r By Ashlyn Rich
The Merit Academy Dance Company attended the Utah Dance Education Organization High School Dance Festival on March 4. Merit was one of 36 high schools from across the state involved in the festival.
“This is such a wonderful opportunity for our students to take classes from professionals in the dance world and work with other dance students from all over Utah,” said Dance Company Director Kimie Snapp.
Dancers spent the day taking master classes ranging from foreign styles such as Ázonto to contemporary, ballet, jazz, hip hop and modern dance technique. Each school brought two pieces of choreography to be adjudicated.
Breanna Loera, a junior at Merit, received the highest ranking of “Superior” with her choreography “Kinect,” an ambitious project involving two large projection screens. Ashlyn Rich, a senior and Sterling Scholar recipient for Merit, received the 2017 UDEO Dance Festival’s “Outstanding Dancer¨ award for Merit Academy.
To culminate the event, Merit Academy had the opportunity to open the Gala Concert that evening on the Kingsbury Hall stage at the UDEO Dance Festival Gala. It was an unforgettable experience for all the dancers. Merit Academy is a charter high school located in Springville.
