The annual PDS dance concert brought together students from the Middle and Upper school the night of April 15 in a celebration of movement, creativity, and collaboration—all under the guidance of dance program director Ms. Ann Robideaux.
The concert, which has grown significantly over the years, was not always the large-scale production it is now. “We used to not even have the dance concert in here, we used to have it in the dance studio,” Ms. Robideux explained. Around 2019, as the dance program expanded, students pushed for a bigger platform. “Those dancers were like, it’s not fair. Everyone else gets to have a big event on the stage and we don’t get to do that.” From there, the program brought in professional lighting designers and sound equipment, transforming what was once a small studio showcase into a full theatrical event.
Planning begins long before students ever step into rehearsal. Ms. Robideaux starts thinking about the concert’s theme as early as the summer, then reaches out to interested students in the fall. “I come in the fall knowing what the theme is,” she shared.“I contact every student that I know who’s a dancer, or would be interested in such a thing, and I say, this is our theme.”
The concert features a mix of in-class choreography and independent student work. This year, juniors Pierson DelVecchio and Abbey Dufort, who took Ms. Robideaux’s class the previous year, created and performed their own pieces entirely outside of class. “We’re showing their work,” Ms. Robideaux noted, emphasizing her commitment to showcasing student creativity at all levels.
One of the concert’s most distinctive elements is its integration of live music. Ms. Robideaux, who grew up in a tradition of live musical accompaniment, regularly collaborates with faculty like Dr. Tomasz Rzeczycki and Mr. Tom Buckelew to incorporate student musicians into the show. A string quartet from the Upper School Chamber Music Club accompanied one of this year’s standout pieces—America from West Side Story. It featured Middle and Upper school students dancing together—a lively, high-energy number that dancer Silver Zhang described as “pretty fun since it’s a lively dance with fun elements.”
Zhang, who takes dance as a PE sport, shared what makes the concert meaningful beyond the performance itself, remarking, “Ms. Robideaux makes the dance concert special because she makes you feel like you have a huge role in it even though you may not seem that important,” she said. The concert highlights how every contribution adds to a sense of unity within the dance community and that everyone belongs to something larger than themselves.
For Ms. Robideaux, the concert represents something bigger than any single performance. “I just think it’s great that PDS offers that opportunity…it’s really nice to have the opportunity to actually showcase people’s talents.”
