Beneath the glow of stage lights and surrounded by murmurs of anticipation, students, teachers and parents gathered in the Black Box on Thursday, May 15, to watch the second night of Fata Morgana’s spring show.
The show, organized and performed by GDS’ student-run dance company Fata Morgana, ran from Wednesday, May 14, through Friday, May 16. The production showcased the talents of student choreographers and dancers and featured 25 dance numbers choreographed by 20 students.
The show opened with a Wild West–themed medley of famous country songs. Dancers wore cowboy boots, plaid shirts and jeans while they danced to songs such as Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5,” Pitbull and Kesha’s “Timber” and Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats.”
The show contained a mix of large and small ensemble performances. Senior Elena LaGuardia White choreographed a standout large ensemble performance to Aliyah’s “Are You That Somebody.” Dancers dressed in ’ 90s-themed baggy streetwear danced to the hip-hop record. Dancers lined up in a v-shaped formation and danced energetically to the track.
LaGuardia White’s dance featured an all-senior ensemble. One of the dancers, senior Kesi McDuffie, said many seniors decided to join Fata this spring to try a new activity. “I’ve been wanting to do Fata since I was a freshman, but I felt it was best to save it until my senior year when I didn’t really have much to do,” McDuffie said. “Now that it’s our senior year, [Fata is] like our final closeout thing.”
Senior Henry Cohen noticed an increase in the number of male-identifying students in Fata. “There are so many boys in [Fata] now,” Cohen said. “It was just me and [senior] Shanwai [Lin] for a while, and now there’s ten.” The number Cohen and Lin choreographed to Britney Spears’ “Hit me Baby One More Time” featured an all-male ensemble.
“I think the biggest contributor for me [to join Fata] was Shanwai [Lin] and Henry [Cohen],” senior Tigin Unsal said. “They are starting a revolution for guys at Fata.”
Seniors Paige Young, LaGuardia White and Ella Abramson and junior Helene Burwell performed solos during the show. Burwell danced ballet to Billy Joel’s “Piano Man.” Burwell said her performance was a partially improvised mix of contemporary, jazz and ballet. “I had thought a little bit about choreography before show week,” she said. “Some of [the dance] changes every night because it’s not fully choreographed.”
Six of eight returning dancers interviewed noticed the large jump in participation in this season’s show. “When I was a freshman, the highest [number of people] was like 37 people. I think now it’s around 60,” sophomore Zoe Freedman said.
Fata head and junior Zoe Maas choreographed a piece in which dancers performed in different purple dresses to represent domestic violence. Purple is nationally recognized as the color that represents domestic violence. “The idea was that each dancer was portraying a different woman with a different story,” Maas said. “The idea was we each had a different story that we were coming together to tell.” The performance began with audio clips Maas layered from news stories about women who had experienced domestic violence before transitioning into Billie Eilish and Khalid’s “Lovely.”
Maas also used costumes to enhance the storytelling of another dance to Ballet Classique’s “Une Petite Fête n’a Jamais Tué Personne.” The number started with the dancers wearing long black skirts; however, the dancers later removed their skirts to reveal sparkly red dresses.
The closing number brought back the Wild West theme with references to the opening dances. As the dancers took their final bows, the Black Box erupted in cheers and applause.
For the senior dancers, this performance was their final bow on stage. “This semester was very special to me, and honestly, this was the best way to go out,” Young said. “Fata is something that the GDS community holds near and dear to their hearts.”
CORRECTION (May 20 at 2:14 p.m.): Senior Ella Abramson’s name was spelled incorrectly in the original version of this article.