News at Buckley

Spring Concert A Glowing "Reflection" of Talent

On Saturday night, 104 performers in grades seven through twelve gathered together on stage and took a final bow. it was the culmination of hours of classes, rehearsals, and hard work put forth to produce the spring dance festival, Reflections.
In the directors' note, dance teachers and the show's co-artistic directors Laura Bamford, Anne Moore, and Vanessa Verdoodt wrote “Reflections uses dance as a means of exploring the ways we reflect on life, our world, and each other."

Many of the dances specifically expressed this theme. “Come out and Play,” performed by the beginning dance class, reflected on childhood: the things the dancers loved about it, and their fears.

Seniors reflected on their friendships and time dancing together in their piece, “Seniors Just Want to Have Fun!”

To top off the show, the entire cast performed “Footprints,” a dance reflecting the past.
 
Dance styles ranged from contemporary dance to jazz and hip-hop to modern, with some Broadway and character numbers mixed in.

"What is notable about this year’s show is that more than half of the dances were choreographed by the students," says Ms. Bamford. "The music also spanned a range of genres, from pop tunes to abstract instrumental pieces, including throwback songs from the 1980s as well as spoken word and hip-hop."

“Every Middle and Upper School dance student involved in the show gets to take the stage and get in front of an audience at least twice,”Ms. Bamford. “We feel very strongly that if a dancer commits to a year in our program, they deserve to have a chance to be on stage. After all, dance is a performing art – having stage experience is crucial to student growth in dance.”

For 17 seniors, this dance performance was their last of their high school career.

“This year in particular was an amazing experience, not only because it was my last year dancing at Buckley, but also because of Ms. Moore," says senior Isabelle R. "I learned so much from her and my classmates, and I feel like I really grew as a dancer. The senior dance was really emotional and fun, and I wouldn't have wanted to go through this experience with any other group of girls.”
 
With both shows sold out (even beyond overflow seating), the dancers performed for a packed audience. With audience members across all three divisions, alumni, students, parents, teachers, and staff, Ms. Bamford said the show was very well received by the community.

“The arts bring people together in a positive and community-building way," she adds. "We are so proud of all our dance students and thank everyone who came to see Reflections.
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