The Bayonne High School Dance Department is a comprehensive program that allows students, ranging from beginner to advanced, to explore the many facets of dance in education including performance and technique, choreography, analysis, critique, and dance history.
The performance and technical aspect of the program makes up a big chunk of what students study here at Bayonne High School. Students in dance class are given rigorous technique building exercises daily where they build the strength and flexibility necessary to fulfill the challenging movement they are given to perform. The students here have multiple performance opportunities throughout the school year including:
- The state wide high school dance festival, where high schools throughout the state come together to show work and take master classes with professional dance artists
- Quarterly performance showcases throughout the year where students can present their own choreography or dance in the work of other choreographers.
- Trips to universities to participate in College Dance Days and learn what it is like to be training at the college level.
- The end of year Dance Concert where the entire show is devoted to present the dances that have been created for Bayonne High School throughout the school year.
Students involved in the Bayonne High School Dance Department learn how to create their own choreography in their time here. By senior year, dancers will be able to create their own group and solo work that will be performed in the BHS Dance Concert.
The BHS Dance program consists of a progression of dance courses ranging from Dance I-Dance IV. Students enrolled in all classes are given the chance to work with guest artists and perform in the dance concert. In class, dancers learn to not only develop performance and technique skills, but they also enhance their understanding of the influence dance has on culture and history. We often collaborate with other subjects, such as history and language courses, to study the dances of different time periods and cultures.
One of the main goals of the program is to create an environment where students learn to become dance appreciators. We want students to leave our class with an enriched ability to appreciate art and culture in any form so they expand thier creativity to help them succeed in any field or career they decide to pursue.