All About the
Spring Dance Recital
We asked our dance teachers to share some ways they are preparing for the Spring Dance Recital!
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Why did you choose a certain song or theme for your classes?
I chose the song “Shake It Off” for my hip hop class because it’s very upbeat and the dancers love Taylor Swift! ~Faride
I chose the song “Sunflower” by the Vitamin String Quartet for my ballet class’s recital piece because it felt fun and playful. My students always come into class with a lively spirit, eager to learn a new challenging step. I wanted to showcase this energy by choosing a song that reflected their energy. ~Sarah
I was delighted to learn that the theme for this year’s recital is Fun in the Sun. “Here Comes the Sun” has always been one of my favorite songs. I felt that the melody of the music would be perfect for a contemporary piece. ~Rachel
I use a song called “Domingo the Flamingo” to practice the ballet step “passe” with most of my young ballet classes. I am excited for one of my youngest classes to dance to this song for our recital! ~Julia
What are your students most excited for?
My students are most excited to wear beautiful costumes, do their makeup, and show their progress to the audience. ~Yuka
Making up their own steps and adding them to the dance. And the costumes! ~Faride
My students are most excited to show the new steps they have been practicing in class to their friends and family. ~Sarah
They have been enjoying learning new choreography and the added challenge of having to memorize the steps without me doing them on the side. I have been pretending to be the “audience” and have the students practice without me helping out. I am proud of their continued determination to memorize the dance. ~Rachel
My oldest class started working on pre-pointe in the fall and have transitioned into their pointe shoes. So exciting! All of my classes have been working hard and are excited to perform this May.
~Julia
What are some elements of your choreography that you’re excited about?
Showing off the steps we have learned this year. Change of formation. ~Yuka
Showing some hip hop floor work and foundation steps, blended with the dancers’ own steps. ~Faride
An element of my choreography I am excited about is seeing my students accomplish using different directions and facings. ~Sarah
For “Surfin’ USA” we dance as if we are on surfboards, which feels particularly exciting. In this dance we are also utilizing some jazz technique in addition to ballet vocabulary. For “Here Comes the Sun” the dance has a sense of calmness, control, and fluidity. We are utilizing a lot of technical skills that we have been practicing in the warm up and across the floor portions of class. ~Rachel
I chose “Under the Sea” for one of my classes and we are going to use blue and green scarves, which we use in creative movement and free dance in many of my classes. The dancers love exploring movement using the flowing fabric. ~Julia
For those who are new with us this semester, what are you looking forward to most for the spring recital?
I’m looking forward to seeing them dance because they have great energy and are super excited already. ~Faride
As a new teacher at Discovery Programs, I am most looking forward to seeing how my students grow. I have already seen so much growth and I cannot wait to see how far they will have come by recital time! ~Sarah
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