Dance at Exeter: There's a Step for Everyone

February 14, 2007

Dance club students performing on MLK Day 2007

The dance program at Exeter is vibrant – and getting more so everyday. Students can take dance classes that focus on ballet, modern dance and jazz. They can take semi-private lessons or dance informally in one of the 15 student-run dance clubs. All in all, Exonians can perform ballet, modern, hip-hop, Irish step, African dance, jazz dance, belly dance and break dancing, all on Exeter's campus.

"I've been dancing since I was 2 years old," says Michaela, a four-year veteran of the dance program at Exeter, who has been a member of Dance Company (an advanced dance course) since its inception, and a member of many dance clubs: Les Pieds (jazz), Echappe (ballet), Lionettes (hip-hop). Michaela has also taken semi-private ballet classes. "Without dance, I think it's unlikely that I would be at Exeter, because dancers learn at an early age that you will be successful only if you are determined and hard-working," Michaela adds. "That lesson applies to more than dance."

Michaela first experienced the power of Exeter's diverse dance program during a dress rehearsal for an African dance in her prep year. "All the African drummers were there. It was over 100 degrees in the theater. All the lights were on, and the long heavy skirts were weighing us down," she explains. "It's really hard to describe what that night was like for me – I pushed past my physical limit and found a secret store of energy. I loved being drenched in sweat and jumping as high as possible … and I loved yelling so loud that I couldn't even hear the drummers. The lesson I learned that night has been my inspiration – that there is no point in doing something without giving it your full effort and attention, and that if you give it all you have, then you will never regret it."

Linda Luca, director of the dance program, feels that Exeter has something for everyone. "The dance program is exciting because it offers members of the Academy community opportunities to participate in dance as a major commitment, a short-term exploration, or as an audience member watching the art form," she explains. "They can take dance classes for credit, which demands a real commitment, or they can be involved in club Assembly performances, MLK Day, Parents' Weekend and Dance Concerts. Anyone interested in dance can find a way to take an active, creative part." Luca estimates that, during any given semester, over 40 students enroll in dance classes that award physical education credit, 30 or more take dance lessons that give performing arts credit, and more than 50 are active in dance clubs.

For Michaela, dancing at Exeter is more than just discipline and performance, particularly when her dance classes precede her academic courses. "Dance makes my H format AP Chemistry class WAY more exciting," she says. "Everyone else is falling asleep by then, but I'm still on my dancing high."

Curtis, a lower, is another Exonian who loves to dance. "I started dancing at the age of 5 and I have just been going ever since," he says. Curtis takes dance classes and works with many dance clubs, including stage managing the Dance Assembly. "Now that I am in a school with such academic rigor, I am dancing less than I used to back home," he explains, noting that dance continues to be a passion. "I feel that my involvement in dance here at Exeter has made me more creative and inventive," he says, adding: "The program has taught me this: be proud of yourself and your passion."

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