Members of the Kinkaid Dance Company learned from professional dancers and collaborated with students from the Parish Episcopal School in Dallas’s drill team during a daylong dance workshop on August 29th. 

Dancers participated in jazz-funk and contemporary dance classes led by members of the Social Movement Contemporary Dance Theater (SMCDT), a professional dance company based in Houston. Lasting from 9 am to 3 pm, the workshop also gave students the opportunity to connect with members of Parish’s drill team and to get the chance to experience a different style of dance. 

“It was a great learning experience,” said junior dancer Sari Roseman. “Watching their drill team was very cool because it’s a unique style of dance and different from what we do in DCO.”

For Roseman, one of the most valuable parts of the day was the chance to meet dancers outside of her own school while learning directly from professionals. 

After the classes and lunch, students watched SMCDT perform several pieces, including premieres from the company’s upcoming season. The dancers also observed the company’s rehearsal process and had the opportunity to ask questions about life as a professional dancer and how choreographers develop their work. 

Sophomore Presley Allen, another member of the Kinkaid Dance Company, said the performances by SMCDT stood out because they were “very artistically diverse,” noting many unique elements were incorporated into their dances.

“This was such a unique experience because the dance company has never done a collaboration like this before,” Allen said.

As this was one of the Kinkaid dance company’s first collaborations, it turned out to be a valuable learning period for everyone and provided the DCO with skills beyond the dance floor, such as working with other styles of dance and simply learning to adapt to new choreography. 

“Overall, it was a super great experience because we learned a lot from them, and it was fun to meet new dancers from another school,” Roseman said.