If a ballet show takes place on the St. Paul’s School campus and there’s nobody there to see it, does it make a sound? Don’t worry, that’s not a real question. Thankfully it’s nothing we have to worry about (which is good because it doesn’t really make any sense), thanks to Jennifer Howard, director of dance at St. Paul’s, and the St. Paul’s School Ballet Company.
The ballet company is launching a spring performance that Howard hopes will become a staple of the group’s annual schedule with shows May 23, 24 and 31 at 8 p.m. There will be ballet and contemporary dance performances featuring the choreography of some renowned people like Paul Taylor and Diane Coburn and will also include the premier of a piece by St. Paul’s alum and former New York City Ballet principal dander Philip Neal.
And here’s the kicker – it’s 100 percent free. The shows are all about an hour, making them friendly for families with small children or adults with short attention spans (look, something shiny!)
It’s all part of Howard’s vision to share dance education with not only her students but also the Concord Community, all of which prompted our bizarre rhetorical question to kick off this preview.
“I’ve always been interested in dance education, and it was kind of a no-brainer,” Howard said. “I really would love for the St. Paul’s Ballet Company to not do these performances silently on the campus, but for them and this program to be a vehicle for dance education. I wanted to bring these friends and colleagues that are pretty amazing and pretty well-accomplished up here.”
This year’s show will feature Paul Taylor’s Junction, Diane Coburn Bruning’s Piazzolla Suite, excerpts of Sharon Eyal’s Bill, and the world premiere of A Classic Conundrum by Neal, and all three performances will take place at 8 p.m. in Memorial Hall on the St. Paul’s campus.
There will be 19 students taking part in the show, and by the time you see the finished product they will have already had the experience of a lifetime, as several celebrated choreographers have spent time at St. Paul’s working with the students on each of the pieces.
The woman who helped set the Paul Taylor piece was on campus for three weeks, with the other choreographers spending at least a week, as well, and Neal will be on hand for opening night.
“It’s been really awesome. I think some of (the students) got a little star-struck at first,” Howard said. “But it’s nice, because they see these professionals come in and they realize that the work ethic required of an artist is invaluable. I think they’ve realized that.”
This will be the debut of the showcase, but Howard is hoping to build it into an anticipated annual event at the school. And like the winter performance of the Nutcracker, she hopes it becomes part of the annual routine for Concord area residents.
“This is the inaugural spring performance, which will every year be this repertoiry program,” Howard said. “It’s designed for the dancers at St. Paul’s as well as the greater community, and it’s an opportunity to experience dance they wouldn’t otherwise, with the added bonus that it’s free.”
