POLYARTS
AFTERNOON OF
STUDENT CHOREOGRAPHY
Sunday, J anuary 30, 2022 3:00 PM | RICHARD PERRY THEATRE
Production Staff: Chloe Myrick-Ellis & Madeline Doty................................................................... Directors Tasha Fonstein..................................................................................................Sound Design Annakaecia Clarke........................................................................................Lighting Design
Directors’ Note We are very excited to present to you this year’s Afternoon of Student Choreography, an accumulation of choreographic works by the students of Poly’s dance community. Associate choreographers are given creative control and have collaborated with peers to develop their piece both in dance class and after school. We’ve aimed to broaden the spectrum of dance in our community by encouraging all dancers studying any genre to participate in an opportunity for artistic expression. Many dancers are excited to get back to performing for an audience on stage; although the pandemic has affected all our lives, creating self-doubt and some debilitating insecurities, we must strive to move forward as young artists as our own strengths support us along our individual pathways through life. As this year’s Artistic Director and Assistant Artistic Director, we hope that you enjoy the curation of this benefit performance. Our message to all associate choreographers is to embrace and express themselves in a way that sets a transcending tone for the ASC performances to come. Thank you to Mr. Turner, Ms. Hacker, and Dr. Gittens for their guidance in and outside of the studio in preparing us for this point, and to all the performers who have worked so hard to bring their peers’ compositions to life. We would like to especially thank you, the Poly community, for your continued support for dance and the arts in our school. The resilience and dedication of our community echo loudly as an example. Chloe Myrick-Ellis ’22 & Madeline Doty ’22 Directors
Notes from the Performing Arts Department It has been remarkable to witness the creativity inside the studio despite the global events that may have affected our lives outside. Dance for many will always be a means of communication, serving as a continuum of inner exploration and life connections. Students have been motivated to communicate those discoveries and experiences with honesty and humility while refocusing on dance’s therapeutic value through the process of composition development. Peer dancers are coached to articulate their intention/vision through developed movement and learned artistry. I hope that you enjoy the compositions presented as illustrated by the talents of their peers as much as I have advising them through this process. Thank you for your support as we continue to develop and showcase more expressions of art. We hope that the connections made help pull communities back toward the high human value of the arts within the dance spectrum. Samuel Turner US Dance Dancers are inherently resilient, working through challenges, pain, and adapting to changes regularly. Over the past two years, I have had the immense privilege to watch and support our dancers through many iterations of education, creation, and performance as COVID safety guidelines blurred and shifted. We have danced both outside and inside, in all locations on campus, through all types of weather, with masks securely on our faces, finding ways to bridge distances that arose both literally and figuratively. Through it all, we constantly shared the joy of movement and creativity, while processing what the commitment to dance truly means. Today, we are so happy to be making the first steps in our return of live dance and are so glad to be welcoming you, whether in person or virtually, into our space to join in our celebration. Please applaud and congratulate our dancers on their grit, resilience, and talent. Ashley Hacker MS/US Dance, Debate & Drama Coordinator
All proceeds may be donated to the below designated dance affiliated organizations helping to bring dance enrichment into communities outside of ours.
Brown Girls Do Ballet® is a division of Brown Girls Do®, Inc, a registered 501(c)3 committed to promoting diversity in the arts by providing annual scholarships, a mentor network, and community programs to empower young girls. Our mission is supported by merchandise sales and fundraisers. It’s with your interest and commitment that we have achieved recognition from The Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, and The Washington Post, to name a few. A gift to Brown Girls Do Ballet® ensures that all of our current programs continue uninterrupted. Every gift—large or small—has a vital impact on the artists we serve. All of our programs are made possible with your generosity. Additionally, we will be able to add programs that help to further our mission and vision. Gifts are 100% tax deductible. The easiest way to make a contribution to Brown Girls Do Ballet® is by making a secure online payment through PayPal. You will receive an immediate payment confirmation on your computer and an acknowledgment letter for your taxes in the mail. Your donation will help us fund scholarships that help determined dancers and dance studio owners to realize their dreams. DONATE to Brown Girls Do Ballet®
Cora Dance creates exceptional dance experiences while addressing barriers that restrict individuals from accessing the art form. Cora programs foster diverse people finding common ground, allowing all involved—artists, students, audiences, and community members—to authentically connect through art. Through its professional company, youth companies, wraparound services, and sliding scale dance education programs, Cora provides exceptional dance experiences while addressing impediments that restrict people from having access to the art form. With excellence, investment, and equity as central values, Cora provides not only opportunities to dance but also opportunities to build trust, solidarity, and mutual respect. Cora works in deeply personalized ways. Using dance as the access point, community members are introduced to one another through Cora and grow to build trust, collaborate, and reap the benefits of a stronger, more unified community. Cora is dance for everyone. All programs and performances are FREE and PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN. No one is turned away based on what or if they can pay, with priority given to those who live in NYCHA, Section-8 housing, or who are unhoused. DONATE to Cora Dance Additionally, audience members can text “CORADANCE” to 44-321 for the text-to-donate feature.
Uproar Associate Choreographer: Adrianna Neal ’23 Associate Co-Choreographer: Atiya Pope ’23 “We both have a special connection to the genre of Hip Hop dance and we’re both influenced a lot by our instructors. In our process of creating a piece, we began with selecting the music tracks to create our desired mix and then the steps followed. Usually we spend time freestyling to the songs and if the movement fits, we build it into the choreography. This composition allowed us to fuse together our expressions, illustrating our taste for Hip Hop.” Music by: Mixed Artists Dancers: Adrianna Neal & Atiya Pope
Already Gone Associate Choreographer: Brianna Khrakovsky ’22 “Everyone is beautiful in their own way and the opinions of others are insignificant and often have way too much impact on one’s self-image. However, this piece can be interpreted in a number of different ways depending on the audience’s own personal relation to the topic at hand. This piece is about feeling comfortable in your own skin and not letting the perception of others cloud your own judgment of yourself. It’s important to be in charge of how you see yourself. I hope to help illustrate the power of self-confidence and artistic expression to allow others to search within themselves for their own mental stability as they move through the evolving social acceptance of their reality.” Music by: Sleeping At Last Dancer: Brianna Khrakovsky
Euphoric PART 1 Associate Choreographer: Myka Modeste ’23
PART 2
Associate Co-Choreographer: Eva Aguilo ’25 “My main inspiration is the passage of time. Especially during the pandemic, time feels very fluid, the passage feels very slow. Days melt into weeks, weeks into months, and before we know it, years have passed. However, things were getting relatively back to normal and the pace of everything seemed to pick back up; that motivated me to reflect on life and illustrate that through movement. The music gives me a feeling of euphoria that is missing in the current climate.” Music by: Labrinth “Mckay & Cassie” & “Formula” Block [A] Dancers: Myka Modeste, Eva Aguilo, Alice Shinder, Hannah Goldberg, Margot Janicik, Ezekiel Wise, Shuhan Zhou
Attraction and Opposition Associate Choreographer: Madeline Doty ’22 Associate Co-Choreographer: Gabrielle Perry ’22 “Our main inspiration for this piece was the music, prompting a story about magnetism and resistance. This music is very heavy, dramatic, and builds in tension. You may hear, as the music swells and overlaps, illusions of the song pushing and pulling, fighting with itself. These shifting tempos allowed us to explore contrasting themes of unity and separation and the dissolution of both internal and external relationships. We envision it as a kind of battle, chase, and struggle to escape temptations. We applied this idea of attraction and opposition to our own lives, friendships, and mental health, loosely exploring this idea within our piece. The story uncovers how quickly we shift from being on the same team to opposing one another. We’ve been dancing together since Middle School, but have become much closer in our Upper School dance classes. It’s always fun and enriching collaborating in this creative process and working together; we inspire new movements within one another. As we approach the close of our senior year, our time of dance in Poly comes to an end. This narrative unpacks the idea that no journey is simply linear; it’s often more multi-dimensional than expected. It’s a story of our own, though we leave it to the viewer to interpret the journey and resolution.” Music by: Secession Studios Dancers: Gabrielle Perry & Madeline Doty
Where Did We Go? Associate Choreographer: Ali Schuman ’25 “I was inspired by both my passion for dance and a vision I had for a piece. I wanted to incorporate movements I’ve witnessed that have influenced my own style. I love the contemporary genre of dance and the music I’ve selected. I can feel the beat while listening to the lyrics and it inspires me to move. Creating this dance was easy for me as I just closed my eyes, listened, and was able to envision what would work. My composition relates to confronting the loss of someone and trying to run after that. The statement repeats throughout, “Where Did We Go? I Love You.” I thought of this meaning and wanted to show moves to be sharp and strong and at other times slow and flowy. It feels like I need to chase the person I love, searching for them, and then trying to let go of them.” Music by: SYML “WDWGILY” Block [C] Dancers: Ariana DiCarlo, Genevieve Fitzpatrick, Stravroula Gabriel, Ryan Geisler, Rahima Libstag, Kimberly Mark, Lucia McDonald, Mia Pineda, Sadie Schoenberger, Hannah Smith
The Revival Associate Choreographer: Gabrielle Perry ’22 Associate Co-Choreographers: Brianna Khrakovsky ’22 & Chloe Myrick-Ellis ’22 “It is the Poly Prep Dance Team’s first debut performance since 2020. It is a Hip Hop piece meant to get the crowd going and make everyone, including the audience, feel energetic and rejuvenated about the return of the arts.” Music by: Mixed Artists Dancer: Brianna Khrakovsky, Gabrielle Perry, Madeline Doty, Chloe Myrick-Ellis, Adrianna Neal, Atiya Pope, Ella Lille Yerington
Trapped Associate Choreographer: Ella Lille Yerington ’24 Associate Co-Choreographers: Nina Harris ‘24, Laila Baluk ’24, Cecilia Berkley ’24 “Our dance is inspired by the struggle of COVID and online school. It tells the story of feeling trapped in the house, separated from friends, and forced to change one’s lifestyle. There is an eeriness to our dance that represents the overwhelming feeling of being unable to escape the pandemic. We were influenced by aspects of the dance Fly on the Wall, and tried to imitate the highlow movements accentuated by arms. A lot of our transitions use turns to highlight the idea of feeling thrown into the pandemic. In the final part of our dance, the phone ringing portrays the moment students got the news that we would be returning to school. There is this final moment of anxiety depicted through the phone call, to suggest that even this moment of relief may have serious consequences.” Music by: Billie Eilish Dancers: Nina Harris, Laila Baluk, Cecilia Berkley, Ella Lille Yerington
Into the Abyss Associate Choreographer: Isabel Gerling ’25 “Hearing the music spoke to me. The more I listened, the more inspired I was. I saw a vision of the dance in my mind. I found connections between classmates, which inspired me to incorporate partnering work. I found these partnerships compelling against the theme of the song, about being alone. The music is all about how sometimes when you are around people you feel you are alone. The voices of two singers, Billie Eilish and Khalid, harmonize beautifully, yet the depth in their voices makes them sound very separated. This led me to making the end about separation after earlier in the song there is partner work implying trust. One by one a dancer walks out and is found alone on stage searching for others around them. I have enjoyed working with the talent of my peers and I am so excited to be able to share my composition.” Music by: Billie Eilish & Khalid “lovely” Block [H] Dancers: Hazel Budker, Sophia Cimmino, Kaylee Cumbay, Lorenza Jaramillo, Danielle Jason, Carolina Mannino, Sacha Mendelson, Fiona Stephenson, Drew Waldman
Step on the Scene Associate Choreographers: Uma Sooran ’22 & Mia Edwards ’23 Music by: Mixed Artists Dancers: Annakaecia Clarke, Kaylee Cumbay, Mia Edwards, Jasmine Grant-Phillips, Jordan Millar, Madison Shepherd, Uma Sooran
The Main Event Associate Choreographer: Chloe Myrick-Ellis ’22 Associate Co-Choreographer: Brianna Khrakovsky ’22, Gabrielle Perry ’22 “Choreographed to a culture-filled mix, The Main Event is a piece created to showcase the different genres and versatility within Hip Hop dance. With this piece, we welcome you to a festival-like celebration of dance, exploring the dynamics of what a large group can do when brought together.” Music by: Mixed Artists Dancers: Brianna Khrakovsky, Gabrielle Perry, Madeline Doty, Chloe Myrick-Ellis, Julia Sperling, Atiya Pope, Adrianna Neal, Cecilia Berkley, Laila Baluk, Ella Lille Yerington, Carolina Mannino, Eva Aguilo, Kyra Neamonitakis, Ali Schuman
A Note About Our Rehearsal Process and Safety Protocols: Due to current health and safety protocols, we made several adjustments to our rehearsal process, which are outlined below. In preparation for our auditions, rehearsals, and productions, we worked closely with Sarah Zuercher, Director of Health and Well-being, and Renae Beauchman, COVID Safety Coordinator, to create these protocols: • Students were masked unless drinking and eating. • Students remained socially distanced when possible. • Staging and choreography adhered to state and national guidelines.
Our Production Would Not Be Possible without the Generous Support of: Audrius Barzdukas P’20 Head of School Michal Hershkovitz P’16, ’18 Assistant Head of School, Academics Sarah Bates Head of Upper School Michael Robinson Head of Arts Daniel Doughty Director of Music Samuel Turner US Dance Ashley Hacker MS/US Dance, Debate & Drama Coordinator The members of the Performing Arts faculty, the Engagement & Communications Department, the Poly Prep IT Staff, the Facilities and Maintenance Department, the Security Staff, the Kitchen Staff, and the Upper School Deans.
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Join Us for These Upcoming Performing Arts Events Upper School Musical: Curtains, School Edition Book, Additional Lyrics by Rupert Holmes, Music, Additional Lyrics by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb, Original Book and Concept by Peter Stone Friday & Saturday, March 4 & 5, 2022 7:00 PM | richard perry theatre Sunday, March 6, 2022 2:00 PM | richard perry theatre Spring Dance Concert Friday & Saturday, April 8 & 9, 2022 7:00 PM | richard perry theatre Middle School Musical: 13 the Musical Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown Book by Dan Elish and Robert Horn Thursday & Friday, May 12 & 13, 2022 7:00 PM | richard perry theatre
Stay tuned for more information about our upcoming events!