As someone who took years of ballet before coming to PA, I felt immediately comfortable and welcomed by the dance department. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to pursue dance here. However, the dance department is strongly weighted to the study of ballet and modern dance. Many students arrive at PA with years of experience in other areas of dance – jazz, tap, hip-hop – only to find that no venue exists within the dance department for them to pursue their passions. Four days a week, ballet classes are held for three different levels – advanced, intermediate, and beginning. Modern classes are also held four days a week for two different levels – advanced/intermediate and beginning. No other style is offered as a legitimate class. Phillips Academy offers a weekly “World Dance” class to allow exposure to other dance forms. However, the impetus and direction of this class does not come from the dance department but rather from the talented students who graciously volunteer to share their skills and time. Also, the creative jazz dance and hip-hop groups on campus (Blue Strut and Hypnotiq) are not a part of the Dance Department. They were born out of the desperation by student dancers to find a way to pursue their varied dance interests. Many students have echoed this desperation. “I did lots of tap dance before I came here last year, and I haven’t really had an opportunity to do it since…. I wish they would offer tap occasionally!” said Molly Shoemaker ‘08. Genevieve Clark ‘08, a classically trained ballet dancer, is in agreement, “It seems like PA’s dance department only focuses on modern [outside of ballet classes]. When we don’t have the Nutcracker, we never do other kinds of dance besides modern. I wish we could have jazz or hip-hop classes instead of the modern classes in winter.” While many students are proud of the Andover Dance Group’s dance performance in Scotland, many dancers wonder why it seems that only modern dance is showcased. As a final point, many beginning dancers are lost in the structure of the dance department. As one former beginning stated, “Phillips Academy is not the place to learn how to dance…. you will never get anywhere. Most people take beginning dance because they aren’t interested in team sports and need something else to do.” The department needs to focus on encouraging and supporting the inexperienced dancer. The Dance Department at PA has a strong foundation of commitment, and its dancers and instructors share enthusiasm for the art. Nevertheless, in order to truly welcome all that are interested in dance, it needs to offer greater diversity and quality in classes, dance pieces, and dance productions.
