Through the extensive work of choreographers and student dancers alike, Poly Prep’s Upper and Lower school dance classes were able to come together and perform at the Harlem Parish venue on November 13, 17 and 19. The group created a distinctive act that they were able to perform at the 2025 Performa Benneil. Under Lower School Special Subject Teacher, Dance Courtney Cooke’s guidance, performers were taught a new style of dance that incorporated animal sounds and movements. Dancers were also fortunate enough to work with professionals in the field, such as Lina Lapelytė, a Lithuanian musical artist, who provided not only support but comfortability throughout the challenging process. “There were so many changes to be made, and it was amazing how it all came together with Ms. Cooke and Lina guiding us,” said Olivia Sperling ’26.  The performance was not only the first of its kind, but it was also an engaging act that left a lasting impression on its deeply engaged audience, which had a variety of listeners. 

“The Speech,” as titled, revolved less around the audience’s vision, but more on the auditory engagement, aiming to draw the audience in through the sounds that surrounded them. While teaching the movements was an important aspect to the performance, the main focus was on teaching the dancers how to make animal noises that would captivate the audience. When presented with the idea, not only were younger dancers from the Lower School surprised, but the advanced dancers in the Upper School were, too. “We were making frog, wolf, cat, seagull and whale sounds in a dark room filled with fog, nothing like anything I’d ever done in dance before,” Sperling said. Lapelytė and Cooke’s goal while in the rehearsal process revolved around the eccentric choreography, a connection between the dancers, the animals they were mimicking and the audience.

Not only was the choreography a highlight of the performance, but also the connection  between Upper School and Lower School students. “It definitely created a stronger sense of community. I’d never met the Lower School dancers before, but suddenly we were all part of one performance,” said Sperling. Although the dancers weren’t able to work together during the rehearsals, the piece instantly became complete when everyone came together to perform. Additionally, keeping a group of younger students engaged throughout the entire production process is often a challenge in itself; however, Cooke took it head on, allowing the young dancers to involve themselves in the art. Cooke’s process working with younger dancers was one of her many features highlighted by a New York Times article about the production and audience reaction. “The instructions, to begin with, were minimal. But as Cooke taught them to her charges, they evolved. When she told them, after the cawing, to be bees going to sleep, they all flitted to the walls, spun back to the center of the room and huddled in a clump,” according to the New York Times article. “Finally one adventurous boy dove down onto his belly, and the rest quickly followed, after which Ms. Cooke reminded them that they were free to snuggle,” furthered the article. 

Unfortunately, due to the government shutdown, the venue of the performance was changed from Federal Hall to the Harlem Parish, presenting a new setting and challenge for the group. However, they continued to persevere as the students adapted and found a sense of ease in their new surroundings. On the first day of the performance, the student performers from both divisions of Poly came together to meet each other in person for the first time since choreography started. After going through the choreography briefly, the dancers explored their surroundings, imagining how the performance would actually come together. “It wasn’t your typical auditorium or theater, the audience sat on the floor in a circle, and we performed inside it. It was a completely different format than any dance I have ever done,” said Sperling. 

Sperling continued to reminisce about the production even after the performance. “There was a part where most of the group was lying down on the rug. There’s a balcony level, so, a smaller group would go up there and make whale sounds, then the people on the ground would call back to them. The audience can’t see those people up there so it added to that sense of mystery,” Sperling said. The performances were a key highlight of the 2025 Performa Benneil, as expressed by the New York Times, and an experience Poly dancers and audience members agree was an unusual, but over all successful production.