Whether you’ve gone to the annual show, heard about it from your friends, or participate in dance, you’ve probably heard about New Trier High School’s dance company Kinesis. Contrasting from past years, this year’s show features a routine by professional dancer and guest choreographer Jana Bennett, “How to Be a Betty.” Her guest piece aims to highlight the power young women have within, and to recognize the brilliance of their voice, opinions, and all that they are capable of contributing to the world.

Kinesis is a dance company composed of sophomores, juniors, and seniors in the Performing Arts Division. Every year, the company performs multiple dances for an annual show. This year, 25 dancers will perform nine student-choreographed dances and one guest piece.

Bennett has primarily been creating work within her own studio, Skunkworks Dance in Wilmette. About a month before her residency, Bennett tore her ACL while dancing in New York City, describing it as a frightening moment that forced her to question whether she would be able to move forward with the Kinesis dancers. She ultimately decided to continue the project, even while navigating a major injury. 

Senior Sydney Taylor, a third-year member, first discovered Kinesis from a friend: “I heard about it from a fellow dancer that I used to dance with at my old studio,” she says. “I definitely looked up to her, and she was telling me about Kinesis and how it mostly feels like a family.”

Kinesis draws athletes with experience in various types of dance, including ballet, jazz, and more. Kinesis performs modern dances, a form that allows dancers to be more expressive and evolving, challenging methodical and organized dances. 

“As sophomores through seniors, [the dancers] are on the precipice of adulthood,” Bennett says. “They are entering a world that feels deeply divided. On one side, there is a strong push toward women’s rights, women in the workforce, women as leaders, advocates, and equals. On the other side, there is a more unsettling rise in ideas like the “trad wife,” or expectations that women should move back into narrowly defined roles, centered only around the household and positioned as secondary to men.” Bennett describes the present as a scary, but important moment to be living in, especially for young women.

Learning and embracing the choreography and storyline for “How to Be a Betty” inspired the girls to show up as individuals, actors, and collaborators—not just dancers. Requiring a striking stage presence and a vivid display of personality, Bennett’s piece pushed the girls to step into the unknown and encourage their personal growth. 

“It is the cleanest guest dance that we have ever had,” senior Julia Zoloto says. “[Bennett] came in, and she had really high expectations for all of us. I think that everyone wanted to meet those expectations, and it made everyone a better dancer. She’s such a smart choreographer.” 

Sound scores and layered musical works are just some of Bennett’s passions regarding music. She argues that stories are often carried just as powerfully through sound as they are through movement, using the audio of the 1958 episode “Jealousy” from “The Betty White Show” as the backbone for her piece. Additionally, Bennett was inspired by other songs that symbolize female independence and reject patriarchal narratives.

“As I was finishing the work, one final song kept calling to me: ‘You Don’t Own Me’ by Lesley Gore,” Bennett says. “Hearing a woman from that era so clearly state her autonomy, her voice, and her right to choice felt like the perfect way to tie everything together. It bridges the past and present in a way that still feels incredibly potent today.”

Songs like “Danke Schoen” by Wayne Newton also stood out to the choreographer. The song was later associated with “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” during the iconic parade scene. Both charming and funny, the film is a classic; yet it is rooted in a very male-centered narrative, which Bennett felt inclined to explore, considering the film’s connection to the North Shore and New Trier community. 

“There’s all 25 of us in that dance, so it’s a time where we get to see everybody,” senior Kate Weise says. “A professional choreographer brings in so much uniqueness, especially in this dance. It’s so stylized and different from what we’ve been exposed to.” 

When student choreographers create dances, there tend to be similarities between pieces. Working with a choreographer allows the girls to step out of their comfort zones and discover new elements of movement. 

“One of the experiences that you get performing a dance with an intent created by someone that you know really well, is that you know a lot about where that intent came from, and possibly how it sort of ripples out in that person’s own life,” Zoloto says. “With Jana’s dance, her intent was about feminism, and a coming of age moment. This dance really represents the group as a whole.”

Kinesis hopes to share their creativity with others, and encourages audiences to see the hard work they’ve dedicated towards the dance company at the annual show. 

“Our goal is to inspire, and also to tell our story,” Taylor says. “We have so many amazing choreographers, and their pieces that they’re creating are so beautiful and intelligent, and we want the audience to see how creative and artistic dance can be.”