By Zoe Ades ’18, Staff Writer

In December, Ms. Brodie stood in front of the school and asked everyone to bring their math homework to life as she presented “Cubed,” the theme for Newark Academy’s 13th Annual Community Art Exhibit. She set a creative challenge before the school with various interpretations of the theme in different art forms. When asked about the root of her and Ms. Dixler’s inspiration, Ms. Brodie responded, “This year, we took a bit of a risk. We decided to see what would happen if we created parameters.” The risk was definitely worth it because a month after announcement, the art gallery was filled with student submissions that captured individual interpretations of the creative theme.

Ms. Dixler and Ms. Brodie have managed to think of themes every year that invite students from all different artistic realms. “We want to give artists lots of options. The community can approach these themes in numerous ways.” said Ms. Brodie. So while students began transferring their artistic imaginations to their canvases, dance students were tackling the challenge of inviting movement to the theme. When assigned the task, the dance room was immediately filled with creative ideas to construct choreography in such a manner. Some dancers used physical cubes as the focus of their pieces, while others played with the idea of confinement and were trapped inside the cube. Themes progressed and became more intricate with each class. Two weeks later, dancers performed their fully formed ideas in front of the class. Most people will find it easier to create physically stable pieces using the ‘Cubed’ theme than to create one long piece of movement. But the consistent diversity and creativity of every piece amazed the class as they watched in awe.

The first week back from winter break, while students were readjusting to their old routines and reminiscing on their vacations, the dancers were preparing their pieces to perform in front of the school. I, along with Sophie Gilbert ’19, Hailey Buchalter ’19, and Tiana Barkley ’17, all students of the Advanced/IB class, presented our interpretations of the ‘Cubed’ theme in Morning Meeting. Hailey’s theme focused on the struggle within her confinement of the cube, and was displayed through a lyrical piece. Sophie’s solo portrayed her comfort within the cube, and the realization that she could push the boundaries beyond her familiar environment. Tiana’s choreography manipulated the sharp edges within the confined space, and the mutual support between faces of the cubes. After much development, my personal piece focused on the challenge of confinement, which is caused by what I hear, see, and say. Each time I broke free from a cube, I entered another one that continued the idea of being trapped.

Although there was a consistent theme of confinement in the dance presentations, it is highly evident that students were not confined within the cube when creating ideas, no matter the type of art. Ms. Brodie stated, “We [Ms. Brodie and Ms. Dixler] feel the exhibit is a roaring success. There are 67 submissions and while the cube is the springboard for the works, there is such a delightful variety of ideas. The viewer can move around the gallery and find new and different concepts, designs and solutions to our theme.” Although the gallery came down in mid-February, this new perspective from the masterminds behind the art can enhance our appreciation of the creativity behind the “Cubed” exhibit.