It all starts with an idea. The idea then turns into choreography, the choreography into an audition, and the audition into a selection for one of the many dances chosen for the annual Kinesis dance company concert. Although the annual Kinesis company concert changes every year, one thing remains consistent: the dance company’s creativity, tight-knit community, and passion for dance.

Every August, New Trier High School’s dance company, Kinesis, begins rehearsing for its annual dance concert in February. Within five months, Kinesians—the name the company’s members use for themselves—learn and perfect their dances. This year, on Feb. 6, 7, and 8, Kinesians rose to the challenge with 10 student-choreographed dances. 

“Watching some of the other dances that my fellow students choreographed, it’s so incredible that these things came out of their minds,” choreographer and junior Nayana Kundo says.

Throughout their time in Kinesis, Kinesisans have the opportunity to express themselves through their choreographed performances, one opportunity being their annual dance concert. Kinesisans can choreograph a dance about anything, and sometimes, dancing can be a better way to express oneself than words. 

“This year, I’m just more comfortable in myself in general,” Kundo says. “I think being able to dance has helped me do that, and it’s helped me learn how to express myself.”

Kundo choreographed “Coalescence,” a dance about how who people love becomes a part of them and shapes them. “Coalescence” followed one dancer and how her relationships and interactions with the other dancers changed her. In order to get the message of her dance across, Kundo created a contrast between repeated and varied movements within her dancers’ interactions.

“With the type of dancing in Kinesis, the emotions and connections are really clear between the dancers so it seems to me that in just creating my own movement and choreography, a part of who I am is translated to what my dancers perform,” Kundo says. 

Cate Martin, a senior and third-year Kinesis member, also choreographed a dance this year. Martin choreographed “Windswept,” which was about a weeping willow tree’s movement through the wind. Over the summer, the idea came to Martin, and she ran with it.

“I was inspired to choreograph my dance because my mom thinks that weeping willow trees are really pretty and she always used to point them out to me,” Martin says. “I actually had to watch a lot of videos of the trees to get a sense of the quality of their movement so that I could try to portray it as accurately as possible in my dance.”

In the wind, a weeping willow tree bends over or whips its branches around. Without the wind, a weeping willow tree just stands still. Using this image, Martin designed her choreography to contrast her dancers’ movements with the “wind” blowing on stage to their movements without it. 

“[Choreographing a dance] has given me another level of appreciation for my dancers as individuals because I feel like I know them even better now and can appreciate their unique skills, which I think makes us even better connected as a company,” Martin says.

Every year, Kinesis changes: more people join the company while others leave. However, despite people coming and going, the community remains steadfast. With the strong community, it becomes easier for first-year Kinesians to feel comfortable in the company.

“Even as my first year, I feel like every single person I know I can call one of my best friends at this point,” first-year Kinesian and sophomore Katelyn Fang says. 

In Kinesis, everyone is considered part of a family, bonded together by their love of dance. Kinesians attend other dance events such as the Northfield Dance Ensemble Showcase together and even have sleepovers during showcase week and at the beginning of the year. Every first-year Kinesian joins a welcoming community, and choreographers have a positive environment, which is essential for developing a dance. 

“For me, Kinesis has been such a safe space because we are all so supportive of each other,” Martin says. “It feels OK to take risks with our dancing or our choreography without fear of judgement or negativity.”

After five months, Kinesians performed their dances for their annual concert. Throughout their three performances, Kinesians had a diverse audience ranging from seniors to children and former Kinesians to people who have never danced before. 

“I hope that within each piece, the audience [could] recognize the amount of effort and thought that goes behind each movement in each dancer,” Fang says. “It’s not just a one day process.” 

Within five months, Kinesians learn and perfect dances—every year. Despite the continuous change within members coming and going from its community and having to learn multiple new dances, in five months Kinesis still continues to promote a healthy environment where dancers can join a family of dance-lovers and express themselves and their creativity through dancing. 

“Kinesis, especially choreographing a dance, has helped me express myself,” Kundo says. “It’s given me a platform to physically show things that are sometimes too hard to say with words.”