The River Styx Videos...Choreography by Grade Six

This week the sixth grade dance class has been finding connections between Greek Mythology and dance. Today we split into two groups and created dances about the story of The River Styx. 

 Each group contained six students.  Within each group students were paired up and asked to choreograph one segment of the story. When they were done they had to teach their choreography to the other group members.  We hope you will enjoy these short movement studies!

Winter Concert Choreography

What has your class been working on for the winter concert?

Written By: Jessica Schwartz & Alexandra Webb

Our class has been working on two dances for the winter concert.  In the first dance our class is portraying a group of sisters who are supposed to be on a very long car trip.  We are not quite finished with this dance, but there is already so much put into it and we are looking forward to seeing the concluding product!  The second dance we are working on is about the Congo.  The movement is strong and animal like.  We start out as a group but quickly break off into sections, expressing that although you may start as one, it is easy to fall out of the pack.  The first piece of music for this dance is Lost: Main Theme by Knightsbridge.  As soon as that song is over it happens to feel like we are all in fact lost in a jungle. 

We hope you will attend the winter concert on Saturday, December 10 at 7:00 PM! 

What Dance Classes We've Taken Before

What Dance Classes We've Taken Before

Written By: Natalie Pappas & Elizabeth Ramah

Natalie

I've taken three different kinds of dance classes before.  When I was very young (5-8) I took ballet and when I was 8-11 I took hip hop.  In 5th grade I took ballroom dancing lessons and competed in a contest.  I've never taken modern, jazz or tap.  I liked ballet because it taught me basic poses that were fluid and graceful.  Hip hop was harder for me because everything was so quick and sharp.  I'm re-learning ballet here at MacDuffie, which is fun.  Like I said, I've never taken modern, but it's becoming one of my favorite dance styles.

Elizabeth 

Since I was 3 I have taken ballet, jazz and a little bit of tap.  Over the years I've tried modern, jazz and pointe at The New England Dance Conservatory.  I've taken Irish Step dancing lessons formally, and also work on it every summer through the Irish Cultural Center.  I've always enjoyed modern and Irish dance the most.  I love modern because there are so many interesting and fluid movements.  I love the fast, complicated steps in Irish dancing are think they are very fun to perform.  I stopped taking dance when I came to MacDuffie in seventh grade because of scheduling conflicts, but I still love it and it's really fun being able to study it again now that I am in the upper school.