Vicky Grechukhina ’23 performed her solo piece, “Continuum.”
Through December 4 and 5, the Choate dance program held its annual Student Choreography Showcase (SCS), a series of performances highlighting the school’s dedicated and talented student performers and choreographers. In the showcase, students choreographed their own dances as either solo or group pieces. Each piece was an artistic, complex, and meaningful display of the student artists.
Inspired by the loss of a family member last year, Joy An ’23, one of the performers, choreographed a piece entitled “Loss,” displaying the myriad of emotions evoked by grief. “When someone is gone, the world doesn’t stop turning, although it might feel like it should,” An said. “I wanted to capture the strange cognitive dissonance that comes with feeling like the world is ending, while having to move forward with your daily obligations.”
An also choreographed a piece titled “Cloudwatching.” To An, this piece described wonder – a feeling that evokes the inner child in everyone. In their choreography, An emphasized the concept of wonder through a series of reaching extensions and jumps, carving into the space around them, embodying the childlike feeling of amazement and profound curiosity. “I often find myself marveling at the beauty of the world we live in and how everything seems to flow together perfectly,” An said.
Another dancer and choreographer, Vicky Grechukhina ’23, performed a piece entitled “Continuum,” accompanied by pianist Ramsey Scott ’22. Shaping the piece with both the music and dance movements, Grechukhina created a connection with the piece that “completed the music but also contrasted it in a harmonic way,” said Grechukhina.
“Continuum” was originally a project for her fall Dance Composition class. However, as she cultivated the piece for the showcase, “Continuum” manifested a deeper meaning. “There were some days when I couldn’t come up with any material and others where I couldn’t stop practicing. The more time I spent changing, improving, cutting and moving around pieces of my final project, the more I understood that there is no ‘correct’ way of producing a dance of personal value,” she said.
Grechukhina’s goal was to embody the beauty of imperfection and perseverance. “Throughout our life we come across all sorts of obstacles, victories, mistakes, and gratifications,” Grechukhina said. “No matter how much they impact us, our life doesn’t stop and even though sometimes we feel like the world has ended, the only solution is to keep going.”
SCS has both created a platform for students to express their experience and pushed them to unveil their artistic potential, challenging them to combine their creative interpretation with choreography skills.
