Many school students go on to become famous dancers and choreographers and sometimes some of them return to their alma mater as the birds who flew the nest but haven't forgotten where they came from. It was the case this year as well, as former student Dasha Yurkevich was invited as artist-in-residence, to choreograph the dances, including main group dance of this year's show called 'Passing'. Dasha Yurkevich partnered together with another Ruth Asawa School of the Arts alumni, Max Berenshteyn, a young talented choreographer and dancer to create a wonderful and unique performance together.

Just like Dasha, Max has a diverse dance background, which allows him to create unusual unpredictable movement patterns. Drawing from their combined wide range of dance training, Dasha and Max describe their working together as pure joy and creative freedom. The choreography is complex and intricate, with lots of changes in the group organization. It is a kaleidoscope of 35 beautiful dancers constantly changing formation and yet staying connected by the passing of an imaginary ball in a series of cannons. Passing was accompanied by the drums, creating both rhythm and anxious energy of the performance.

We chose to highlight this number because we spoke to Dasha and Max at the end of the show and were disarmed by their raw emotions. They told us that, while both have been doing their own choreography for many years as dancers, this was the first time either of them choreographed and organized such a large group of students. It is quite an achievement for artists so young to have their choreography performed in front of such a large audience, and to such warm reception. Cowell Theater at Fort Mason Center is a wonderful venue and have been hosting these dance performances every year since 2015, not counting the pandemic years, of course. But even then, the school performances went on, with dancers dancing in their homes. School's dance department head, Andrea, who was once a student at the school herself, refused to let the forced isolation interfere with students' progress and it paid off judging by this year's performance.

We are happy for Dasha Yurkevich and Max Berenshteyn and wish them all the best in their undoubtedly successful careers.

Anna Brown
14.06.2022