Marked by jazz, contemporary, pop and hip hop, with an array of colors and storylines, Dance Company performed their fall show last Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the Claudia Boettcher Theatre. Their show attracted both day and boarding students, as well as parents and faculty members.

The performance received positive feedback, evident by the audience’s constant applause, cheers, attentiveness, and standing ovations. Junior Gisele Thompson enjoyed the show and how in sync the dancers were. “ It looked like there weren’t any mistakes, everyone knew what they were supposed to do, it was really coordinated. It was very entertaining… some [dance pieces] made me laugh while others were just mesmerizing. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. It was really good.” Thompson thinks the dancers did an amazing job and even promised to come to their next performance. 

Sophomore dancer Annabel Fabian said that although there were a few mistakes, overall the choreography was well executed. “ The performances were much better than how I’d done rehearsing. Something about being on stage makes you push yourself further.” For next year, Fabian hopes to perform a lyrical piece and another piece with more hip-hop. 

Senior Chelsea Hall has seen major growth in Dance Company over the past four years and attributes this change to Shell Benjamin, the director, and the choreographers she brings in. “She [ Benjamin] is extremely dedicated to what she does and it really does reflect in her students and the passion that they have and the work ethic that they have.” Out of all the dance shows she’s been to, this one was Hall’s favorite, and she commends the dancers for all their hard work and effort they put forth. 

Junior Jazmine Hudson added that she believed the reason Dance Company had such a great performance was because of their strong sense of community. “You could tell we were working as a team, instead of trying to outshine each other, which I think made our performance really strong and good. It felt good going off stage and everyone was super happy,” she said.

Hudson loved dancing on stage, but her favorite part of the performance was looking at the audience. “It’s kind of like a rush of adrenaline. You’re performing but you kind of have that connection with someone. You can kind of see how they are reacting if they smile or whatever. It’s powerful.”