Walpole Dance Company has annual show

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By Katrina Margolis
Hometown Weekly Reporter

On March 31, The Walpole Dance Company had opening night of its annual show. While the performers gave their all in two performances for the public, the hard work and dedication behind these incredible performances was going strong in the week prior, during their rehearsal. The dancers committed to three-hour rehearsals in order to give their all during the actual show.

Founded in 2005 by Richard Kim, the Walpole High School Dance Company fosters excellence in technical performance, freedom in artistic expression, and a deeper understanding of the impact that the arts has on the community. This year’s show was titled “Cabaret Voltaire,” a meaningful name to the director and his students. “It was a night club of artists who didn’t feel they had a voice during the avant-garde, and here they could come together to share things,” Kim explained.

Kim began the Company when he was an art teacher at Walpole High School. “The girls knew I had a dance background as an art teacher and they were asking for something to do. At the time, I was working with several companies. Originally being a dancer, I had always wanted to have my own company, so I started this 12 years ago.” Each year, the Company hosts a show near the end of March or beginning of April. Rehearsals begin in November, and the girls work tirelessly to perfect their dances and give the best show they can.

“We do a lot of technique because there are no auditions. The first message I want to send to them is that if you can make the schedule work and put in the time, then you can be a part of the company,” Kim explained. “I want to make them feel like they have a hand in this, so every single member choreographs something at one point, whether it’s for themselves or for the group.”

Mikaela McShary, a senior at Walpole High School, is one of the company’s choreographers. “We get all of our music at the very beginning, so we’re listening to it constantly … Usually, I just improv for a couple minutes and as the process goes on, I start to finalize certain moves,” she shared, regarding the choreographing process. “I’ve been in the dance company since my freshman year, and I’ve been dancing at a dance studio since I was three.”

In addition to Kim, two alumni of the Company come back to help out during rehearsals. The younger alum is nearly five years out of high school. Clearly, this program is something special to draw back its members in the way that it does.

“This year’s company, they are big performers, they love to perform. What’s awesome is that they’re so young but they’re really willing to put themselves out there and that’s one of the things I’m so proud of,” Kim shared. “It’s so hard, especially being a high school girl, to use your body as your tool and put yourself out there and be ugly and dynamic and perform in front of people. They have a lot of dedication and they’re very serious about being an artist and a dancer, and it’s very inspiring, and that’s what keeps the program going. They’ve inspired me to keep it going.”