PHOTOS: Sneak Peek At The Most Widely Attended MHS Artistic Event

The Montclair High School Dance Company will put on a high-energy Spring Dance Concert from March 16 to 18 featuring 50 accomplished dancers performing premieres and repertoire pieces from a range of dance genres including ballet, contemporary, lyrical, jazz, tap, ballroom, and hip-hop. The show continues the established tradition of excellence at what has become the most widely attended artistic event of the Montclair High School season.

What elevates these performances is a unique combination of in-school support and the program’s relationship with the wider dance community. Each season, artistic director Denise Brown attracts award-winning and emerging-dance educators and professionals to work with the dancers.

“We are fortunate," Brown said. “We start with a community that embraces the arts and a group of talented dedicated dancers who train both at the high school and private dance studios, and then take the performance to the next level by bringing in leading area choreographers.”

Supported by a grant from the Montclair Fund for Educational Excellence (MFEE), the program provides a unique forum for Montclair High School students to engage with professional and university level dancers, choreographers and trainers as part of their education.

The 2011-2012 season features nine accomplished guest choreographers representing a range of genres, professional companies and academic positions.  Included among this season’s choreographers are leading dance educators from Rutgers University, Montclair State University, and Goucher College, and also current and former members from leading companies including Alvin Ailey Dance, The Martha Graham Dance Company, Pilobolus, the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Erick Hawkins Dance Co., Philadanco, and the New Jersey Tap Ensemble.

Brown shared her joy in working with the students and the choreographers.

“At the end of the day, what is uplifting and inspiring to me as the director (and I think I can speak on behalf of all the choreographers) is that we have given our time to the dancers," she said. "Each choreographer has given the dancers a voice, has inspired them to become stronger and to experience the rehearsal process as a work of art. I'm very excited to show the audience how much the student dancers have grown.”

Dance Company performances will be held in the Montclair High School Auditorium, 141 Park Street, Montclair, on Friday, March 16 and Saturday, March 17 at 8 p.m. and on Sunday, March 18 at 2 p.m. Admission is $12 for adults and $5 for children, students, and seniors. Tickets are available at the door.

Montclair HS Dance Company Members:  2011-2012

 

 

Year First Name Last Name 12 Lena Engelstein  12 Shana Handelman 12 Marquis McGhee 12 Minishua Morris 12 T�ana Rose 12 Nate Rosenfield 12 Tiarah Sowell-Hearne 12 Jesse Turits


11 Briana Carr 11 Marin Day 11 Nora Ellmann 11 Eve Feldberg 11 Eliza Fink 11 Krista Frias  11 Juliet Goswell 11 Kaila Jenkins 11 Ethan Kramer 11 Lillian Kravitz 11 Julie Lesniak 11 Tali Westreich 11 Jackson Whitsett 11 Mara Zafrina 11 Sally Zimmermann   10
Gabriela Castillo 10 Caroline Friedman 10 Beverly Kolopaking 10 Claudia McKenzie 10 Linda Meliani 10 Sophia Rieth 10 Danielle Sargeant 10 Eliana Shapiro 10 Ayanda Thusi 10 Sarah Wilensky 10 Kimone Williams 9 Zadie Adams 9 Sarah Butler 9 Lindsey Ewertsen 9 Leah Greenhaus 9 Sydney Huber 9 Lotrice Hulin 9 Najwa Ismail 9 Savanna Lowe 9 Kyle Martin 9 Charlotte Saylor 9 Esai Siddeeq 9 Mikayla Ullrich 9 Tess Wilson