周日, 1月21日, 学生, 家庭, 教师, 和 staff eagerly spilled into the first floor of the br和 new Poly 艺术中心 for the very first time. The bright lights directed visitors’ attention to the art installations that filled the Howard Aibel Lobby Gallery.

The student work, mounted on the walls 和 appearing on screens, included textile artwork by 学生 in our museum studies classes 和 the new Textile 艺术 elective, 陶瓷, 打印, 和 digital photographs from all three divisions. Voices buzzed above the center’s oak 和 tiled floors, 和 on the benches, people smiled 和 conversed, waiting for the doors to open from the new Br和man Family Theatre Lobby. 

Afternoon of Student Choreography is an annual show directed 和 performed entirely by Poly 学生 from Grades 6-12. This year, the show was produced under the supervision of co-Artistic Directors, Sophia Chamorro ’24, Nina Harris ’24, 和 Assistant Director Ali Schuman ’25. All three 学生 are members of the Excellence in the 艺术 program. In a note to the audience, the directors explained that student dancers 和 choreographers were encouraged to utilize what inspired them in the creation of each performance. The performances themselves conveyed each dancer’s unique source of inspiration 和 perspective, from personal experiences to tributes to some of their favorite professional performances. From start to finale, the show reflected the 学生’ love of creative expression through movement 和 the profound outlet 学生 have found in dance to process new experiences in their lives. 

Throughout the show, the audience enjoyed the wide range of original pieces across genres of music 和 styles of dance, including contemporary, 嘻哈, 爵士乐, 和现代. Each performance showcased the dancers’ talent 和 amplified diversity 和 creativity. Audience members were delighted as 学生 lit up the stage, from energetic group dances, to stirring solo 和 duet performances. Jenesis Bartholomew ’27 和 Suri Sun ’26 had the stage literally glowing from the twinkling light of h和held stars in their piece, “Shooting Star.” 

Kudos to our incredible dance 教师 Ashley Hacker 和 山姆·特纳 for their mentorship. Poly’s new multidisciplinary facility for performing 和 visual arts provides 10,000 additional square feet of arts spaces. We are excited for more events 和 performances in the new Poly 艺术中心.

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