An unprecedented year calls for unprecedented solutions, and the Broughton dance company has done just that in their 2021 IGC Essence dance showcase. Challenged with the restrictions of COVID-19, Broughton dance teacher Betsy Graves came up with a dazzling solution that still allowed dancers to perform, and for people to watch.

   With the help of parent volunteers and creative minds, an outdoor dance stage was rigged up in front of the Broughton bell tower, complete with full lighting and the sleek design of a dance concert in normal times.

   The show began with a professional-grade display of lights, highlighting Broughton’s bell tower and the dancers as they moved in an ethereal fashion around the stage, all while maintaining the required distance and wearing masks. For viewers at home, an edited video panned around the lights displays that set the mood for the concert.

   The IGC Essence 2021 concert focused on the overarching theme of deepening roots and looking back to a source, which student choreographers used this theme to create their own dances.

   One student choreographer, Ainsley Mesnard, explained the complexities of creating a dance from scratch.

   “When developing my movement, I am someone who is very detail-oriented, and really likes for a lot of things to be going on at the same time,” she explained. “I started with a base combo that I taught my group. While my dance has some consistent movement, nothing really stays the same, so as an audience member you watch and pick up something that the person next to you wouldn’t pick up. There’s a buildup to the uniformity that makes it so much stronger.”

   But executing such creative and inspiring ideas didn’t happen without some challenges along the way. One of the biggest changes was the outdoor stage and the weather that posed an issue. Dancers helped to scrape and blow ice off the stage after a chilly Friday night before a 12-hour tech session.

   “It was a little bit of a challenge but definitely worth it for the end result,” commented Lilly Gornto, a member of In Good Company, “When dancing, we have to be 8-10 feet apart at all times, so even more space than social distancing. Because we had to be socially distant, we couldn’t do any partnering or group work, so the choreographers had to be really creative with our formation changes and movements while staying apart from each other.”