This year’s Winter Dance Concert, “The Space Between,” illustrates what happens when students are given the freedom to find their own perspective and the training and support to express it. The December 5-6 concert brought together dancers of all levels, some performing on stage for the first time, to present primarily student-choreographed pieces exploring themes of duality, opposites, and choice.

Elizabeth G. '26 has been in the dance program since eighth grade and has danced for most of her life. She says teachers Alisha Mullally and Molly Mattei establish professional expectations from day one. "In Ms. Mullally's class, you're a dancer, even if you say you're a track athlete. By the time you get to upper-level classes, Ms. Mattei will say, 'You already know you're dancers. Now you're going to explore your own style.'"

Elizabeth and her duet partner, Lucas S. '27, approached choreography organically, bouncing ideas off each other and letting the music drive climaxes in movement. "I've realized that when I choreograph myself, I can choreograph it to my vision," she says.

Maya H. ’26, who had never taken dance before eighth grade, used her acting background to express emotion and tell a story about relationships. “I'm proud of my younger self for taking the risk of taking dance. I love it so much.”