The Winter Dance Concert Highlights Community Connection
The Winsor community enjoyed a moving morning of dance at the annual Winter Dance Concert. Directed and produced by Performing Arts Faculty Ann-Marie Ciaraldi, Winsor dance ensembles performed during all-school assembly in the David E. and Stacey L. Goel Theater on December 12.
The course Broadway Bound, a Class III elective, opened the show with Mission Impossible and kicked things off with stealthy energy. Students danced their way to a safe and stole a golden orb, which was later given to Senior Class President Elizabeth Fitzpatrick ’25, who reprised her role as Minions supervillain Vector. Their second piece was an energetic Bob Fosse-inspired number from the musical Chicago.
Students in Lower School can choose from a variety of electives in voice, dance, and orchestra in what is known as the Performing Arts Block (PAB). Students spend the semester honing their craft, culminating in a performance for the community. At the Winter Dance Concert, four PAB dance ensembles offered a variety of styles for the audience from jazz and modern to Afro-Haitian and South Asian. From stories of joy and self love in “I Love Me” sung by Meghan Trainor featuring Lunchmoney Lewis to Indian fables of Krishna stealing butter and innocently blaming his friends, the choreography brought feelings of hope, joy, and connection to life. In addition, 11 members of the Class IV PAB Dance Ensemble debuted their own choreography set to Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love” featuring JAY Z.
Lower School Dance Ensembles:
- Class III Broadway Bound, choreography by Winsor faculty Ann-Marie Ciaraldi
- Class I PAB Dance Ensemble, choreography by adjunct teacher Samantha Rosenberg
- Class IIa PAB Dance Ensemble, choreography by adjunct teacher Meghma Banerjee
- Class IIb PAB Dance Ensemble, choreography by adjunct teacher Jean Appolon
- Class III/IV PAB Dance Ensemble, choreography by Ann-Marie Ciaraldi
- Class III/IV PAB Dance Ensemble, choreography by Annie Fitzpatrick ’29 and Leena Devendran ’29
Dance education continues in the Upper School for interested students. For their Winter Dance Concert performance, the Upper School Winsor Dance Team began a co-creative choreographic process with Ann-Marie Ciaraldi and guest choreographers Jean Appolon and Samantha Rosenberg exploring struggle, opposition, and resilience.
- Bittersweet, choreography by Samantha Rosenberg
- He Says, choreography by Ann-Marie Ciaraldi
- The Power of 10, choreography by Jean Appolon
While the lights were designed by Technical Director Andres Puigbo and Technical Assistant Anna Vogler, the entire production was run by over 25 students on Winsor’s stage crew.
