HS DANCE STUDIO RIBBON CUTTING

The Dance Studio: North Shore’s Newest Addition
Written By HS Student: Mae Curiale

“Finding themselves, building their confidence, collaborating, making art, having fun, and finding joy, all while they learn,” Fine and Performing Arts Director Dalia Rodriguez explained is the goal for students of the North Shore Dance Program.

The Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for North Shore’s new dance studio was recently held on October 5th. The Advanced Dance students, enrolled in the highest level course offered at North Shore, performed a self-choreographed piece to “Better When I’m Dancin’” and student Nicole Tom performed a beautiful ballet solo to the “Black Swan,” choreographed by Glen Dance instructors Emilia Bunich and Kim Leary. Many administrators, teachers, and members of the Board of Education were in attendance.

After years of planning and development of the program since its creation in 2019, the North Shore Dance students finally have a home in their very own dance studio. The dance program started off with only 12 students and now has grown to over 60. Dalia Rodriguez, Director of Fine and Performing Arts, spearheaded the creation, along with a team consisting of the Board of Education, Christopher Zublionis, Superintendent; CarolAnn Smyth, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction; James Pappas, Assistant Superintendent for Business; Dalia Rodriguez, Director of Fine and Performing Arts; Eric Contreras, Principal of North Shore High School, Simone Kuranishi, Dance Instructor; Clerical Staff including Sharon Morello; Maintenance and Custodial staff under the direction of John Hall; and the Arts Angels organization. Rodriguez had the idea for the studio immediately after becoming director and it was a goal she advocated for as early as the beginning of her career at North Shore.

The program has developed so immensely that now students are given the opportunity to graduate with honors from the National Honors Society for Dance Arts and participate in the Select Ensemble program at the high school. In addition, even middle school students are able to get involved in dance with the various clubs offered and the “Dance Explorations” course, designed for 8th grade students. There is now an annual “Symposium” in which students in each of the offered courses perform pieces that they have worked on throughout the course of the school year, right on the high school stage. This year’s Symposium will fall on April third, 2024. Plenty of milestones have been reached, solely through the growth of the program. However, the creation of the studio is a grand one, displaying the support of the district and giving the dance students a place to call their own.

Article and photos by Shelly Newman