From Billie Eilish to Beyoncé, music of all genres has erupted from the dance studio for months as students practice pirouettes and fix their footwork in preparation for the annual Night of Dance performance. As the production looms closer, practices have become more important than ever before.
Performances will occur from Friday, Feb. 28, to Sunday, March 2. The show, titled Dreamscape, centers around dreams and discusses themes ranging from lucid dreaming to becoming trapped in a dream.
When practices began in September, dance teacher Andrea Locke said most classes were focused on learning technique. They then transitioned into learning choreography, and, now, the dances are in their final stages, with choreographers making small adjustments. It’s up to the dancers themselves to make sure they are well-practiced and confident, Locke said.
In preparation for the show, dancers are required to attend Saturday rehearsals. Locke said this is because the various groups of dancers all have different rehearsal times throughout the school week, meaning Saturdays are a time where everyone can come together.
“We can start to look at if this dance order or show order makes sense,” Locke said. “Also, it’s a time for bonding, a time for community [and] a time for the lighting person, the projectionist and the technical director to be able to see what the flow of the production is.”
Dreamscape will be sophomore Milan Earl’s fifth year participating in Night of Dance. When Saturday rehearsals grow long and tiring, the community and her love for the show keep her motivated.
“I really take motivation from the community. People can complain and say, ‘Oh, I don’t want to go to school on a Saturday for five hours,’ but it’s the community. It’s us wanting to push to have our dances done because we know it’s going to be a great show,” Earl said. “I feel like everybody who does Night of Dance continues to do it because it’s such a great show. It’s so impactful when you hear people that you don’t even know say, ‘Your dance just touched my heart.’ You’re like, ‘Oh, that means I have to kill it this time.’”
In addition to Locke, dance captains Sydney Curry (‘25) and Ella Dorfman (‘25) help facilitate the process of planning Night of Dance. Dreamscape will be Curry’s seventh and final Night of Dance performance. When reflecting on her experience, she said the growth she sees in her peers is one of her favorite parts of the show.
“I really enjoy tech week — which may be a hot take — but I just love seeing the show really come together and people start getting their costumes and actually performing their dances. I also just think those long hours spark something within the company. It’s really fun to see how everyone reacts in situations like these that are so intense but also so collective-based,” Curry said. “Outside of that, I love seeing how people who it’s their first Night of Dance experience the show because it’s something they have never done before. But I love seeing their wheels turning in the sense of performance but also in the sense of being a part of the Night of Dance community.”
Locke said that as practices progress, dancers often grow tired, either from a loss of motivation or from overworking themselves. She encourages her students to focus on the reason they perform.
“I really, really try to give them as much inspiration about the ‘why’ of what they’re doing, whether it’s specific to a certain dance or the overall of what it is that they’re doing and what they’re committed to doing in order to be a part of Dreamscape this year at the Broad. Directing the dancers towards navigating their own internal, emotional, spiritual journeys and maintaining their health on all levels, mentally, spiritually, physically, is where I’m spending my time right now,” Locke said. “The joy of dance is the joy of life to me. It’s the joy of movement. It’s the joy of connecting and expressing ourselves as human beings, one to another.”
As Curry reflected on her Night of Dance journey, she said the community is one of her favorite aspects. Across her years of tech weeks, performances and rehearsals, she said being a part of another dancer’s support system is incredibly fulfilling.
“Pouring into other dancers has always been really rewarding for me,” Curry said. “I love seeing the experience that the sixth grade dancers and the people where it’s their first time have once Night of Dance is over and knowing that I was a part of making their first Night of Dance or even their seventh Night of Dance special.”
While Earl still has two more Night of Dances in her future, she’s already seen a lot of her friends go. She urges her fellow dancers to appreciate every practice, even when they’re tired, confused or upset, as time flies by.
“Don’t take everything for granted. That’s so cliché, but the seniors who are now leaving, some of them I knew when I was 2 years old when I started dancing. And now when I see them I feel like, ‘Oh wait, you’re a senior?’” Earl said. “Seeing everybody grow up — you can’t take that time for granted because it’s really impactful.”
For Locke, being able to watch every one of her students grow has made each performance she’s been involved in special. As her 19th Night of Dance grows closer, she said the uniqueness of every dancer and their perspectives has made Dreamscape the show it is.
“Seeing that person, that one dancer, who couldn’t do that pirouette or couldn’t do that turn get it, and her face lights up like the moon. To me, that’s the most rewarding thing. Or seeing a senior who has gone to another level of expression that they identify as being so crucially important to who they are as a person,” Locke said. “That kind of development and growth really inspires me and is the most inspiring in the practice as we move forward towards the performance.”
