The second weekend of June is the time for the dancers of The Moving Company Dance Center in Cockeysville to show off their skills during the annual dance recital.
With three jam-packed shows, the dancers perform ballet, jazz, tap, modern, hip-hop and lyrical pieces for a full house during a normal recital year. But of course, this year has been anything but normal, so when COVID-19 forced the studio to close its doors on dance classes back in March, it also took away recital weekend.
This is the time for all the dancers to showcase their talents, but in particular, it is a time for the graduating senior dancers to shine, with the feature roles in the ballet, showcase dances and to enjoy their last dance on the stage.
The Moving Company tradition is to send off the seniors with a special presentation at the end of the last show on recital weekend. They stand together on the stage while the audience shows their love and support for them.
Many of these dancers have been at the studio since they were very young, often having danced for 10 or even 15 years.
Given the disappointment of missing out on the recital and the senior recognition, owners and sisters, Dana Martin and Lee Swartz, decided the show must go on, even if it looked very different from in the past.
After the socially distant and virtual rehearsals, a special senior dance concert took place Aug. 1, featuring Mary Beth Bauermann, Maeve Corcoran, Morgan Crawford, Noam Fox, Gnama Hartney, Rachel Kaplan, Mollee Neblett, Olivia Russell, Julia Strouse, Hailey Russo and Audrey Thompson.
With the lovely backdrop of Swartz’s backyard and an audience limited to five guests per dancer to allow for social distancing, the senior dancers, in masks and costumes, finally had a chance to take the stage.
According to Mary Beth Bauermann, who recently graduated from Hereford High School, “ever since my first TMC recital when I was 3, I have watched each class of seniors perform in their senior concert in wonder and dreamed about my own senior performance.
“The moment my tap shoes touched the stage and I looked up to see my family, teachers and fellow seniors in the audience, it didn’t matter that I wasn’t dancing in a traditional recital. It was the senior concert of my dreams, and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to conclude my years at TMC.”
The show was live-streamed on the TMC Instagram page so other family and friends could be part of the event.
At the end of the performance, each senior was called by name and received a rose and alumni T-shirt as their families stood to honor them.
Maeve Corcoran, a recent Roland Park Country School graduate, noted, “The Moving Company outdoor event, although untraditional for my last concert, was still really special to me as a graduating senior. I have danced since I was 3 years old and was devastated when Covid-19 hit and took away what should have been my final moments in the studio.
“The event gave me the wonderful closure I needed to say goodbye to my friends and teachers, to take the stage one final time and to move on with more dance opportunities outside of TMC’s walls.”
The entire event was best summed up by Dulaney graduate Hailey Russo, “TMC has always been a second home to me, and I’m so glad I got to perform with my fellow seniors one last time.”