For years, Germantown Academy’s (GA) Middle and Upper School’s Visual and Performing Arts department focused mainly on art and music. This past fall, Middle and Upper School’s Performing Arts Associate Teacher, Mrs. Ann Esposito, brought a new dance elective to the stage of the Upper School.
“I saw that there were people that wanted to dance, but maybe they couldn’t fit in their schedule or different things,” Mrs. Esposito said. “So I wanted to start the dance bug.”
The elective opens doors to new forms of expression to all students in the Upper School but is mainly recommended for juniors and seniors. Mrs. Esposito’s elective is not just about techniques and compositions, but also about foundational skills and how to compose a dance.
“I’ve always wanted to take more dance outside of school, but I really just do not have the time at all,” Ana Miller ‘26, a student in the dance elective, said. “Getting to take dance at school [is] a good opportunity.”
The dance elective focuses on three specific genres of music: jazz, modern and ballet. The students work on compositional techniques and how to apply them to dances in a variety of genres.
“I wasn’t expecting us to dive into specific techniques [of dance], but I’ve been really grateful that we have done that,” said Ana Miller ‘26.
The techniques the students have learned in the class have helped in areas of life that they didn’t know were related to dance. The students are grateful not only to have the opportunity to take dance, but to also have Mrs. Esposito as their teacher.
“To get this level of training, it costs a lot of money, and the fact that we have it so easily accessible here at GA is a really rare thing, something that should be talked about more,” Lauren Sass ‘26 said.
Alongside with the dance elective, upperclass PE classes have incorporated a unit of dance in their curriculum. Students focus on the general movement rather than a specific topic. They learn how the movements taught in class connect to the activities they do outside of school. Students often enter the class confused as to what they were doing but leave feeling excited and accomplished.
“I’m hoping to do something with middle schoolers and eventually I’d love to be in all three divisions doing either a [gym class] or PE unit in [dance]” Mrs. Esposito said.
Although the elective is early in its development, it has made a huge impact on those taking the class. With a small group of students in the elective and many upperclassmen taking the dance class in PE, the movement and creativity allows participants to create a tight-knit community.
“By the time we leave we’re all just laughing and being silly and getting things done,” Mrs. Esposito said.
The new dance class has become increasingly popular within the GA community. The lively atmosphere and high participation during the P.E classes and elective reflect the impact it has had on the GA community.