DANCE PROGRAM

DANCE PROGRAM

Mercy’s Dance Program is a college preparatory, conservatorial program within the Fine Arts Department that emphasizes both the technical and artistic training of students. This premiere program offers students numerous opportunities to study with professional and alumnae guest artists in our dance studio and perform on stage in the widely acclaimed Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Auditorium.

There are multiple components of our program:

One of Mercy’s signature programs, The Dance Troupe, is a co-curricular, comprehensive, and sequenced college preparatory program for experienced dancers. The Mercy Dance Troupe is selected by audition in the second semester of 8th grade or in the spring of every year. The Dance Troupe earns academic credit and meets an average of four days a week. In addition to rigorous instruction in the genres of dance, The Dance Troupe performs several times during the year including the formal dance concert in the spring. The Dance Troupe has appeared with the Independent Dance Network, an organization providing performance opportunities and master classes to students enrolled in private schools in Maryland. The Dance Troupe was also selected to perform for the Annual Archdiocesan Gala at the Marriott Harborplace East. Dancers work with the director of dance and with professional guest artists, choreographers, and teachers. Members of The Dance Troupe have earned awards in the Maryland Distinguished Scholar Program and have studied dance at the baccalaureate level. Many graduates are teaching dance in studios and schools, choreographing, and performing professionally all over the country.

The Apprentice Dance Company is designed for students with a desire, passion, and potential for dance, but with a more limited dance background. Apprentice Dance Company dancers are selected by audition in the second semester of 8th grade or in the spring of every year. Dancers participate in technique classes held during the school day, as well as choreography rehearsals held one day a week after school. The program focuses on developing technical skills in the genres of ballet, modern dance, and jazz dance, with exposure to improvisation, composition, and choreography. The Apprentice Dance Company also performs several times throughout the year and has the opportunity to work with guest artists.

Mercy’s Dance Troupe is a full-year, co-curricular activity, which takes place after the regular school day. Apprentice Dance Company is a full-year program that combines a class during the school day with after school rehearsals. Participants who fulfill the commitments set by the director of dance during the school year earn partial academic credit for their Fine Arts graduation requirement. Mercy also offers a course titled Dance Exploration for All in which no previous dance experience is necessary.