… and five, six, seven, eight

Fourteen dancers stretch and roll in rhythm as Justin Timberlake implores his “Senorita” to just give him a try. One student leads the others through a warm-up routine, while keeping a close eye on everyone in a giant mirror covering the wall. Girls, all dressed in matching green leotards, easily outnumber Dominic Moore-Dunson, the only boy in class.

What could be easily mistaken for a commercial dance studio is actually Kelly Berick’s dance program at Firestone High School. The visual and performing arts students are warming up for the last of their five master classes with Cleveland Contemporary Dance Theatre artistic director Michael Medcalf.

Medcalf joined the students as part of a residency program, which culminated with a performance at the Weathervane Community Playhouse in early March 2007. He choreographed an original work for the students and rehearsed them for the show.

“Residencies are a rare treat for us,” explains Berick. “This is college-level stuff. When my kids graduate, they’ll have ‘Cleveland Contemporary Dance Theatre, original work by Michael Medcalf’ on their resumés. Most kids who dance in local studios don’t have that opportunity.”

For students like Dominic, residencies open a world of opportunity. After a residency last year, he was hand-selected to spend the summer in New York studying with Garth Feagan, choreographer of “The Lion King” on Broadway.

“I have the opportunity to learn from great teachers and express myself the way I love – through art,” says Dominic. “I plan to study dance in college, so all of this will start me at a higher step as a freshman. I’m going to come in ahead of everyone else.”

Last spring, after choreographing a piece at Weathervane, Medcalf decided to continue his work in Akron and began brainstorming ideas. Berick’s program was an obvious choice. Weathervane wrote a grant. The Akron Community Foundation, OMNOVA and Goodyear supplied the funds; and a residency was born.

Medcalf teaches his technique to give students a feel for his style. He builds from there with classroom exercises. With master classes complete, students now begin rehearsals for the March performance.

“A master class teaches a series of exercises that you try to copy and master,” says Berick. “A rehearsal actually teaches material and develops into a dance.”

Beyond working with seasoned professionals like Medcalf, Firestone dance students are exposed to unique opportunities not normally available to regular dance students.

“Dancing in a local studio is a class. Teachers prepare you for recitals,” says Berick. “We give the other side, the creative side.”

The 11th-grade students choreograph a solo piece, and all 12th-grade students choreograph a group piece.

“Choreography is what sets them apart in a university audition. My students have exposure to things most others haven’t thought about doing,” says Berick.

Berick, in her 11th year with Firestone, estimates that 50 percent of her students continue with dance after graduating high school. 

“It would be great if we were turning out Rockettes,” says Berick with a laugh; “but, frankly, if this program helps students be what they want to be, I’m good with that. My hope, my goal, is that every one of them goes out and does whatever they want to do.”

A dance program might seem unusual in a regular-education high school, but Berick points out that her dance program includes writing and reading and every component that other classes have. Students learn skills that teach them to solve problems and work together.

“Creating art uses all the academic skills,” says Berick. “The two can’t be without each other. The arts support your math, your writing, your OGT scores. I have a lot of kinesthetic [learn by doing] learners in here. That intelligence isn’t getting fed anywhere else.”

“Time management is so important in high school, and dance helps me with that,” says Dominic. “When you’re performing, you need to know where you need to be and when.”

“This class isn’t a break from the day. It’s a different way of learning,” says Berick. “I have a lot of kids who go into pre-law, physical therapy, teaching. Dance is just a part of life.”

Final dress rehearsal – March 2007

↓ Click on "Other APS Links" below for the complete links list.