Kicking off the year with their first performance at the homecoming rally, Northwood dance has returned with a newly restructured program.
This year, the dance program has shifted from the usual four periods to six by splitting the Dance Theater and Intermediate Dance 2 class into two separate classes each, creating four new classes. Dance Theater, the highest level, was split to give students an opportunity to be at an advanced level with more chances to perform in Northwood’s various dance shows throughout the year.
“People who have come from Dance 3 into the new Dance Theater classes have worked hard to improve their skills to reach a higher level,” Dance Theater 2 captain senior Ava Olsen said. “The Dance Theater 1 class has gained better technique because there’s a stronger group of people where as before, it was just different categories.”
While both are the highest levels, Dance Theater 1 is an introduction to the difficulty of Dance Theater for students who have less experience performing at the top level. Returning students and those with advanced technique and performing experience are part of Dance Theater 2.
Along with Dance Theater, Dance 2 has been divided into two separate classes, to reduce class sizes to 18 to 20 students. The hope is to dedicate more time towards hands-on dance experience, helping foster skills faster as students will be able to receive more individualized attention.
“Having a class over 40 is so hard to realistically be able to train since most of the time is spent just waiting for a turn, which is no longer the case,” dance teacher Judy Scialpi said. “Because of the smaller classes, we’re doing things in class right now that traditionally, in all my years of teaching, I can’t touch on until spring.”
While rallies will alternate performances between Dance Theater 2 and Dance Theater 1, further performances such as Fallout and Spring Show will exclusively feature Dance 3 and above while the Extensions show will include performances from all levels of dance.
Tickets for the Fall Show on Nov. 16-17 are on sale and can be purchased through the @northwooddance Instagram bio or ndt.booktix.com.
