The beat drops during Kendrick Lamar’s “United in Grief” and the audience gasps—a dancer is lifted above the stage, one leg extended behind her, one hand reaching up, suspended in space. In Motion, In Time, this year’s THD902 student-produced performance, focused on a common thread between all the pieces: that over time, any amount of time, humans go through change.
Taking place in the Cristina A. Rubio Studio in Pan Athletic Center, the performance was a culmination of the work of four student choreographers, Anna Tsvetkov ’26, Eliza Francis ’26, Mayen Etuk ’26, and Eugenia Evangelinos ’27. For many in the audience, the production was their first experience with a 902 performance. Nate Darocha ’26, attended to support his friends and emphasized that the dancers’ dedication showed throughout the event.
“I haven’t seen a 902 before [and] this was my first time seeing a student-produced dance show. I had a lot of friends in the show, and I saw how many hours they put into rehearsals. I really wanted to come and see the result of all that hard work and what they had been preparing to showcase. Mayen Etuk’s piece in the second act [really] stood out because she blended her South African heritage with her dance training in a really powerful way. It felt like a strong display of her culture and the amount of work she put into the show,” said Darocha.
Etuk combined different styles of dance with diverse kinds of music in order to portray her message to the audience. Etuk elaborated further on her choreographic vision.
“My 902 is entitled Ukuhlenga, which translates to redemption in Zulu. I lived in South Africa for eleven years, so my 902 was an ode to home, an ode to South Africa’s rich diversity, and its history, of both oppression and triumph. It has gumboot dance, which is a form of dance that was created by Black South African miners during the apartheid era when communication wasn’t allowed in the mines. I wanted to showcase a really rich tapestry of diversity and cultural heritage through my 902. [I tried to] tie two of my homes together by bringing my home on a different continent into the studio,” said Etuk.
Throughout the performance, a spectrum of dance styles were shown. For example, Tsvetkov emphasized diversity in her piece, which reflects on her journey from classical ballet to jazz and contemporary styles.
“I wanted [my piece] to be a reflection of my journey from being a very classically trained ballerina into a more contemporary-jazz [style]. I wanted my piece to take you through phases of life or emotions as a reflection into our own lives and the ways they’ve changed. I feel like it[’s] applicable to a lot of Andover kids, especially Seniors now at the end of our four years,” said Tsvetkov.
Evangelinos, the only non-Senior choreographer, spoke about the meaning of her piece and how she hoped audiences would react and connect to her creation.
“[I tried to] capture how we as individuals and also as a collective try to build the futures that we’ve imagined…I [wanted the audience] to [realize] that everyone experiences struggle in their own way, that everyone has these experiences, and that we can help each other. [In my piece,] the only way my dancers reach the future is when they all come together as one. While you can do it by yourself on your own, a lot of times what’s really needed is other people to back you up,” said Evangelinos.
A performer in Evangelinos’s piece, Gavin Shyroc ’28, delved into how much work was put into the rehearsal and creative process.
“It was definitely a bit inconvenient because we had Saturday practices every day at 12:00 PM every week for two months…[but] I actually preferred the experience because it [felt] a lot more personal. It feels good to interact with a choreographer who is of a similar age to her dancers and is interested in some of the same themes as us. It feels like you can have a more genuine relationship compared to if you had a faculty choreographer,” said Shyroc.
Francis, who choreographed the opening piece of the event, reflected on her piece. While choreographing, Francis focused on themes of heartbreak and love, an apt topic for the Saturday show, which took place on Valentine’s Day.
“We often think of heartbreak as being isolated to one moment, but love is much more nuanced than that, and heartbreak deserves the same sort of care we extend to love. I knew that the production would take place on Valentine’s Day, so I thought targeting love from this aspect would be an interesting perspective to take. So I [looked] at how relationships with others, but particularly with ourselves, is always in flux, and how our identities are forever shaped by the people around us. The artist of my final piece, Olivia Dean, recently said “We are nothing without each other,” and that is somewhat of a thesis of my work,” said Francis.
