By Tara Gadde ’11, Arts & Entertainment Editor & Sydney Sheehan ’14, Staff Writer

As the new Spring semester is under way, it is time to recognize the familiar faces that will grace the stage for their final show: the NA Senior IB dancers. Every year a select few are chosen to be in this advanced IB dance class. This year, the IB class is made up of various age groups, but runs on the dedication and leadership of its senior members: Jodi Feinberg ’11, Nitika Daga ’11, and Becca Press ’11.

Senior Jodi Feinberg has been dancing since she can remember, twirling her way through the school hallway, always keeping a beat in her step. NA has given her the opportunity to explore her passion and cultivate it into a true form of art. Along with high school came sports, clubs, and other extra-curricular activities that forced Jodi to give up her out of school dance classes. However, she struck a balance between her dedication to dance and other activities. As she puts it, “NA’s dance program was perfect because it allowed me to continue dancing, while still playing sports.” The IB class has allowed Jodi to not only develop her skills as a dancer, but also use her technical skills to be a choreographer, something she has grown to enjoy as she relishes in the challenge. Every dancer has a reason for dancing. For Jodi, dancing allows her to “relax and break free from everything going on.”

Nitika Daga ’11 has dabbled in a whole spectrum of dance forms. “I’ve tried all different styles of dance: ballet, tap, jazz, classical Indian, and Bollywood.” To her, the IB program has not just broadened her dance horizons, it has deepened them. “Being part of the IB program has allowed me to approach dance through a more academic point of view, researching the historical and cultural roots of different kinds of dance,” she reflects. Nitika came to NA as a freshman and found the introduction to modern dance both “challenging and refreshing,” and after high school she plans to continue pursuing her dance career.   Aside from IB dance in school, Nitika has participated in a classic Indian dance style called Kathak for 10 years, and she plans on graduating from this dance at a performance in July. Nitika sees dance as another “fun way to move for the less athletically inclined.”

Becca Press ’11 was introduced to dance at the age of three, when her parents happened to sign her up for a dance class. Without possibly foreseeing the effects, her parents had shaped Becca’s entire high school career, as she continued to dance at the recreational, and eventually competitive level for years to come. For Becca, the IB program has forced her to think outside the box and to grow from the challenge. “Ms. Lux challenged us not only with improving technique but also challenged us by exposing us to different styles of dance, forcing us to explore movements we were unfamiliar to,” she says. Whether it is because of Becca’s “obsession” with wearing her “pink frilly tutu” or her “growing love for dance,” Becca’s talents have graced NA’s stage throughout her career and she hopes to continue dancing in college next year.

From sports to academics to arts, everyone at NA knows what it feels like to challenge themselves to succeed at their unique abilities. For these seniors, dance has been a way to relax, forget, exercise, and have fun. IB dance has allowed the senior dancers to further polish and pursue their interests, while also pushing the dancers to become choreographers and independent workers. Jodi, Nitika, and Becca have used the NA IB dance program to immerse themselves in what they truly love. We wish them the best of luck as they pirouette, slide, tap, and sashay into a new chapter of their lives.