Laura Assante, one of the choreographers, leads some of the talented dancers of Montclair High School's Dance Company in a rehearsal. See more photos, below.
Montclair High School's Dance Company is set to perform in the MHS Auditorium March 4 and 5 at 8 p.m. March 6 at 2 p.m. Admission is $8 for students and $15 for adults. Tickets will go on sale at the door one hour before each performance.
This year's concert features professional choreographers who set work on forty-eight talented MHS dancers, chosen for the company by audition, to create electric, memorable performances ranging in style from ballet, modern and contemporary to swing, jazz, tap and hip-hop. The company's history of student-professional collaboration on a range of dance genres has established a tradition of excellence and excitement at these widely attended performances.
This is an exciting year for the Dance Company with newly appointed Artistic Director Heather Robles, a New York dance professional who also teaches locally at the Sharron Miller Academy, and Assistant Director Leah Jean Boyce, a graduate of the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers, both joining the program. Ms. Robles is looking forward to her first show as Artistic Director. "The members of Dance Co are multi-talented....It has been very exciting to watch the dancers grow and be challenged by some styles completely new to them," said Robles.
Choreographers for this year's dance concert include New York talents André M. Zachery, Breton Tyner-Bryan, Cassandra Neville, Chie Mukai, Laura Assante, Mark Osmundsen, Sumi Clements, and MHS Dance Co. alum Hannah Garner. Director Robles and Assistant Director Boyce have each created a piece for the show, as well as MHS 2016 Senior Choreographer Nick Hall. There will also be an energetic hip-hop number choreographed by seniors Natalia Blaustein, Hannah Brown, Bonnie Feldberg, and Phoebe Piloco.