Dance Program: En Pointe
From soaring through the night sky with Peter Pan to fighting alongside “revolutionary manumission abolitionists,” the dancers at Notre Dame San Jose enthrall their audiences through emotional, expressive choreography.
Emily King, Visual and Performing Arts department, coaches the varsity and junior varsity Regent Collective Dance Company teams, both of which are auditioned teams. She also teaches the dance class, which contains a diverse set of skill levels that range from seasoned dancers to students who have never taken a dance class before. In King’s opinion, “[Being] able to express your emotions and your feelings through an art form is really important. It helps connect you with those around you. I love that I’m able to teach students how to do that with dance.”
Twice a year, the entirety of the dance program comes together to showcase their talents. In the winter, the varsity and junior varsity teams join forces with the dance elective class. This year, as King elaborates, “[The show is] called Four: A Contemporary Showcase. It features the dance class, our junior varsity, and our varsity in an epic tale of love and loss displayed through the four seasons.” In the performance, which will take place on January 22nd, lead dancers from the dance teams play characters based on seasonal and celestial themes, such as the Moon, the Wind, and Mother Earth.
In the spring, all students in the dance program focus on creating their own pieces of choreography. The class focuses on improvisation and movement based on nature, emotions, and the behavior of the world around them. The varsity team also attends several different events around the Bay Area. For example, pre-COVID-19, the team had the opportunity to perform at the San Francisco Collaborative Against Human Trafficking.
The spring semester culminates in a student-choreographed performance. Last year, the show was titled “Dancing Together, Stronger Than Ever.” The Google site was populated with pieces from both the dance class and the teams; the students used choreography as a vehicle to spread unity and increase community awareness on global issues.
The dance program at Notre Dame San Jose teaches its participants to be global citizens through the lens of movement and choreography. It forges friendships and connections between students, and it is an extraordinary program to partake in and bear witness to.
