Passion Project

MHS Theater Ensemble productions are pure magic. The acting, energy, and stagecraft are impressive. And, since freshman year, Emilie ’25 has been lending her choreographic talents to the magic taking place on the Miss Hall’s stage. A talented dancer herself, she has contributed choreography to no fewer than five productions.

“I was always the kid dancing in the yard at school and making up dances,” says Emilie, who started taking dance classes when she was 4 and whose interest in choreography became more serious around age 12. “When I came to MHS is when I could really start exploring this passion.”

She started the club OnBeat in 9th grade, because she was keen to have an option for dance on campus. The club met weekly and explored contemporary, lyrical, jazz, and hip-hop choreography.

Then, in the fall of 2021, Emilie’s freshman year, Director of Theater and Dance Jenni Jordan asked her if she wanted to perform in “Thriller,” a favorite annual Halloween dance to the Michael Jackson hit song. “We met to practice, and she picked up everything so quickly and had such confidence about moving, that I asked her if she wanted to choreograph a number or two in Mary Poppins,” Ms. Jordan recalls.

“So I did one, then a second, then a third,” says Emilie, who also worked on numbers with Olivia ’22, another student choreographer.

“Emilie’s choreography was amazing,” says Ms. Jordan, “and I saw this budding choreographer/leader.” From there, she asked Emilie to assist with a scene in The Misanthrope, contribute to choreography for Once Upon a Mattress, and choreograph a dance piece and final bows for Sense and Sensibility. Last winter, she handed much of the choreography for Matilda to Emilie, who will return to the Theater Ensemble cast for the coming winter musical, Twelfth Night.

“She has incredible talent for working with dancers of all levels and making them look amazing,” says Ms. Jordan. “She really has a gift. Her choreography is dynamic, she has a keen eye for stage composition, and the students respect her.”

Her approach, Emilie notes, is very much intuitive. “As I listen to the music, the moves come to mind,” she explains. “I often visualize what I want, and I’ll improvise and keep what I like. When I choreograph something, it’s a form of expression that reflects the mood I am in, and Ms. Jordan gives me total freedom, which is fun to have.”

Ultimately, Emilie most enjoys seeing her creative vision come to life.

“I’m a very creative person, and there’s only so much I can do as one person, but when you have a group, you can do so many things,” she explains. “I love taking a step back and watching it unfold and say, ‘Wow. I did that.’”