Art courtesy of Senching Hsia
With May comes a flurry of activity in the Arts department, as seniors prepare for the annual senior recitals. For the seniors in the Arts Concentration Program, these recitals are the final chance to share their craft with the rest of the community. The pieces chosen for this year’s senior recitals are very personal to Sesame Gaetsaloe ’21 (dance), Senching Hsia ’21 (visual arts), and Nick Madon ’21 (music), among others.
The seniors in Dance Arts Concentration collectively choreographed a group recital in addition to their individual solo pieces. During their first rehearsal, the seniors decided upon a cheerful but cinematic song to signify an ending to their dance journey at Choate. “We also incorporated choreography techniques that we learned in dance courses and fun elements from previous dance concerts,” said Jenny Guo ’21, co-president of Dance Company.
Gaetsaloe will be dancing to the song “I Hear a Symphony” by Cody Fry in her solo piece. “I hope to embody the emotions behind the grandiose orchestra,” she said. When choreographing, Gaetsaloe prefers immersing herself into the song and follows up with an improv session. Afterward, she would look back at her improvisation recording and find the distinguishing moments. “I would normally get one really good moment, which will become the centerpiece of my dance, and I would then build my beginning and end around that moment,” Gaetsaloe said. Having choreographed for many depressing songs, Gaetsaloe embraced this senior recital as an opportunity to create a lighthearted and joyful piece.
As a visual artist, Hsia joined nature and art together in her senior exhibition. Her exhibition consists of an extinction series, ceramic tiles, paintings of birds, a scratchboard collection, a mixed media piece, and a larger installation piece. The last piece involves ceramic cicadas and letters written by her, in which she is “brutally honest” to certain anonymous people. “I’m going to be taking these letters and handing them out to people, even strangers, who come to my senior recitals,” Hsia said. “I’m much more expressive in my writing than I am in person, so it’s a way for me to overcome that fear of being judged, and be vulnerable without overthinking.”
In each of her pieces, Hsia uses nature to explore how to wrestle with internal struggles such as mental health, identity, and self-perception. “I use nature as a lens to explore self-identity and self-reception, as a way of exploring my own emotions,” Hsia said.
Madon chose defiant music for his senior recital, including the first movement from Dvorák’s “The Cello Concerto in B minor” and the prelude from Bach’s “Cello Suite no. 3”. Most of these pieces are from Madon’s favorite era, the Romantic period that lasted from roughly the 1830s until 1900. The period’s dramatic dynamics and intense melodies stress emotion while leaving room for interpretation.
Madon hopes that these pieces would show his love for music and inspire fellow artists to learn to appreciate expression, no matter the discipline of art they practice. “Don’t fear being outgoing,” he ad- vises. “Art isn’t inherently perfect.”
