Following the performance of the Afternoon of Student Choreography, there is more to be told about the background of the performance.
The Afternoon of Student Choreography (ASC) is an annually recurring Poly event, this year with 17 different performances. This dance production stands out from other performances throughout the year, with ASC being uniquely student-run. Some performers start preparing for show days as early as September, and work with great endeavor to create a successful production.
The forms in which a performance can be composed range from large groups and dance classes, to several duets and solos. “Skyfall” was the name of a duet dance piece performed by Isabelle Gerling ’25 and Jasper Whiteley ’25.
Sadie Schoenberger ’25 primarily participated as Assistant Film Documentarian in this year’s ASC production, but was also assistant choreographer of the duet production, “Skyfall.” (Schoenberger is also one of the Arts Editors for the Polygon.)
Schoenberger explained, “In November — every student in dance at Poly has an assignment to create a minute of choreography to any song they want; it is usually a vague assignment made to create a starting point and get dancers thinking. From that, you perform it for Mr. Turner, and Mr. Turner starts to get a sense of who is interested in choreographing.” As a result, one — or sometimes two — choreographers are picked to choreograph a class piece for each dance block.
In last year’s performance of ASC, Schoenberger herself was a choreographer for her class piece. “You would find me hunched over any surface drawing little stick figures and trying to figure out dancers’ placements,” she explained. “Every student who is choreographing gets really into it, and it becomes their passion project in a way.”
Sophia Chamorro ’24 worked alongside Nina Harris ’24 as Co-Artistic Director and valued her crucial role in ASC and this year’s successful performance. (Chamorro is also one of the Photography Editors for the Polygon.) Chamorro’s appreciation for her position came from a desire to “get some more oversight of the dance world in general, because it’s not just choreographing and it’s not just dancing; it’s also production and how that actually comes together,” she explained. Chamorro also decided it would be beneficial to create a theme that each dancer could relate to. “I had the idea of creating a theme, just to make sure the dances could appear more cohesive,” she described. “The idea of the theme was “inspiration.” Just drawing back to why do people even dance? Because sometimes it can be perceived as just a dance on stage,but there is a reason why we all do it whether we realize it in the moment or not.” Once introduced to dancers, these inspirations stemmed from “Friendships… family… specific famous choreographers; whatever drew their passion for the piece that they performed.” The inspiration of each individual dancer was printed on the blurbs of the playbills distributed to audience members.
The student initiative this dance event brings introduces a sense of pride and achievement to the people involved. These expressions are reflected through an article published by the Poly Prep website, the article titled, “Dancers are Stars at the New Poly Arts Center Debut.” In the article it explained, “Audience members were delighted as students lit up the stage, from energetic group dances, to stirring solo and duet performances.”
The immense effort each dancer put into the performance is significant. Although this year consisted of a lot more attendees — especially due to the opening of the new arts building — Chamorro emphasized the importance of a large and supportive audience.
“When it comes to show day and there aren’t that many people there, then for a lot of dancers it’s like ‘Why do I even go out there and put so much energy into it if no one is really going to see it?’ I do wish that people would come to ASC more… it should warrant more engagement,” Chamorro said.
