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Junior and Senior high school students who have been inducted into the National Honor Society for Dance Arts are eligible to apply for this award, one of the highest dance honors program in the US. Candidates for the award must excel in all three categories:
To see read our Winner and Finalists essays about their choreography and see videos of their solos, scroll down.
To view all of the Videos of the solos (including Honorable Mentions), click here.
Union County Academy for the Performing Arts (NJ)
Victoria's School of Dance (FL)
Roseville High School (CA)
Passaic County Technical Institute (NJ)
Apollo High School (AZ)
The John Carroll College Preparatory Dance Program (MD)
Clarion Center for the Arts (PA)
Harrisonburg High School (VA)
Cypress Creek High School (FL)
Elevate Dance Center (CO)
Dee Buchanan Studio of Dance (MD)
Rolesville High School (NC)
Edison High School (NJ)
Gloucester County Institute of Technology (NJ)
Glenelg High School (MD)
24/7 Dance Studio (MD)
South Carolina Governer's School for the Arts and Humanities (SC)
Choreography Essay -The title of my contemporary solo is Dichotomy and is set to the instrumental version of “United In Grief” by Kendrick Lamar. The intention of my choreography was to create movement that matched the intensity of the music. I was drawn to the contrasting elements of the music which fluctuates between staccato rhythms and fluid melodies. I challenged myself by creating a piece that begins with a certain energy and unexpectedly shifts throughout the piece showcasing a contradiction of movement. This shift happens multiple times throughout my solo and shows my ability to express different emotions and create versatile movement phrases. My biggest inspiration during the choreographic process was my improvisation. Before I started choreographing, I played the music and began to improvise. By utilizing improvisation, I naturally discovered the energy I felt matched best with the music. I also used improvisation to create phrase work. Occasionally, I would improv and execute an interesting movement pattern that I later included in my solo. It was a fun challenge to take my natural, improvised movement and create structured choreography. A challenge I encountered was developing a floorwork phrase. I wanted to continue my motif of contrasting movement and thought it was best to add a floorwork section since most of my choreography is on higher levels. This was a challenge for me because I prefer standing movement since it is more comfortable for me. However, I wanted to stretch my choreographic abilities and create movement outside of my comfort zone.
Choreograhy Essay - The title of my solo piece is “Tonite’s Tha Night.” My motivation came from my desire to break from the norm and create a hip hop solo that celebrates fun and positivity rather than heavier emotions. Even in difficult times, people still find ways to laugh, dance, and enjoy the present, and I wanted that spirit to shape my choreography. This solo reflects my own journey to find genuine happiness amid the chaos and pressure of being a teenager. The purpose of my choreography was to remind the audience and myself that joy can be a form of rebellion. In a world full of expectations and constant comparison, my piece explores what it means to break free from those pressures and choose authenticity. Through playful movement and expressive gestures, I aimed to show the power of embracing who I truly am. The dance begins with sharp, restricted movements and a moment of running that symbolizes escape, gradually shifting into a looser, bouncier quality that represents my transition from trying to fit in to feeling free, a shift that mirrors creative self-discovery. Some challenges I faced included finding new ways to come up off the floor and translating the song’s lyrics into movement. I pushed myself to break old habits and experiment with fresh transitions so I could grow as both a choreographer and a person. Overcoming these challenges allowed me to create a piece that reflects my artistic growth and communicates a message of freedom and authenticity to the audience
Choreography Essay - The intent of my original choreography for this piece was to challenge not only my choreographic timing abilities, but to perplex the audience, the listener, the watcher. I have a significant background in Tap, since 2012 in my toddler years to now, my Senior year in high school. Complementary to that, I began to train as a drummer at 11 years old. It was clear that rhythm fit together like a puzzle in my mind. My solo is titled “7” because of its ⅞ time signature. While most songs count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, “Money” by Pink Floyd counts only up to 7, with some moments toward the end where it reaches 8. I am inspired by how the difference in counting keeps me on my toes, figuratively and literally. I am inspired by those who have come before me, musical artists or dancers, who have challenged the “norm” of time signatures. It was challenging breaking the habits of ending a phrase on 8, or adding my own performance that works in unison with the sometimes confusing song. If I were to describe the story of my choreography in one word, I would use the word “Sly.” It takes a kind of confidence to get away with confusing people, and in the same way, I had a grand old time sneaking unique rhythms into my dance that would make the listener think twice;
Choreography Essay - The Merriam Webster definition of collateral damage is “injury inflicted on something other than an intended target.” Sound familiar? Although art is people's livelihoods and form of expression, art is always treated as collateral damage in schools, the workplace, and society. I am in the dance program at Passaic County Technical Institute and a major component of our program are the guest choreographers which help students form connections and expand their artistry through exposure. Last year, our funding was threatened and I immediately took action by getting all dancers and parents to email, meeting with the principal, and expressing my frustrations out into an improv. My initial intent was to express my anguish, but then I started to explore news clips and audio from art budget cut protests and it hit me: a choreographed piece called Collateral Damage. My exploration is based on pure, frustrated feeling combined with audio clips of different artist perspectives affected by cuts. It was challenging finding concise, but impactful statements and integrating them seamlessly, but through multiple drafts and navigating different media platforms I was able to harness multiple forms of art to advocate for it. I focused the movement on feeling pillaged, showing the qualities of longing and becoming weaker to symbolize the deterioration of passion. Abstractly conveying the narrative was difficult because the topic is specific and comprehensive, thus I juxtaposed gesturing outwards with confined articulation and sharpness. I also removed a motif to demonstrate a true unraveling rather than recentering the concept