Music cut through the quiet space of the Recital Hall as freshman Beyli Shah played “Rich Girl” by Gwen Stefani from her phone. 

Beyli and her group, including sophomores Brisa Perkins and Allison Whitman, and freshman Anna Busa, swayed to the beat and rhythm of the song. Then, they circled their arms around their heads, stomped their bare feet on the wooden stage, and fell to their sides as the song finished in their “Inspired Choreography” class.

The group’s audience of 11 classmates, sitting in a small section of the 192-seat hall, erupted in applause and complimented the girls’ dance routine.

“I liked the different levels of the movement because while you all stood up in the dance you also went to the ground,” commented freshman William Adeniyi.

Mrs. Anjaly Thakkar, math teacher and trained dancer, said the purpose of the class is to let the students know how to feel inspired and choreograph their own pieces.

“It’s kind of like helping give artists skills to be an artist,” she explained.

Even though the class had just finished a mini performance, most days the students just practice in their groups. Students were given the freedom to create their own dances to the songs of their choice.

Freshman William Adeniyi, a seasoned dancer, loved the fact that their routines were choreographed by students rather than the teacher. 

“I get to personally express what I’m thinking through the music,” Adeniyi said. “I wish that in my other classes some of the stuff that we do is decided by us like in this class.”

Freshman Ayala Presley who used to dance as a child agreed. 

“We can express ourselves by choreographing our own dances, which is really fun. I like the freedom we get in this class while in our other classes we follow a strict schedule,” Presley said.

The class structure has been perfected as Mrs. Thakkar has been teaching this interim class for several years now. She has been dancing for as long as she can remember and wanted to use Interim Term as a chance to do her favorite hobby. 

“The first week they’re inspired by music, the second week they’re inspired by the movement itself, and the third week they’re inspired by subject matter,” she said.

At the same time, each student chose a choreographer that they wanted to research, which gave them a valuable insight.

“We watch videos and interviews of choreographers,” Mrs. Thakkar explained. “We watch choreography that they can analyze, but we also listen to the methods and processes of different choreographers too. They also are going to research one choreographer that really inspires them, and then, they are going to do a presentation on that choreographer.”

Students freshman Caroline Kubitza, sophomore Ivy Frankel, freshman William Adeniyi and freshman Ayala Presley bust out moves to “Toxic” by Britney Spears. 

Since this particular group was filled with beginner dancers, they resorted to using TikTok dance moves when they couldn’t come up with anything else.