Four brave MICDS Upper Schoolers leapt across the stage in Orthwein Theatre for the 2026 MICDS Dance Concert on Tuesday, February 3. This was the first time that the annual dance concert took place on the Orthwein stage. The four students—Ava Cervera ’27, Grace Griffin ’27, Maddie Karr ’27, and Alexandra Smith ’27—served as both dance performers and choreographers for the show.
The students prepared everything themselves, including the program, flyer, and choreography. “It was very easy to choreograph most of the songs,” said Cervera. “We initially picked songs that we liked that we thought we could choreograph to. For my solo song, the second I heard it, I knew I wanted to dance to it. I know it’s funny to say, but sometimes a dance just calls to you. It’s not hard to choreograph because you are already hearing movements. That comes from my creativity and my experience as a dancer.” Other students found the task of choreography challenging. “The dance concert is so much fun to do, but it’s difficult to choreograph. Everyone is at a different level, and we really wanted to showcase everyone’s ability within the concert,” explained Smith. Karr agreed: “Choreographing the pieces with my friends was really fun but challenging—we did not have a lot of time, and we had to choreograph a lot of different styles. I am really proud that we were able to finish and clean all of the dances before the concert.”
The dancers rehearsed for less than a month, with several three to four-hour rehearsals before taking to the Orthwein stage. “We were excited to be performing for the first time on the Orthwein Stage!” said Summer Beasley, Lower & Middle School PE Teacher, Middle School Dance Teacher, and Upper School Dance Coordinator. “Although small in numbers, these dancers are dedicated to the art of dance, and I am so grateful for them.”
This year’s student-developed show included eight numbers, with dance styles ranging from contemporary and tap to ballet/pointe and jazz. Check out the program from the concert here! A very special thanks goes to Dalton Costick ’26 for designing the lighting and to Ms. Beasley for helping run the lights.
All the dancers interviewed agreed on their favorite dance. “My favorite dance was Everything is Romantic, which was the dance we did before intermission. It featured a lot of cool tricks and lifts, and the lighting was super cool as well,” Karr shared. Smith had the same favorite. “I loved dancing to a song that has so many layers,” she said.
Cervera had two favorites. “My favorite dance was my solo because I choreographed it and I love the song, but I also loved our contemporary group piece, Everything is Romantic. I think that contemporary is my favorite style of dance out of all of them that I do, although I love pointe, and it was really fun for me to dance in a pointe piece because I haven’t in a little while.”
Bravo to these very talented MICDS Upper School dancers!