Category: Arts & Entertainment

by Lily Roberti ’24

Wyoming Seminary’s Dance Company’s hard work culminated in three exhilarating nights of ballet, jazz, hip hop, musical theater, and so much more hitting the stage of the Kirby Center of Creative Arts at full force. Two acts chock-full of grand jetés, pirouettes, and smiling faces, Sem put on its forty-first annual dance show, “Let’s Dance!”, under the direction of Mrs. Vojtko. 

The Dance Company’s process to prepare for this marvelous performance started as early as October, 2021. Dance classes began to meet in early fall, a few of them starting to put together choreography for the show. Various genres of dance graced our stage in mid-May. “Higher Ground,” choreographed by Ms. Sipple, was a loud and funky jazz piece that had the audience dying to get up and dance along. “Gershwin Preludes” highlighted six of the company’s most elegant ballet dancers. Their closing piece, “Rhapsody in Blue,” a 1950s city street scene, ended the show with a bang as we saw every member of the company up on stage in various roles like sightseers, shoppers, and society ladies. This selection followed a love story between the wonderfully talented Samantha Barcia ‘22 and Robert Zaloga ‘20 while policeman Gram Doherty ‘22 tried to keep trouble off the streets.

Our very own Dance Company offers a wide range of experience. 43 dancers made up the show this year, including four alumni and four lower school students. From dancers who have been practicing for ten plus years to those who came to us brand new this year, Sem turns away no one who wants to learn a thing or two. Mrs. Vojtko’s patience and dedication can turn a fresh face show ready in mere months. Kara Perzia ‘24 says, “As a new dancer, it takes a lot to be stage ready and can be intimidating when surrounded by lots of experienced dancers. However, everyone has been extremely helpful through this experience and now I can say I am prepared to dance along with everyone else on stage.” The most experienced dancers paved the way for the newbies, offering help with choreography and inspiration whenever needed. 

Not only was “Let’s Dance!” prepared by three talented professionals, Mrs. Bernadine Vojtko, Ms. Linda Sipple, and Mr. Raphael Cooper, but a few choice upperclassmen were also given the opportunity to set four unique pieces. Seniors Samantha Barcia, Jennifer Zemetro, Alyssa Shonk, Sophia Snell, Anna Cabell, and junior Allison Luo received the honor of being chosen as the 2022 student choreographers. Samantha Barcia ‘22 says, “Choreographing was so much fun this year! I got to be on the other side of dancing, and I think it will make me an even better dancer because it will help me understand what my dance teacher needs. I also had so much fun getting to know some of the younger dancers that I don’t always get to interact with!!” From music to choreo to costumes, these six dancers worked exceptionally hard on their masterpieces.

This show took more to put together than a couple rehearsals and some pairs of tights. The Dance Company worked exceedingly hard in the months prior to prepare their material for the KCCA stage. The dedicated teamwork everyone put in was more than worth it. Mrs. Vojtko kindly shares, “We have a wonderful group of dancers who are giving their all as we prepare for the show… With all the challenges that came along with covid, it’s been three years since we’ve been able to open our spring performance to the public.” “Let’s Dance!”, Sem’s 2022 dance show, was a massive success!

by Erica Zhu ’23

The Footloosians of Sem kicked off their Sunday shoes mid-February to give us a wonderful performance. Between the angelic voices and energetic dancing, Willard and his crew’s Mama Says – played by our one and only Gram Dogherty ’22, Ari Froehlich ’24, Benecio Carpenter ’24, and Michael Vodzak ’24 seemed to steal the show.

Even backstage, it’s hard to stand still without singing along or gaining some extra pep in your step. Everyone played their part in contributing to the magical love story between Ren and Ariel (Kieran Sherry ’22 and Ainsley Edam ’23). From problem solving with costumes and the set to bringing out energy when they danced and sung. Chuck Cranston played by Liam Philips-Magraw ’23 had us raising our fists. We also had sympathized with Julia Poole ’22 and Jake Ruderman ’22 who played concerned parents Vi and Shaw Moore. As one of our longest running shows after a period of being unable to runt at all, Footloose proved to be successful from it’s most intimate moments to to the classic comedy we know and love.

Being out on stage means we always need a crew. Footloose needed about three: one for costumes, one for the book , and of course, one backstage. Footloose had an impressive number of quick changes for its last scene, the prom. During this scene, most actors traded their leather or jean jackets for suits, pretty dresses and even different wigs! The booth was also given a run for its money, being both the command center and the place where all cues were put into action. Thanks to their management, the show went on without a hitch. Last but not least, we had a backstage crew that set the scenes and moved all the heavy machinery they could while staying virtually invisible to the audience. Both managers stage right and left were able to keep the show going seamlessly regardless of a set malfunction or traffic jam backstage.