On Sunday, January 21, students, families, faculty, and staff eagerly spilled into the first floor of the brand new Poly Arts Center for the very first time. The bright lights directed visitors’ attention to the art installations that filled the Howard Aibel Lobby Gallery.

The student work, mounted on the walls and appearing on screens, included textile artwork by students in our museum studies classes and the new Textile Arts elective, ceramics, prints, and digital photographs from all three divisions. Voices buzzed above the center’s oak and tiled floors, and on the benches, people smiled and conversed, waiting for the doors to open from the new Brandman Family Theatre Lobby. 

Afternoon of Student Choreography is an annual show directed and performed entirely by Poly students from Grades 6-12. This year, the show was produced under the supervision of co-Artistic Directors, Sophia Chamorro ’24, Nina Harris ’24, and Assistant Director Ali Schuman ’25. All three students are members of the Excellence in the Arts program. In a note to the audience, the directors explained that student dancers and choreographers were encouraged to utilize what inspired them in the creation of each performance. The performances themselves conveyed each dancer’s unique source of inspiration and perspective, from personal experiences to tributes to some of their favorite professional performances. From start to finale, the show reflected the students’ love of creative expression through movement and the profound outlet students have found in dance to process new experiences in their lives. 

Throughout the show, the audience enjoyed the wide range of original pieces across genres of music and styles of dance, including contemporary, hip hop, jazz, and modern. Each performance showcased the dancers’ talent and amplified diversity and creativity. Audience members were delighted as students lit up the stage, from energetic group dances, to stirring solo and duet performances. Jenesis Bartholomew ’27 and Suri Sun ’26 had the stage literally glowing from the twinkling light of handheld stars in their piece, “Shooting Star.” 

Kudos to our incredible dance faculty Ashley Hacker and Sam Turner for their mentorship. Poly’s new multidisciplinary facility for performing and visual arts provides 10,000 additional square feet of arts spaces. We are excited for more events and performances in the new Poly Arts Center.

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