On February 20^th and 21^st, the Kent School Dance Ensemble showcased its winter dance show titled “From the Top.” The show represents a huge milestone for the dance program that only four short years ago did not exist. Since then, dance at Kent has grown rapidly, adding to its performance schedule each year and moving into a new rehearsal studio last winter.

This year, the Ensemble put on a fifteen-number, two-hour-long show. This was not only the first Kent dance show long enough to have an intermission, but also an entirely student choreographed event. A total of thirteen dancers—ranging from third to sixth form—set their pieces with fellow students, which accumulated into a wonderfully original and eclectic performance.

During regular afternoon dance practices, the dancers focus on modern dance, but that does not stop the show from covering a wide array of styles. “From the Top” opened with the choreography of Daisuke Tsuda ’17, featuring metallic leggings and Bruno Mars’ song, Uptown Funk. The dynamic quickly changed, as three pieces later, Lindsay Wallace ’15 took the stage in a flowing white shirt under soft lighting for a lyrical dance. These dances, however, were just the beginning. By the time the curtains closed, the dancers had covered every style from contemporary to jazz, modern, ballet, and even pointe.

Before the lights went down, they were just Kent students like the rest of us. But once they set foot onstage, they became dancers. Many even changed from one character to another in the blink of an eye: with a simple costume or music change, the dancer went from a fighter to a lover, a lost child to Justin Timberlake.

The most amazing aspect of the show was the transformation each dancer went through between the opening and the closing of the curtain. Although the Ensemble was a fusion of experienced and novice dancers, every single person played a significant role. Even those who had never danced a step in their lives before this winter elegantly carried themselves in front of the audience.

The show closed with Just One Last Time, a jazz/hip hop dance choreographed by Judy Wang ’15. Although the title came from a song it was set to, the dance embraced its title as the show took form. Captain Ariel Lee ’15, who was part of this dance, describes, “Having been involved in Kent dance has been a blast, but dancing during Just One Last Time reminded me of the history of dance and how far we have come with this program. Dance has become a part of my life.”

Lee was not the only one who had been transformed by the Kent dance program—every senior who has dedicated years to the Ensemble have been. Even though this recital may have been the just one last time dancing at Kent for some of them, for the underclassmen, it is only the first of many yet to come.