Spring Friday Forum Features Dazzling Dancers
Millbrook students and faculty enjoyed a special Friday Forum on April 4. In a break from the typical guest speaker format, the community welcomed local and New York City dance troupes for a series of dazzling performances in the Chelsea Morrison Theater.
The opening performance was a piece choreographed and performed by Millbrook’s Dance Director Zoe Thomas and friends. Titled “In a Weird Way,” the routine was based on a stream of memories reflecting on growth, understanding, and the complexities of the human experience.
Then, Skyla Schreter Dance took the stage. Schreter, who was a member of the San Francisco Ballet, performed “Excerpts from Shadowboxing” with dancers from her New York City-based company. The piece featured an original soundtrack with soundbites from recorded conversations.
Ballet Collective was next up. The troupe performed “Orange,” a piece inspired by an early version of AI art. According to company founder Troy Schumacher, every ballet the company has produced in the past decade was made at Millbrook School, using our theater and the Murray Dance Studio.
“Millbrook School has been such an important part of this process,” he said. “I want to shout out Zoe and everybody at Millbrook School for being so generous with us.”
The Pocket Fuel Groovers, a dance company from New York City, closed out the forum. They performed a piece about overcoming insecurities called “Shuffle Boards,” using their style that blends contemporary dance, hip-hop, ballet, street dance, martial arts, and theater.
After the performances, the dancers and choreographers participated in a Q&A with the audience. They answered questions about their creative processes, discussing the inspiration for their choreography and how they go about developing dances.
Special thanks to Kelly Kwok ’25, Josh Ritter ’25, Angelina Edwards ’26, and Chau Ngyuen ’25, who did an amazing job of hosting the forum, which you can watch on our YouTube channel:
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