When determining this year’s dance concert theme, middle and upper schoolers knew one thing for certain: they wanted to focus on community.

The process of choosing a dance concert theme begins in the spring with brainstorming sessions designed to narrow the dancers’ focus. As the group began thinking about the 2025 concert, it quickly became clear that, whatever was chosen, they wanted to break away from the messages of polarization and disagreement that seemed to be all around them. Later, as teachers Sophia Cutrubus ’18 and Grace Riter ’18 reviewed the dancers’ brain maps, they saw such a focus on connectivity that they decided on the theme, Where We Meet.

After students returned to campus in August, Sophia and Grace tasked dancers with choosing topics that fit under the Where We Meet umbrella. Then, before beginning choreography, students were asked to go into the community and conduct interviews that explored the connection between their chosen topics and real people’s lived experiences.

“We wanted them to be curious about their community, and to make an effort to connect with and see someone else’s humanity, perspective, and story, and elevate that, even if it’s not what they expected,” explained Sophia.

These topics led dancers in a variety of directions, producing a concert that will delight viewers as they, too, are invited to explore the many ways our human experiences meet.

Check out the above video for a sneak peek of Where We Meet and to hear from the dancers behind the performance. And please plan to join us for Where We Meet, on Friday, February 7, and Saturday, February 8, at 7 pm in the Larimer Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are not required for entry, but a donation of $10 per attendee is suggested.

Arts