Cultural choreography

Fans fluttered, scarves waved in the air and Sorensen Magnet School of Arts and Humanities students moved to global beats.

It was a colorful day of cultural choreography as artist-in-residence Rachel Horner led students in a variety of "World Dance" performances during the school's Friday Gathering. The students spent the last two weeks learning nine traditional dances from such countries as France, India, Ireland, China and Japan.

"It's awesome," fifth grader Navy Lauri said. "I liked to see how there's lots of different cultures and they do lots of different things."

Horner is a dance instructor and choreographer who graduated from Brigham Young University-Idaho with a bachelor's degree in dance education and technical theater. Her specialty is world dance, specifically folk dancing. She studied various forms of dance when she was a child, but really loved Irish hard-shoe dancing. She was an avid participant in Brigham Young University-Idaho's world dance program and went on to teach, perform and then later direct Brigham Young's World Dance Company. She has been teaching dance and theater for over a decade. 

Horner shared her kinetic and cultural expertise with Sorensen's young performers of all grades during the residency.

"It's been amazing getting to dance with you for two weeks," Horner said to the students at the gathering. "I hope that you can take this and be inspired to try new things every time you have a new opportunity. Just try it, you never know. You might find something that you really love."

The lessons also served as a way to introduce the kids to the geographic locations where the dances originated.

"They're learning how dance is formed by where we live, the environment of where we are and what are the cultural things that influence dance," said Sorensen's art director, Anne Mitchell. "They all had to identify these countries on globes. We handed them all beach ball globes the first day and they had to figure out where Indonesia is. And they're learning the way people dress also evolves how they move as well as what people's cultures and customs are in their country."

First grader Emma Weinberger was still boogying after the assembly.

"I learned how to dance and it was super fun," she said with a sweet smile.

Her big brother, third grader Marcus Weinberger, said he enjoyed learning and performing a traditional Indonesian dance.

"I definitely learned a ton of new dances," he said.

Sorensen's programming is supported by the Idaho Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

    First grader Freya Burns, left, and second grader London Tierney participate in a "World Dance" performance during Sorensen's Friday Gathering. Students spent two weeks studying cultural dances with artist-in-residence Rachel Horner.
  

    Fifth grader Navy Lauri gets her groove on Friday during a cultural dance performance at Sorensen Magnet School.
  

    Sorensen Magnet School student Parker Tollett, wearing a yellow lei, is feeling the music Friday as he participates in a traditional scarf dance with his classmates.
  

    The "World Dance" artist-in-residency culminated Friday with cultural performances by each grade level at Sorensen Magnet School of the Arts and Humanities.