The Whitman Dance Program is celebrating its 20th anniversary! It’s not common in education these days to find a suburban public high school offering dance classes as part of its regular fine arts curriculum, so this is a remarkable milestone.
Dancers took to the stage at the Performing Arts Center at Whitman on Thursday night, May 25th, for the annual Spring Dance Concert. The theme for this year’s performance was I’m Fabulous, and it was prominently featured in the first number performed by Whitman dance graduating seniors, along with returning alumni, when they ended the piece by exclaiming “I’m Fabulous!” Dance teacher Dr. Susan Turner Radin says it’s part of the ritual she and her dancers have ended every class with for the last 20 years.
Dr. Radin, who has headed up the Whitman program since its inception, says she’s just as grateful for the opportunity to teach dance in high school now as she was when she was first hired. “I have strived to get as many people to dance as possible, to eliminate narrow stereotypes and to challenge students’ abilities, comfort zones, and beliefs about themselves,” she said.
Whitman offers students several dance classes each year: Studio in Dance I/II/III and Modern Dance I/II/III. Each level is a full year, one credit course and offers beginner through advanced dance education, choreography and artistry. Students train in ballet and modern dance techniques daily, study the history of dance, and perform in the annual Dance Concert in the Spring. Students also attend professional performances.
For Dr. Radin, dance is not about flashy costumes or trying to win a mirror ball trophy. It’s about expressing an idea, a feeling or a story and sharing it with the world. That philosophy was very much evident in three of the dances on stage at the concert. The Divide was inspired by the severe political polarization in this country. Everytime you… was inspired by a Rupi Kaur poem and a lesson Whitman English teacher Mrs. Latko gave on writing poetry. The dancers wrote poems and they were recited on stage as the performers translated them into choreography. Scantron expressed the anxiety and pressure students feel about testing and how their grades define them.
“I have tried to build a program that develops creative, compassionate, expressive and thoughtful citizens who can collaborate to make art that addresses issues relevant to their lives and explore their own unfathomable potential in the process,” explained Dr. Radin.
The dance department also collaborated with Mr. Hoffman and the Whitman Wind Ensemble for Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, allowing dancers to perform to live music. The work portrays prisoners chained in a cave, only experiencing reality based on the shadows they see on the cave walls.
Before the performance, five Whitman students were inducted into the National Honor Society for Dance Arts: Fern Brazeau, Kaitlyn Clark, Madeline Franz, Alana Marzigliano and Alexandra Sales.
Dr. Radin is grateful to the entire South Huntington community for knowing the true value of the art of dance and dance education, and providing the support that allows the Whitman Dance Program to thrive. “I have so many brilliant memories of students, performances, and funny moments, but most of all,” she shared, “of the love and happiness that fills the studio all day, every day.”
Before the performances, Fern Brazeau, Kaitlyn Clark, Madeline Franz, Alana Marzigliano and Alexandra Sales were inducted into the National Honor Society for Dance Arts.
Dancers from Studio in Dance I/II/III performed "Every time you..." which was inspired by a writing lesson in Mrs. Latko's class.
Fern Brazeau, recipient of the Long Island Scholar Artist Award for Dance, the Rea Jacobs Award for Dance, the PTA Performing Arts Scholarship Award, and the Otto Kahn Award for Dance, choreographed and performed "Petal of a Rose."
Modern Dance II/III performed "The Divide."
"Plato's Allegory of the Cave" performed by Modern Dance II/III had live music played by Walt Whitman's Wind Ensemble.
"Music Box Dancer" performed by Studio in Dance I/II/III, with music by Frank Mills and Andrew Fogel.
"Scantron" portrayed the increasing anxieties and stress that come with test performance and the pressures of getting high grades.