My name is Alex Bark and I’m from Barefoot Dance Center. I’m currently a senior at New Paltz High School, and I attended the Small Plates Choreography Festival in November 2024.
I decided to apply to Small Plates because I was super interested in dancing to a more serious level. With the approaching possibility of becoming a dance major in college, I felt an urge to get more experience. I wanted to put myself out there, and Small Plates seemed like the right kind of challenge. But despite how excited I was to be accepted, I was also intimidated. I was nervous to be around a bunch of dancers far older and more experienced than I, and I’d never danced in a show with people I didn’t know before.
To distract myself from my nerves, on the day of the show I gave myself a mission. My goal: talk to as many people at the festival as possible about dance beyond high school. That way, I would have an easy way to get to know the other choreographers, and their knowledge might help me narrow down my goals.
Because the other dancers all had such a broad variety of backgrounds, throughout the day I learned a lot of interesting ways to involve dance in one’s life. I met people from New York with a full time job, but danced as a hobby, I met people from California who danced as their full time job, and I met dance professors and dance students from several colleges. Yet the array of dancers curated by Small Plates were all equally supportive, friendly and receptive. At the reception, so many compliments were exchanged about all the dances, and everyone had something beautiful and poetic to say about each other’s pieces. And it was true–every piece had a different style or message, but they were all deeply personal and special. By the end of the night, all of my worries from before had been erased.
Everybody should be pushed to apply to Small Plates no matter their age or level of experience. If you’re curious, there’s no harm in going for it. There aren’t a lot of exposure opportunities for young teen choreographers, and I’m grateful to have been given that chance. I seriously encourage any other interested young choreographers to send in an application. It’s so worth it and I will never forget the experience.
You can hear more about Alex’s journey, artistry, and creative process in our podcast episode featuring her.
There is still time for young choreographers to apply to Small Plates Newburgh, 2025. Applications are open until August 1. Choreographers or their parents or teachers can feel free to ask any questions by emailing us at smallplatesdance@gmail.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment.