Flintridge Prep’s Winter Dance Concert “Surround Sound” – A Unique New Challenge

Flintridge Prep’s recent Winter Dance Concert “Surround Sound” presented a unique new challenge to its dancers — a show with absolutely no words from start to finish. “It challenged us, students and teachers, to think about the musicality more, and not rely on the lyrics to choreograph,” shares dace teacher and performing arts department chair Molly Mattei. “When you give artists restrictions, it ends up releasing more creativity.”

The show featured performances from the dance classes and auditioned pieces, each of which provided unique challenges. The opening number from Dance Company was the first time these students danced to live music—a piano rendition of “Moonlight Sonata”—and the first time they had performed a dance entirely in the house among the audience without taking the stage. “It taught all of us what real collaboration and compromise looks like,” shares Ms. Mattei. “There are certain things that are within your control. And then there’s live performance with two live elements combined. Students found out in the moment and how to keep their cool and keep going.”

The auditioned pieces were an opportunity for dancers to grow and learn as well. “We auditioned them earlier than we normally do so we could give them feedback to get to the heart of the piece,” Ms. Mattei explains. The result was an iterative process that deepened the dancers relationships with their music and their choreography. “We had a lot more emotional pieces, a lot more pieces that told individual stories, and then some that were just fun.”

Flintridge Preparatory School, 4543 Crown Ave., La Cañada Flintridge, (818) 790-1178 or visit www.flintridgeprep.org.