Graphic by Tony Lee/The Choate News
What many consider to be one of the highlights of Choate campus life — performances and art showcases such as the annual dance concert, the spring musical, and senior recitals — have all been cancelled this term because of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19). Students are reconciling their disappointment over these cancellations with a newfound sense of freedom and independence that accompany this term’s remote learning schedule.
“I was really looking forward to this term because we have the dance concert, which I worked really hard on especially for a piece that I was choreographing, along with my senior recital and the spring musical,” said Ethan Luk ’20, Dance Company co-leader, violinist, and understudy in this year’s spring musical, Disaster.
Jenny Guo ’21, a member of the Dance Arts Concentration program, also expressed disappointment over the cancellation of the dance concert. Although it would be impossible to replicate a full performance digitally, Guo has created a YouTube channel to showcase the dance that she choreographed for the event. “I am trying to upload some videos like the rehearsal footage of my dance for people who want to see the full piece,” she said.
Luk initially enjoyed time off from the hustle of usual campus life, but has begun to miss connections and collaborations with others. He said, “It’s really hard to see a lot of creative ideas when it’s just your own, and I realized how much I depended on the people, teachers, and resources at Choate. At Choate I would crave a lot of time like this, but now I want to go back to the busy life.”
For Alex Denhart ’20 the rigor of the Visual Arts Concentration program, combined with the deadlines for her senior exhibit — which Art Con members hope to somehow create digitally — helped her stay consistent with her artistic endeavors. “Because I’m in Arts Con, I have two hours set aside everyday at Choate specifically for art,” Denhart said. “This requirement promoted me to practice almost everyday. But now, it really depends on how I discipline myself.”
Many of Choate’s musicians, singers, dancers, and other artists see a bright side to the blanket cancellations: with an unprecedented amount of free time comes the opportunity to engage in art at one’s own pace.
“At Choate, it was quite hard for me to find my personal time. It felt like I was always working with other people, such as choreographing, rehearsing plays, and playing music,” Luk said. “Being at home allows me to be with myself and my instruments. I started learning several solo violin and piano pieces that I didn’t have the time to learn at Choate, where I committed most of my time to ensemble-related rehearsals.”
With the extra free time, Luk has also started compiling a poetry collection consisting of works he has written since his fourth-form year. Guo is currently learning choreos online to stay in shape, as well as practicing the piano and ukulele.
For Denhart, engaging in arts is more challenging at home despite the sudden influx of free time. “For me, art is a very physical process, which makes the transition difficult. Because all of my art materials are at Choate, I’m trying to reconfigure my emphasis to digital artwork,” Denhart said. “It’s really hard to create artwork if artists don’t have the material that helps translate their meaning the best.”
Not being able to use Choate’s arts facilities has forced dancers like Guo to be resourceful.“I became creative in what I use: for example, using the window sill as the bar,” Guo said. Although they no longer have access to the resources available on campus, Choate’s artists have found inventive ways to adapt to their new situations.
