Because of decline in student interest, Dance will not be returning as a Performing Arts class option in the 2026-27 school year.
Head of the Middle School Leslie Anne Little had wanted dance to expand beyond the Middle School, but the program never reached those heights. “The dance program was always something of a fledgling program that only existed here in the Middle School,” she says. “And we had hoped when it was built and undertaken, that in the future, there would be a dance program in the Upper School, just like there’s band, orchestra, [and] chorus. All of the performing arts. And it just wasn’t a priority for the Upper School, and that’s understandable.”
The decline in enrollment numbers lent a hand in the cut. In her first year, drama and dance teacher Caroline Stewart had 25 kids enrolled. However, that number shrunk to twelve last year, and nine in ‘25-26.
Moreover, the specific design of the Dance room meant that only one course could fully use it, and the Middle School needs as much space as possible. “We just didn’t have the numbers to sustain [Dance],” Little says. “Because it has the marley floor, the bar, and the glass, it’s hard to put anybody else in there. The other thing is that we’re sort of bursting at the seams, in terms of classroom space. And so we have to make sure we’re maximizing and being good stewards of the space that we have.”
The news felt like a low blow to a lot of the dance students. 7th grader Lily Kannukkaden thought the administration didn’t fully understand the passion students had for the art. “I was really sad because I didn’t expect it, and I thought it was really unnecessary because a lot of people would have done it, and I don’t think [they] thought about it enough,” she says.
For 7th grader Asha Sathy, the class gave her a break from the rest of the day. “I was really sad, because I really enjoy that class, because it’s a break in the day for me, and it’s really fun, and all the girls that were in there. It was really nice. So that was bad.”
8th grader Paige Ederle didn’t like the way the department decided on the cut. “It doesn’t feel like a very well thought-out decision . . . they mainly [listed] reasons about not enough numbers—although these were expected to change in the future [and] they’re not giving the numbers a chance to change—and that there’s no dance in the Upper School—which could be added, and this doesn’t mean dance should be taken as a whole from Westminster.”
The news caught Stewart by surprise, as well. “I was really shocked. First of all, because this is my third year in the role,” she says. “Every time there’s someone new in a role, there’s going to be a transition period, and I felt like Dance was in a place where I felt like our community was super strong . . . [the students] were, and they still are, very enthusiastic and eager to learn new things and work together . . . so it’s definitely shocking because I didn’t really get a sense that this was a possibility before I was told the news.”
When Stewart first joined as the dance instructor, she had to create a new curriculum for the class because it had only been offered as a semester-long course in the past. She learned to navigate different levels of skill to create an experience that anyone could enjoy. One of her biggest breakthroughs in that year was letting students choreograph some of their own dances, a key part of the class in later years.
The Middle School Dance class excelled at introducing beginners to the art of dance while still being enjoyable for experts. 7th grader Mia Gonzalez says her classmates had a wide range of experience. “In this year’s class, the average amount of experience varied from 0 to 5 years in any form of dance.”
8th grader Elinor Schwartz enjoyed the skill level and progression Stewart provided in her curriculum. “It’s not like anybody did dance out of school, so we’re all learning together. We got to just have fun,” she says.
Under Stewart’s leadership, students used dance to get through tragic times, like the passing of MS Teacher and Coach Gary Jones. Jones, a beloved science teacher, track and field, and basketball coach, passed away tragically in a boating accident in February of 2025. After the news reached the student body, two students came to Stewart with an idea for a dance. “I had three students who, two weeks before the concert, asked if they could create a trio dance in honor of Coach Jones,” Stewart says. “They performed it at the dance concert with maybe only two or three weeks of warning [for] it. I was very impressed by the initiative of those students, and that was just a really, really special moment.”
The dance recital in February took the top spot when it came to the most fun event in the class for many dancers. Sathy enjoyed the time spent with her friends. “It was really fun, because we got to stay after school, and get ready and practice together,” she says. “And I think that all the girls there are really supporting and nice, and it was good bonding with the eighth graders.”
Ederle likewise enjoyed getting to spend time with her friends before the recital. “You go straight from school and then hang out with a huge group for 5 hours,” she says. “And they’re just motivating each other.”