The Mac Youth Dance Company performed at its student-directed show “The Art of Being” at the McCallum Arts Center last Thursday and Friday night for their annual spring show. The show was entirely student-led with a board of dance major directors that helped create the show, and dances in the show were choreographed by the seniors and juniors, with a special guest performance by the Lamar Dance Company.

Sophomore Emma Simon has been a dance major for two years, so this is her second student-directed show. While she was not not able to choreograph her own piece yet, she was featured in multiple dances throughout the show. Simon said the theme, “The Art of Being,” was chosen by the panel of senior directors.

“I think it means community and togetherness,” Simon said. “Each piece represents something everyone goes through a human experience.”

Throughout the show, there were a multitude of pieces from all different genres, including company dances, non-major dances, and pieces with the choreographer’s choice of dancers.

“My favorite piece I was in is definitely the evolving class piece,” Simon said. “It was choreographed by Zalie Mann.”

Simon explained that to become a choreographer you have to go through many steps to get your finalized piece in the show.

“Each student goes through an interview process to become a choreographer,” Simon said. “Each choreographer has a set time each week to hold rehearsal.”

After the show, the companies will finish out the year with some extra final projects.

“I’m looking forward to the film project we’re starting after the show ends,” Simon said. “I think it’s going to be super fun.”

We are delighted to showcase Mac Youth Dance Company and their annual spring show for this week’s Tuesday Top 10.

Gallery • 16 Photos

Sophia Manos

MOVIE MOMENT: Senior Zoe Maxwell, performs her senior solo during Friday night’s production of Mac Dance’s spring show, “The Art of Being”. Maxwell was one of the co-artistic directors alongside senior Zalie Mann and was also one of the student choreographers.  Maxwell said that the student-directed show offers valuable opportunities to student  choreographers. “One of the things I loved about the student-directed show is the creative freedom it gives to students, as well as the opportunities,” Maxwell said. “I loved being able to choreograph a tap piece and work with the new freshman class.” Maxwell shared that her favorite moment in the show was during the senior piece, “Puppy Love,” when the audience held up signs in appreciation of the seniors’ last dance together. “Seeing everyone hold up their signs for us really felt like a movie moment,” Maxwell said. Throughout her four years in the program, Maxwell said Mac Dance has provided memories that will last a lifetime. “This program has given me so much,” Maxwell said. “Lifelong memories, the confidence to pursue dance in college, and, overall, just a place to grow and be myself. I really am going to miss Mac Dance next year, but I’m so excited for the future.” Caption by Katie Martin. Photo by Sophia Manos.

MOVIE MOMENT: Senior Zoe Maxwell, performs her senior solo during Friday night’s production of Mac Dance’s spring show, “The Art of Being.” Maxwell was one of the co-artistic directors alongside senior Zalie Mann and was also one of the student choreographers. 

Maxwell said that the student-directed show offers valuable opportunities to student choreographers.

“One of the things I loved about the student-directed show is the creative freedom it gives to students, as well as the opportunities,” Maxwell said. “I loved being able to choreograph a tap piece and work with the new freshman class.”

Maxwell shared that her favorite moment in the show was during the senior piece, “Puppy Love,” when the audience held up signs in appreciation of the seniors’ last dance together.

“Seeing everyone hold up their signs for us really felt like a movie moment,” Maxwell said.

Throughout her four years in the program, Maxwell said Mac Dance has provided memories that will last a lifetime.

“This program has given me so much,” Maxwell said, “lifelong memories, the confidence to pursue dance in college, and, overall, just a place to grow and be myself. I really am going to miss Mac Dance next year, but I’m so excited for the future.”

Caption by Katie Martin. Photo by Sophia Manos.

ONE LAST DANCE: The seniors perform their last dance together as dance major Eli Lopez falls into their arms. After four years of dancing in high school with this group, Lopez has built connections with the rest of the dance majors. Some of these friends she has been dancing with since she was little.

“This show was so special to me because I got to be on stage one last time with people who’ve become like family to me,” Lopez said. “They’ve made the experience of being a part of Mac Dance unforgettable. It was emotional, and a reminder of how much dance has shaped who I am.”

Lopez said she has built many great memories with her class, such as moving into the new dance building and finding her true self through their connections.

“I will definitely miss the people the most,” Lopez said, “getting to laugh together and the way we could be completely ourselves around each other.”

Although Lopez is not going to college for dance, she plans to continue taking dance classes outside of school as Mac Dance will always have a special place in her heart.

Caption by Harper Maxwell. Photo by Sophia Manos.

JUNIORS BRING THE ENERGY: Juniors Sage Flowers, Corinne Hampton, and Emily Springer perform the junior class piece, “Energy,” choreographed by Flowers and junior Olivia Stewart. 

This year was Flowers’ first time choreographing a group dance, which she said was not only a fun opportunity but also a challenge as she learned what it took to choreograph and produce these dances. 

“It was very fun but also a challenge working with a partner to produce something we were both proud of,” Flowers said. “Overall, though, I think it turned out great. Every one of those dancers is extremely talented and made the piece come together.” 

When Flowers and Stewart sat down to think about what type of piece they wanted to create for the juniors, they agreed that they wanted a more fun and upbeat jazz style dance.

“Mac Dance tends to lean more modern and ballet, so we wanted to make a dance that we could all have fun with,” Flowers said. “The idea we had for the piece was how people can build energy off of each other through shared support and movement, so the song just felt like it would be fitting.” 

Overall, Flowers said being able to perform with her fellow juniors was a very fun and memorable experience. 

“I’ve been dancing with a lot of these girls since middle school, and I’m so proud of the way that everyone has grown in their dancing,” Flowers said. “I think every one of them is so talented, and performing with them is always fun.”

Flowers’ favorite part of the show, however, was being able to celebrate the seniors in their final show. 

“My favorite part of the show was the very end when we were doing our final bows and the pre-pro juniors got to give the seniors bouquets as a little goodbye gift,” Flowers said. “It was a super emotional time for everyone especially because it was the last time we’d all be dancing together.” 

Caption by Chloe Seckar-Martinez. Photo by Katie Martin.

UNBREAKABLE BONDS: Sophomore AJ Brown performs alongside senior Zoe Maxwell in a dance number titled “Unbreakable.” Brown said he enjoyed the experience of using his passion to convey a story. Brown has always loved performing because he enjoys expressing himself through dance and being on the stage and this performance was no different. 

“My favorite thing is getting to perform with my friends but also showcasing a story with my body and just getting to do something I love and have a passion for,” Brown said. 

This show was especially significant for Brown because it gave him a reason to illustrate something important to him, and to a lot of the other dancers as well.

“This show represents something that’s important to a lot of us, which is our childhood,” Brown said.

The dancers displayed a lot of different experiences throughout growing up. “Unbreakable” was about someone going through a tough time in a romantic relationship, pushing through and persevering. 

“It’s important, showcasing different experiences we go through and hardships we face,” Brown said.

Brown mentioned it was also special because, he said, the seniors put so much work in, and it was enjoyable working with them.

“Over the past two years, I got really close to [the seniors],” Brown said, “so it was really fun getting to work with them on a closer level and do the dances they choreographed.”

Caption by Adele Seeboth. Photo by Katie Martin.

FRIDAY NIGHT (STAGE) LIGHTS: Sophomore Emma Simon helps to perform a lift during Friday night’s performance of Mac Dances’ spring show, “The Art of Being.” 

Simon said that her favorite part of the student-directed show is the new people with whom she gets to work. 

“I love getting to work with different choreographers who each have different styles,” Simon said. “I really love seeing everything come together to make a really great show.”

Although the show brings the dance community together, it is also a bittersweet goodbye to the seniors. 

“I’m really sad to see them go,” Simon said. “I’ve gotten really close with so many of them, and I can’t believe they’re leaving, but I know they’ll do great things.” 

Simon said that her favorite piece to perform was the evolving class piece choreographed by senior Zalie Mann.

“The choreography is just so beautiful,” Simon said. “I love performing with the evolving class, our bond is so special.”

Simon said that she hopes the show’s themes of human experience resonate with audiences. 

“The directors and choreographers did a really amazing job portraying the theme of human experience,” Simon said. “A lot of the pieces made me emotional, and I hope the audience had that connection too.”

Photo and caption by Katie Martin.

DANCER TO DIRECTOR: Zalie Mann performs her final solo as a dance major for in the spring show on closing night. 

This show was an emotional moment for all the seniors including Mann after the special bonds they have built together during the past four years.

“This show was very important to me because it was my last performance with my senior dance majors, who are all my best friends,” Mann said. “It was also special because I got to be one of the artistic directors, which is a role I was super excited to go for since freshman year.”

After being a part of the program all four years, Mann has progressed from gone from dancer, to choreographer, to a director, which has made her position that much more important to her.

“The best part of being a director was watching every piece of the show fall into place and being able to be proud of the final product,” Mann said.

Despite Mann’s excitement for her future dance career, she’ll miss her friends and the community in Mac Dance a lot.

“I really appreciate Mac Dance because I think it’s a really unique program,” Mann said “Not many other high schools bring in professional guest choreographers, let their students direct and choreograph full-length performances, or teach them how to execute dance-on-film projects. Especially for someone like me who is going to college for dance and pursuing it as a career, I think that Mac Dance has done a huge amount to prepare me for my future, which I’m really grateful for.”

Caption by Harper Maxwell. Photo by Sophia Manos.

TOMORROW AND BEYOND: Senior Sasha Grapko performs his final solo piece as a dancer at McCallum during Friday night’s closing production. For his senior solo, Grapko chose “Point Me To Tomorrow,” which he choreographed himself. 

Although Grapko hasn’t been dancing all four years, he says the past three he has been have been very special, particularly because of how closely bonded the senior class has gotten. 

“I love the community that the senior class has grown,” Grapko said. “I feel like it’s a very tight-knit community that has a sort of special magic to it.”

For his dance, Grapko based it around saying goodbye to the McCallum dance company and high school in general. He explained that the song, or the original context of the song, has to do with the gratitude they feel for being able to dance.

“There was definitely a lot of leaving behind Mac Dance and leaving behind stuff in high school,” Grapko said.

Grapko’s passion for dancing stems from the emotion and movement behind every dance. 

“I just love the ability to release emotion with your body, by just flinging it around,” Grapko said.

In his senior solo, Grapko felt a lot of emotions, but he said joy was the biggest of all of them. He said he felt joy in performing for the crowd and wanted them to feel the same.

“When I performed it live, there was actually a lot of genuine joy and feeling toward the end of the dance,” Grapko said.

Caption by Piper Norfolk. Photo by Sophia Manos.

A KNIGHT OF DANCE: Sophomore Opal Rodgers performs a solo moment during a group performance for Mac Dance’s spring dance show, “The Art of Being.”

“I loved this ballet piece because not only did it turn out well, but I loved having the opportunity to choreograph,” Rodgers said. “I also loved being able to do this show surrounded by the people and community I love.”

Rodgers said her favorite part about the show was getting to bond with her friends backstage and the audience’s enthusiasm for all the pieces. 

“My favorite moment from the whole show was probably the second night after we finished our ballet piece,” Rodgers said “It felt like the best run we’d ever done.”

Caption by Sienna Martens. Photo by Sophia Manos.

A SEASON OF DANCE: Freshman Dance I student Alina Curtin (bottom left) reaches her arms up toward freshman Susan Welsh as her fellow dancers lift Welsh into the air in “As Seasons Change,” a contemporary piece choreographed by Curtin. 

Although Curtin wasn’t physically involved in the lift, she had an important role in communicating the dance’s symbolism. 

“I am reaching my arms up to Susan,” Curtin said. “It is supposed to represent letting go of the past and how hard that can sometimes be.”

While Curtin enjoyed the lift, her favorite section of the dance was towards the end, where she performed two pique turns and a head roll for four counts. 

“It felt very freeing and was a moment for the dancers to breathe and focus more on performance rather than stress about technique,” Curtin said.

Curtin said she was grateful for the creative freedom to choreograph the pique turn series and other sections within the dance.

“Getting to create a dance is a rare opportunity, especially for beginning dancers,” Curtin said. “The fact that our teacher trusted me with that meant a lot. It made this dance feel like my baby–my special thing that I got to share with both friends and the audience.”

Curtin said it was also cool to see how her fellow Dance I student’s sections of the dance came together with hers to create the final piece. 

“Getting to explore my own dance skills and see how the styles of all the different creators was really fun,” Curtin said. “Each of our sections had very different vibes yet somehow came together. I was amazed about how that could happen.”

Aside from the piece itself, Curtin said she is grateful for the dance community at McCallum because of how supportive and welcoming it has been.

“Everyone is cheering. and people watch from the wings waiting to give you a good job hug right when you walk off,” Curtin said. “People may think dance is scary and everyone is mean, but at McCallum that could not be further from the truth.”

Caption by Elizabeth Nation. Photo by Sophia Manos.

BITTERSWEET BOW: The sophomore dance majors take their last bow on the Thursday opening night performance of Mac Dance’s spring show, “The Art of Being.” 

Sophomore Davianna Rondero said she felt proud that all the preparation and hard work had led into a smooth show.

“I was so happy at this moment that me and my friends got through this show,” Rondero said.

Along with the excitement, Rondero and the other underclassmen felt a bittersweet feeling, knowing soon that they will say goodbye to a crucial part of the program, the seniors.

“I was feeling very sad at the end of the show [on Friday], knowing the seniors had just finished their final dance together, so I was feeling all the emotions knowing they’re leaving soon,” Rondero said.

Rondero said that although the show took a lot of time commitment, hearing the audience applaud them made it all worth it.

“We’ve been working really hard these past few months, so having the audience acknowledge our work was so thrilling,” Rondero said.

Caption by Sienna Martens. Photo by Carson Duncan.

FROZEN IN THE MOMENT: The pre-professional class performs a piece choreographed by senior Julia Rasp for Thursday night’s production of Mac Dance’s spring show. In Rasp’s dance she incorporated unique movements, which junior Olivia Pittman said made the dance a fun piece to perform. 

“I had a lot of fun performing this piece and doing a type of dance I don’t typically do or perform,” Pittman said. 

Pittman explained an extra challenge that the student choreographers have is that they each have to come up with costumes that they believe would match best with their piece. 

“Julia had a hard time choosing a costume she thought would fit best for the message of this piece,” Pittman said. “Originally we were all going to bring in our own clothes to attempt to create a costume, but that didn’t work out. at the last minute we decided on the red overalls, but I think that  they worked great for the piece.” 

For Pittman this dance was special as it was one of the first times that Pittman has performed with other grade levels within her pre-professional class.  

“This piece was unique in that the juniors and seniors were split into two groups and were in two different pieces with an assortment of both grade levels,” Pittman said. “It is super fun to perform with this group because it was different from who we have danced with a lot in the past.” 

Overall, Pittman said she loves the fact that the show is student-directed because she gets to experience different styles of choreography and gets to see all the work of her peers unfold. 

“My favorite part is always seeing the other pieces for the first time,” Pittman said. “It is so cool to see the finished product of something everyone has been working towards.” 

Caption by Chloe Seckar-Martinez. Photo by Josie Linton.

FLYING: Senior Julia Rasp performs the peak moment of her solo to the song “Here’s Where the Story Ends” by the Sundays during the dress rehearsal for the student-directed show, Rasp’s last performance as a Mac dancer. The solo was choreographed by the assistant director Avery Hampton of her dance studio outside of school.

“This is always one of my favorite parts of the solo,” Rasp said. “It always feels like I’m flying for a second.”

Rasp said she and many other dancers who were directing the show cared about the performance being meaningful and well put-together, so there was some pressure that was on during the performance to make sure everything went smoothly.

“That was definitely in the back of my mind,” Rasp said. “But I was also just both sad and happy to have danced with my friends for that long, and for it to come to a close was a bittersweet feeling.”

Being a student-directed show, many of the dance seniors were involved heavily with the creative process– Rasp along with fellow senior dancer Sasha Grapko choreographed the pieces for the underclassman dancers. Rasp said that this year’s artistic directors, seniors Zoe Maxwell and Zalie Mann, were effective in their roles for the show.

“Zoe and Zalie really had it on lock,” Rasp said. “They really knew how to run it like the Navy, as they say. So I think that made a big difference– there was better communication, because we are such a tight group of seniors.”

Though Rasp said this show was very put-together in terms of its production, it also led some dancers, especially the seniors, to feel emotional as the curtain fell on their last high school performance.

“I know student-directed always tends to be emotional, because it’s the last one of the year,” Rasp said. “But this one especially, just everyone was sobbing.”

Over the years, Rasp said that Mac Dance has impacted her beyond words and her teachers have been very understanding and helpful in the realms of both school and dance, as well as Rasp’s growth as a person.

“I’ve met my best friends in the world, and found a space to do what I love in a community I feel so safe and happy in,” Rasp said. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Caption by Camilla Vandegrift. Photo by Harper Maxwell.

SOPHOMORE SHADOWS: The Evolving Dance Company performs their sophomore piece choreographed by Zalie Mann on Thursday night at MAC Dance’s annual student directed show, “The Art of Being.” 

Sophomore Emily Knight said that learning and rehearsing the dance was a truly great experience for the class. 

“Getting to work with my best friends and learn a dance about us coming together was really special because we’re such a close group,” Knight said. 

Mann was co-artistic director for the show, and Knight said that the group felt lucky to work with her. 

“I loved getting to work with Zalie,” Knight said.  “She had so many ideas and the dance turned out so powerful and fun to perform.”

Overall, the show is an opportunity for the dancers in the program to express themselves and grow while practicing directing and choreographing. 

“Student directed is special to me because it highlights all the ideas that come from the students,” Knight said. I think it’s so cool to see everyone’s creativity and hard work.” 

Caption and photo by Carson Duncan.

EMERGING FOR STUDENT DIRECTED: The Emerging Dance Company performs their class piece choreographed by Zoe Maxwell on Friday night for Mac Dance’s spring show, “The Art of Being.” 

Freshman Sophie Perez said that the company put a lot of work in to make the piece look good. 

“We rehearsed during our b-day class period,” Perez said. “We would learn sections of the choreography. We would go through the sections and clean them, and eventually piece them all together.”

Perez explained that she enjoyed the piece a lot because of the message it conveyed. 

“My favorite part about this piece was how the choreography conveyed a story about childhood and growing older,” Perez said. “It was cool how silly, childish movements became frantic and fast as the piece continued. It really immerses the audience through telling a story.”

With all the dances in the show being self choreographed, it gives the dancers a chance to showcase their original ideas. 

“Student directed is special because it allows students to be creative and put dances together that they choreographed,” Perez said. “I think it’s amazing to see the artistry that dance majors have.”

Caption by Carson Duncan. Photo by Chloe Seckar-Martinez.

STRONG BONDS. Senior Greta Wayman performs her solo to the song “Ride the Storm” by GoldFord on Friday night. Wayman said she had the song picked out for a few months and was excited to choreograph it because the song is about going through hard times, which she felt represented how she feels during this transitional time to college.

“It’s not my typical style of dance,” Wayman said. “But I really wanted to explore a stronger, more organic movement style as opposed to my usual flowy and performative style.”

Out of all the shows Wayman has been in at McCallum,  she said it was one of the best shows they’ve had.

“I was pretty nervous before the show, but mostly excited to see the final product of all our work,” Wayman said.

As a senior looking back, Wayman said the dance program’s strong community has greatly contributed to her growth as a person. 

Getting to dance for the last time with all the seniors was truly beautiful,” Wayman said. “I’ll miss my friends a lot and the joy they bring to dance, even early in the morning, and how supportive everyone is.”

Caption by Callen Romell. Photo by Sophia Manos.

FAVORITE MEMORY: Senior Perla Vela performs a senior solo that she choreographed, one she used for both the spring concert, and her college auditions. She performed her solo to a soundtrack her director made with a piano track and fireplace sounds. Vela said this performance was especially memorable to Vela, because of it being her very last one.

“It was a really special opportunity to be able to create the senior piece as well,” Vela said. “The shows are always emotional because there’s always one graduating class, but we’re an especially tight group and it’s really emotional for all of us to see how far we’ve all grown and how much we’ve changed since we first started dancing together.”

Vela’s dance career isn’t ending anytime soon, as she plans to double major in Dance and Marketing at the University of Arizona. She auditioned for several schools, performing solos and ended up choosing Arizona because a large fraction of their dance majors double major which is something she wanted to do to have options for her career. 

“College auditions were definitely pretty tough, the process is super lengthy and the rejections feel incredibly personal,” she said. “Our class has an unusually high amount of people going to school for dance, which in a lot of ways is beneficial because you go through the process together.”

To audition for a dance program at a school, some require a pre-screen, which includes photos and videos of you dancing, usually followed by an in person audition. 

“Different schools are looking for different things, depending on what their program offers and what they look for,” she said. “It makes admissions complicated because everything is so individual, and unlike academics, dance is incredibly subjective.”

Overall, Vela has enjoyed her time in the dance program, some of her favorite memories include spending tech days at the performing arts center, but ultimately her favorite memory as a senior was the most recent dance show.

“It was just such a sweet and emotional thing to experience with each other,” she said. 

Caption by Priya Thoppil. Photo by Sophia Manos.