Dancers perform an uplifting winter dance concert
Newbury Park High School’s various dance classes and competitive dance team showcased a blend of emotional, contemplative, and energetic performances at their annual Winter Dance Concert, entitled “Affirmations”.
Cameo Carolan, Dance Program Director and Competitive Dance Team Advisor, felt when deciding the theme that winter performances often gravitate toward Christmas, despite the many different holidays celebrated in the winter season. “I wanted it to have that positive feeling that you get about the holidays, without it specifically being Christmas songs,” Carolan said.
Carolan and one of her intermediate dance students, Sophia Zhang, put their ideas together and brainstormed what makes them feel positive. “Both of us were into affirmations, [so] then it was kind of easy [because] we realized affirmations [can be] anything from positive quotes to like persevere quotes, so it really fit any dance in our show,” Carolan said.
Along with diverse styles of dance, the concert featured the work of many different choreographers. Emilie Murry and Claudia Frankfort, student choreographers, had the opportunity to co-create a contemporary dance. “It’s so exciting because you get to see your creation on stage,” Murry said.
They had full creative freedom during the process, from the cast list to the song, to the story. “We both came up with this idea of somebody who is hurt and needs help, [but] they’re constantly giving up what they need to help other people,” Murry said.
With creating a production comes certain challenges. “As a dancer, or anyone who has to plan a production, attendance is very important […] trying to incorporate [absent students] into spacing changes and stuff is very difficult to do [especially with] different ability levels and learning levels,” Carolan said.
In recent years, equal opportunities for students with disabilities and language barriers have been increasingly emphasized, making accessibility extremely important. One conflict that arose during the three shows was the lack of wheelchair space in the theater.
“We […] have people that are wheelchair bound, [who] feel alienated because they show up and one person is in the one handicap spot and they have to go sit in the back and not see anyone because they’re shorter. It’s not fair. […] So one of my missions now is to try to make that better,” Carolan said.
Carolan sees the winter concert as an opportunity for growth. “It never feels like [the spring show] to me because we don’t have our full costumes yet [and] we haven’t perfected things. […] I always feel like we’re better at the end of the year,” Carolan said.
“[The dances] were barely ready to be seen, and I was like, ‘I’m gonna throw them in there’ because hopefully they’ll […] get a little bit cleaner and better [with each] performance. All three of those numbers by Saturday night were where they needed to be to compete,” Carolan said.
Members of the dance team also performed their solos in the show along with many other amazing group performances. Grace Sorani, junior, is in her first year with the dance team and was one of the soloists Friday night. “It was my first solo, so it was a lot of fun […] and I’m proud [I remembered] most of the corrections and stuff throughout the dances,” Sorani said.
Overall, although some students have only been dancing for a few months, post-show many are looking forward to the spring concert with anticipation. “The kids are already excited for spring because they went through the process and they’re like, this is cool. This is a family, […] Especially for people who haven’t experienced that before, it’s a little overwhelming in a positive way,” Carolan said.
