“We were all there to dance and to work hard and to learn to put on a good performance,” said Via Huang ’25, a dancer at the CRLS DANCEworks show on January 11th and 12th. “To learn dance, you have to embarrass yourself, it’s a vulnerable place. And to be in a vulnerable environment that is also comfortable is not easy to create.”
Huang, a junior who joined Modern Dance Company (MDC) this year, was initially scared that she wouldn’t fit in because she hadn’t been able to take formal dance classes when she was younger. However, she found a warm and welcoming community that was ready to teach everyone, no matter where they started.
“After the show everyone was celebrating,” Tamar Gilboa-Malca ’26, another new MDC member, told the Register Forum. “People really bonded.”
The January show was a resounding success, combining MDC dances with those from the Advanced Dance class, both of whom began working on their dances in October. The class had a particularly strong performance this year, with every dance coming off as professional. Warning, choreographed and performed by Sisu De Sola ’24 and Claudia Harmer ’24 was especially impressive.
Wearing skirted leotards and leaping and twirling to The Exit by Conan Grey, the end product was beautiful. Leigh O’Sullivan, the mother of MDC dancer Kalanit Flannery ’27, was crying when the lights came on. “[Harmer] really embodied the music,” she told the Register Forum.
Slip Up was also a huge favorite, with dancer-choreographers Anna Kotowicz ’25 and Keira Ventola ’25 using slow and thoughtful movements to grip the audience as they artfully traversed the stage. Their elongated strides, crossing one foot over the other as they approached and left each other, was a key feature of the dance.
“I loved Slip Up with my heart and soul,” Yara Alkhalifa ’25 told the Register Forum. “It was done so well, and I thought it showed such control.”
You Know How I Feel choreographed by Sofia Castaldi ’24 and Zoya Kumar-Warikoo ’24 and You’re In Trouble by Anna Moschapidakis ’24 were also some of the MDC’s biggest hits.
Beginning with a series of impressive pirouettes by Al Pirani ’26 and continuing with perfectly coordinated slow spins and en pointe steps, You Know How I Feel was exceptional. Considering the size of the group performing, this was perhaps the most impressive dance of the night, with Anaiya Jacobs ’25, Caleb Blumofe ’26, Lucy Carter ’26, and Maddy Monestime ’26 being some of the notable dancers. You’re In Trouble alternatively consisted of a fun and bouncy dance led by MDC choreographer and dancer Moschapidakis. Clad in jeans and purple MDC t-shirts, dancers twisted their knees, shook their heads, and spun their arms in jagged hip-hop movements that generated loud cheers from the audience.
Trippin’, choreographed and performed by Advanced Dance class students Gabrielle Charles ’24, Gina Jon ’24, and Merron Emanuel ’24 was similarly met with loud cheers.
Starring Jon as the lead dancer, the trio was dynamic, locking their knees in and out, bouncing their shoulders, and hopping in monochrome tracksuits that Jon described as “fun, iconic, and sassy.”
“We practiced [the dance] over and over again,” she told the Register Forum. “Before it was ready, I was so worried about it. But we made the best performance we could have had with the song so I’m really proud of that.”
This article also appears in our January 2024 print edition.
