances on March 1 and 2.
Ms. Amber Cameron, a guest choreographer, created a jazz piece for the entire company. Ms. Allesandra Rinaldo, dance program director, choreographed a full-cast ballet and a contemporary trio, which premiered on Friday night. Ms. Rinaldo said, “I have enjoyed working with the dancers and seeing them embrace the roles and challenges given to them. I greatly appreciated their willingness to be creative as they make my choreographic visions come to life.”
The Tsunami Step team made a surprise appearance, and student musicians performed between dances.
“The jazz piece is very different from last year’s; it is a lot more experimental and has a narrative centered on how money controls people,” said Ophelia Cham ’25, co-captain of the Dance Company. “It isn’t a classically beautiful, pointed-toes dance. It is very conceptually nuanced, which makes for a more thought-provoking performance.”
Irene Zeng ’26, a member of the Dance Company, said, “The music in the group ballet piece has a lot of character. There was also a fan during the piece, which added a lot of drama.”
Many students choreographed pieces. Daniela Vasquez ’24, Zeng, and Jiyani Bharvad ’27 choreographed and performed solos. Katie Qian ’26 created and performed a duet with Daphne Khayatt ’25, and Amina Wang ’27 created and performed with Hermoine Wu ’27. Wu said, “I’ve definitely enjoyed choreographing my duet with Amina , because it is a combination of all our favorite techniques with a song that we both love.”
“My solo had a storyline,” Zeng said, “I am representing a person who has lost a loved one; she wants to sleep and dream as if this person were still alive. I held a pillow throughout the performance to represent this half-reality, half-dream torture. At the end of the dance, she wakes up from her dream and its escapism.”
“It felt awesome to showcase all of the lovely dance talent present at Hotchkiss with this strong group of dancers,” said Ms. Rinaldo. “The possibilities were endless in creating choreography due to the great technical background each dancer was able to bring to the group.”
The Dance Company’s next performance will be a collaboration with the Kent School on March 30.
