On February 17th and 18th, the winter dance concert took place in Mattison featuring high-quality dances from a variety of styles ranging from classical ballet to modern hip-hop. The dances, both teacher-choreographed and student-arranged, included three ensemble pieces, six middle-sized piece, one duet, and six solos.

Ms. Morris, the dance director, notes that this recital is special compared to the other recitals because “more people perform in smaller ensembles, which allowed us to do the whole show in one flow without musical interludes.” When asked about her expectation for the upcoming dance concert, Ms. Morris said excitedly, “I want them to remember how hard they’ve worked and express love, respect, and passion for dance towards each other and to the audience.”

The show started with the ensemble piece, It’s Our Night, choreographed by Daisuke Tsuda ’19, which sets off the whole journey of beauty. In the music, “Fire We Make,” the dancers danced their heart out to the strong rhythms and melodies. Following that, Lara Li, a fourth form girl, performed to solo ballets, La Voix des Femmes and Diamond Fairy Variation. She showcased her talent of ballet and brought beauty and delicacy with her masterful dance moves. After the two ballets was another ensemble piece, Reset, Set, choreographed by Ms. Morris. Dressed in bright colors, the dancers spun, jumped, changed formation nimbly, creating beautiful visual effects.

Following the big ensemble were a series of middle-sized hip-pops and modern contemporary dances, including Whistle & Boombayah arranged by Eudora Liu, Disentangled arranged by Katherine Liu, Bang Bang Bang arranged by Sanny Dai, Epiphany arranged by Casey Weiner, and Tik Tok arranged by Victoria Wang. The hip-hop performances seemed to really get the crowd excited, and the peak performance was the hip-hop solo, Dear Emelia, choreographed by Daisuke Tsuda, our dance captain. Daisuke dedicated this sad but expressive and touching piece to Emelia Worth, who left us forever in January. After that were a series of smaller pieces including a duet by Daisuke and Katherine and three solos by Zoe Benjamin, Winnie Zhang, and Dora Xu. The show finished off with the ensemble piece, Remember the Night, which brought us back to the main theme, the journey of dance.