Dance levels Two, Three and Company did an amazing job in the 2016 Winter Dance Concert. Running on Friday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 10 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the Artists Theatre, the show was directed by Estee Carrizosa and Samantha Gardner. The purpose of the performance was to showcase the dancers’ improvement so far this year.

Dance Two had two performances: “Turn Up the Music” and “Optimism is the Foundation of Courage.”

“I think ‘Optimism is the Foundation of Courage’ was the best because of the inspiration for the piece,” said freshman Cirrafina Biele, a student in Dance Two.

This emotional dance was inspired by Miss Carrizosa and choreographed by Jordan Burton.

“It was inspired by Miss Carrizosa and the tremendous amount of hope and optimism she has been going through during this difficult patch in her life,” said Biele.

Dance Three performed “Deeper than the Eyes”, “Ain’t Yo Mama”, and “You Don’t Own Me.”                                                     

“The process of making the dance is really complicated and difficult, but once everything comes together, it is amazing,” said sophomore Mia Brisker.

The Dance Company had one dance performed together and a few student-choreographed performances like “Unapologetic”, “Suit n’ Tie” and “Desolate.”

Sofia Hefter-Smith, a sophomore in Dance Company, choreographed “Desolate.”

“My piece was based off of The Great Depression, because [of] the amount of emotion that came from that time period. Whether it was anger, sadness or loss, I wanted the dancers to embody those emotions and share it with the audience,” said Hefter-Smith.

This year’s veterans stepped up to the challenge of generating creative expression and teaching younger dancers in the absence of Miss Carrizosa.

“I really don’t have a favorite piece, but I will say my favorite part of this dance show was the student choreography, which took up a majority of the show. Our student choreographers are so talented, and I was really happy to see many of their ideas come to life,” said senior Victoria Mastrocola, a student in Dance Company.                     

Dance teacher Estee Carrizosa was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and was a huge motivator for all the dancers and choreographers.

“The choreographers were greatly inspired by our dance teacher, Miss Carrizosa. Her strength in fighting cancer has inspired dancers and choreographers within and outside of Dance Company to perform with greater purpose and a greater appreciation for dance,” said senior Ruby Green, a student in Dance Company.