Dancers twirled, flipped and jumped in solo, duet or group performances during this year’s Festival of Dance. Loud cheers and claps echoed through the courtyard every time performers entered and exited the stage.

Eighth through 12th grade dance class students hosted the annual Festival of Dance May 9 in the courtyard during lunch. There were 22 performances and 59 dancers, and all but one dance was student-choreographed.

Archer’s dance program initially put on Festival of Dance as a way for students who were taking dance classes outside of Archer to showcase their abilities to the community, but it has since expanded to include students from the eighth grade and upper school dance companies.

In order to perform at Festival of Dance, students had to submit a proposal outlining their dance. Dance Troupe Director Andrea Locke says she gives her students no theme, parameters or style to adhere to, so they are free to explore their interests and choose whatever they like. 

“[Festival of Dance] is a bookend with dance troupe — it’s for anybody who wants to dance, no matter if they’ve never had any dance experience,” Locke said. “Anyone who’s never even choreographed, or thought of it, can have that opportunity as it relates to their classes. We had a couple girls dance out there that had never choreographed before.” 

Student choreographer and dancer Lily Poon (‘25) said she enjoyed the hands-on aspect of creating her own choreography with Allie Yang (‘25), called “Everywhere, Everything.” In addition to “Everywhere, Everything,” Poon also performed in “Attention In The House!,” which was choreographed by juniors Sofia Cianciolo, Bryce Collis, Sydney Curry, Ella Dorfman and Lucy Williams. 

“We’ve been learning choreo in class, and then we would do all the spacing,” Poon said. “It’s fun how it’s very student-organized. Teachers are just supervising while students figure out everything else.” 

Students vote to choose which dances are showcased during Festival of Dance.

“It’s always been a joy of mine to watch people who have never choreographed have their classmates believe in them [and] select them,” Locke said. “It’s a joy for me as I mentor them, especially if [they say], ‘You know, Ms. Locke I’m not so sure,’ [and I say] ‘Okay, why don’t you try this, why don’t you try that.’”

Student choreographer and dancer Bernice Wong (‘26) choreographed a dance with Olivia Broock (‘27) called “Doomsday.” Wong was also in “America Has A Problem,” which was choreographed by Violet Lieberman (‘27).

“We — me and Olivia — came up with it and danced and kept practicing it over and over again,” Wong said. “And then for Violet’s dance, she just taught us the choreography. We just had to do it over and over again to clean some parts that were messy.”

Poon said learning dances for Festival of Dance takes one to two months while learning dances for Night of Dance take five to six. Poon added that while Night of Dance is a longer production, she enjoys being a part of both shows. 

“I love how FD [Festival of Dance] is all student-choreographed. I feel like when a student choreographs, you really get the best reflection of the dancers and personal emotions,” Poon said. “There’s something so vulnerable about FD that I love, and ND [Night of Dance] I love because it’s such a huge production and also so much thought goes into the theme. There’s a storyline that goes throughout it, and FD is more like a collection of dances.”

Locke said her favorite part about Festival of Dance is seeing how student choreographers react to their own work. 

“What I enjoy most is watching the confidence, enthusiasm and sense of accomplishment that comes out, whether they dance or whether they choreograph. It’s a different process because at Night of Dance, it’s usually mostly guest choreographers, adult professional [and] some students as well,” Locke said. “I love that [the student choreographers] get to see and feel the support of their community.”