The All-School Dance Concert, which took place on Nov. 30 at 3:30 p.m. and Dec. 1 at 7 p.m., began in Intimate Theatre, a newly added venue, for an immersive exhibition entitled “A World Unraveled,” followed by the remaining acts held in Caswell Hall.
The opening performance drew influence from a method of collaboration referred to as Chance Dance,” created by dance pioneer Merce Cunningham, sound artist John Cage and visual artist Robert Rauschenberg. Focused on creating a dynamic audience experience, Chance Dance embraces the idea that audience members can choose to witness the performance through either each of its individual parts or as a unified show.
Performing Arts Instructor Holly Rothschild explained the artistic and conceptual reasoning behind Cunningham, Cage and Rauschenberg’s creation of Chance Dance.
“They employed Chance as a construct out of a desire to explore the unexpected,” Rothschild said. “A great deal of preparation and thought went into their process, however, elements of surprise and serendipity were included in their vocabulary.”
In an attempt to incorporate the concept of Chance Dance into the dance concert, coders and sound designers from Darren Kessner’s computer science class prompted an AI platform to create a dystopian poem, which served as creative inspiration for the video projections seen in the background of the installation.
Following this exhibition, the audience settled in Caswell Hall to observe dances choreographed by Rothschild, students and guest artists Kenya Clay and Carissa Songhorian. Clay specializes in hip-hop and Songhorian is trained as a contemporary dancer.
There were 41 student dancers who performed in the show, ranging from 7th to 12th grade, including people of all levels of experience.
Some participants have expressed their enthusiasm for the show. One student in particular, Victoria ‘25, who was involved in both “A World Unraveled” and a group dance titled “Embers and Ashes,” a contemporary piece choreographed by Jada ‘25, was especially eager to perform in the concert.
“I am so excited to be participating in the dance concert again this year, and I love getting the opportunity to meet new people and share my love for dance with other students in the Marlborough community,” Victoria said. “I always look forward to each of the unique dances created by the incredible dance teachers, students and guest artists.”
