performing arts news

 By Gabriela Guadalupe

On December 8th the senior dance majors went to visit Montclair State University to participate in the university’s infamous ‘Dance Day.’ Dance Day is an opportunity for dancers from all over New Jersey to experience Montclair’s dance program. It consists of two one hour long classes with members of Montclair’s prestigious faculty including Jessie DiMauro, Kristen Bell, Karen Gayle, Christine Paolucci, Emmanuele Phuon, Christian Von Howard, and Kathleen Kelley. Dancers had the option to take either modern, ballet, improvisation, jazz, contemporary, or dance film. 

Isabella Randell described her experience: “I got the chance to take a ballet and jazz class during our trip to Montclair State University. My favorite class was ballet. Not simply because it’s my favorite style of dance but because of the beautiful and spacious studio. The studio had floor to ceiling windows and had a live piano player for the dance class. The class itself was very good, although it was short we got to do every exercise in their wonderful studio.” 

Chloe Cereto-Naudin also enjoyed the ballet class, saying, “My favorite class was ballet. I really enjoyed the opportunity to take class in Montclair’s beautiful studio."

After the classes were over dancers explored Montclair’s beautiful campus. They were able to walk around freely, visit the student hall, be amongst real students, and get a taste of what college life is like. 

Finally, the dancers watched amazing performances by Montclair’s current dance majors.  They performed a musical theater piece called “French Kiss” choreographed by Maxine Steinman, an ominous post-apocalyptic looking piece called “Create, Collapse” choreographed by Jessica DiMauro Marks, and a commentary piece on current world issues called “Resonance” choreographed by André Tyson with improvisational contributions by the casts. 

Pauline Medina discussed her favorite piece: “My favorite piece was ‘Create, Collapse’ because it was a very emotional dance and I love the way the dancers incorporated the sound of their breath into their movements and it was so nice to watch.” - 

Of the remaining performances, Luke Loos said, “From watching the Montclair students perform, I learned that intention and drive behind your artform is sometimes more important than your technique and training.” 

One highlight of the trip was seeing High Tech Dance alumni who are now a part of Montclair’s dance major perform and see how they have grown and blossomed as artists in college. High Tech Dance Director Trista DeFilippis said: “It’s a real thrill to watch former students performing in a different environment and furthering their dance education and I’m very proud of the work they are doing.” - 

by Olivia Cartagena:

On November 29th, High Tech’s Chorus performed at the Rockefeller Tree Lighting after winning the Star Choir Competition. I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Zisa, the director of musical theater and got the inside scoop of the experience.

To enter the competition they submitted a song they were familiar with. Once they heard they were in the top 10, NBC instructed them to pick 1 of 3 songs. They made their own rendition of “Jingle Bells” with the instrumental track provided. Mr. Zisa and Ms. Belle wanted to submit something original so they arranged the song to make it fun and different. When hearing they made the top 3, they were all very excited. It was unexpected as NBC usually selects elementary school choirs. Leading up to the results there was so much suspense but everyone was thrilled to find out they won on “The Kelly Clarkson Show.” 

Mr. Zisa believes that this was a great experience and really brought the students together as a group. As a teacher, he felt accomplished. He saw that his students worked hard and pushed themselves, he was more proud about that than actually winning the competition. Mr. Zisa says, “It’s not just about winning something-there should be a larger purpose in the idea of what a competition is about, and that it can be a good motivational tool, but winning isn’t everything.” The overall excitement about winning was performing at the tree lighting and the prize money they received which wasn’t revealed at first. This money will directly go into the Musical Theater department and help fund productions and other events. 

Finally, at the time of the event, everything fell into place. The gravity of the moment hit everyone as they walked onto the ice and looked up at the tree. At Rockefeller center everything moved pretty fast, they watched Kelly Clarkson perform, met with her, and had many interviews. Mr. Zisa didn’t know they were going to meet Kelly until minutes prior. From the group hug and the time spent talking he describes her as a very sweet and genuine person. The group meeting and talking to Kelly Clarkson was a highlight of their night. That was until the performance, the students were nervous but handled it all extremely well. The most nervous part was when lighting up the tree at the right time. They named their tree, Jimmy. 

Mr. Zisa couldn’t be more proud of his students and what they accomplished together. The musical theater department is so appreciative of the opportunity given to them. They are very excited for what comes next with their performance of “A Chorus Line” coming in the spring. Stay tuned to see what future success the Musical Theater Department brings to High Tech!

Dancers: Gabriella Brillon '25, Roxana Perdomo '24, Vivien Cardino '24, Isabella Randell '24, Angelina Valdes '24, Sibel Gitonga '25, Graciela Graves '25