Salem Takes on National High School Dance Festival

Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is renowned for its world-class dance program, offering majors in hip hop, jazz, ballet, and modern under the departments of commercial and concert dance; however, the School of Dance is not the only thing that the university is known for. Each year towards the end of February, Point Park hosts National High School Dance Festival, a five-day festival where 1,600 high school dancers from United States and abroad participate in classes, auditions, exhibit halls, choreography concerts, and showcases.

This year, Visual and Performing Arts Academy dancers took part in the festival and made the seven-hour journey to Pittsburgh. The opening ceremony consisted of an impressive performance by Los Angeles-based dance company BODYTRAFFIC, as dancers had the option of signing up for classes taught by company members. Regardless, the dancers were required to sign up for an array of classes prior to the festival, ranging from ballet to jazz.

“I signed up for mainly contemporary [classes], as there was a lack of variety compared to Regional High School Dance Festival,” said Laura Harris, a dance strand senior who attended National High School Dance Festival for the first time. “However, I also took ‘Intro to Argentine Tango,’ which I really enjoyed.”

On the other hand, junior Haley Powers who, like Harris, attended National High School Dance Festival for the first time, signed up for modern classes.

“I took a couple of modern technique classes because they looked really interesting, and I had never done those techniques before,” said Powers. “I also took a BODYTRAFFIC masterclass, a contemporary flow work class, and an improv class because I wanted to get that experience.”

Classes were taught by distinguished instructors from across the country, such as Heather Acomb from Nazareth College and Kristin Alexander from College of Charleston. VPAA dancers enjoyed the different styles of instruction, as they were exposed to diverse techniques and able to expand their repertoires in the process.

“I loved all of my instructors,” said Powers. “The BODYTRAFFIC instructors, specifically Juan, one of the dancers, were so helpful and used lots of descriptive words to describe how they wanted us to dance. They were all so nice and checked on us to make sure we knew what they were teaching, even though there were so many of us.”

While classes occupied the majority of the students’ weekend, the dancers also attended an outstanding student choreography concert featuring VPAA’s very own dance. “Blackjack” was chosen for the performance out of the hundreds of dances submitted. 

“I was very excited and very grateful,” said “Blackjack” sophomore cast member Niamh Poe when asked about her initial reaction to the dance being chosen. “I was also nervous because performing at National High School Dance Festival would be one of the biggest performances I had ever done. I was originally chosen as an understudy for ‘Blackjack’ during the 2023-24 school year, and once the seniors graduated, I would take one of their spots.”

Choreographed by VPAA instructor Katie Flint and performed at the Pittsburgh Playhouse, the cast, like Poe, was elated to hear the dance had been selected after countless hours of perfecting the piece. According to Salem’s weekly newsletter, “Having a piece chosen for performance at the festival is a prestigious honor, celebrating the talent and dedication of our dancers while making the experience even more memorable.” 

“‘Blackjack’ pushed me as a dancer to explore new styles of movement that I hadn’t ever done before,” said Poe. “As an understudy, it was hard for me to try and learn everyone’s part. However, this year, I really enjoyed rehearsing because although it was stressful, I had a lot of fun.”

Poe explained that “Blackjack” fused distinctive prop elements and a unique costume design to complement the dance’s name, which, in turn, contributed to the dancers’ overall cohesion and charisma when performing.

“The dance involved props (cards and table), so they were always fun to dance with,” said Poe. “Our costumes were very long, heavy dresses that played an important role in the dance. A lot of the rehearsal time was devoted to learning how to incorporate the costume into the dance. My favorite part of being in ‘Blackjack’ was having the opportunity to perform alongside my friends while strengthening our bond along the way.”

While the performance of “Blackjack” was one of the main highlights for the dancers, there were also individual recognitions for scholarships, college dance programs, and summer intensives. Senior Tamera Jones was accepted into the dance programs of Point Park University, Temple University, Ohio University, and Jacksonville University, while senior Kendall White was accepted into the dance program of Radford University. Jones and Kendall were recognized at the festival’s closing ceremony on Sunday, March 2nd.

“My favorite part of the closing ceremony was being able to congratulate my friends who were recognized for their performances in the audition and classes,” said Harris. 

The dancers admitted that most of the excitement surrounding the festival was towards bonding with their classmates and receiving professional dance exposure, and it turned out to be the favorite part of the festival for both Powers and Harris.

“I was able to get to know some of my classmates better because I was with them so much,” said Powers. “My favorite part of the festival was the BODYTRAFFIC show and the Point Park 90s piece. It was so great to watch professional dance companies.”

Although it will be two years until the next round of VPAA dancers attend the festival, as they are scheduled to depart in 2027, the dancers will undoubtedly take their experiences in Pittsburgh and apply it to their lives. The festival’s spectacular exhibition of dance will be remembered by the students for the rest of their lives, and perhaps it will inspire some of them to pursue a career in the world of performing arts.