In the Berkeley Carroll Lower School Dance Program, performances are framed as a gift, something you give to an audience. This spring, our 1st and 2nd graders delivered beautifully.

Over a series of concerts, BC's youngest performers showcased everything they have been learning in dance and music, opening each show with a singing performance before taking the floor. Students sang, “Do Re Mi” from The Sound of Music, then incorporated American Sign Language into their performance of “Love Train” by the O’Jays.

The 1st graders opened with Tchaikovsky's "Trepak" from The Nutcracker, an athletic, exciting, and celebratory piece that the dancers performed in unison, with choreography that followed the counts and phrasing of the score alongside their own invented movement. As one student wisely put it, there's something special about getting to "know about a dance that lots of people know about," a meaningful inroad into the larger world of dance. From there, the 1st graders switched gears with Sea Creatures in a Coral Reef, set to music by Saint-Saëns. Working with a partner or a group of three, students choreographed the entirety of the piece themselves, taking turns embodying specific sea creatures and forming shapes as a coral reef, dancing over, under, around, and through one another. It was a lesson in movement invention, collaboration, spatial awareness, and care for one another's bodies, and it created a soulful atmosphere of beauty and reverence for the aquatic world.

The 2nd graders brought their own creative energy to the stage, opening with a Jazz Warm Up set to the music of Bad Bunny, a piece featuring student-choreographed simultaneous solos that gave each dancer a moment to show their strongest skills, closing with a classic Broadway "Domino" finale in which the children formed a line and comically fell into one another, one by one. Some students also performed original group dances in a variety of structures, applying the techniques they have built up through their years in the program and making them entirely their own.

The concert closed with a joyful jazz number set to "Take the A Train," composed by Duke Ellington and sung by Ella Fitzgerald, a humorous celebration of the New York City subway featuring unison and small group dances that honored jazz, its history, and the city these students call home.

The BC Lower School Dance Program begins as early as BC3, with formal performances starting in 1st grade. The philosophy behind it is simple and profound: performance is not about perceived perfection, it is about generosity, wonder, and joy. This spring, that came through in every movement, leap, and smile.

A heartfelt thank you to Lower School Dance Teacher Vanessa Paige, Lower School Music Teachers Alissa Jackman and Amirah Stewart, and all of the Lower School Music Faculty for all of the joyful and inspiring programs.

View the 1st and 2nd Grade Music and Dance Photo Galleries Here