On May 19, 20, 21 and 22, PACE will perform the acclaimed Dance Theatre Workshop. DTW consists of 12 student-choreographed dances and four student-directed plays.

DTW differs from the other PACE shows because, despite being the last show of the year, it welcomes people not in PACE, otherwise referred to as “non-PACEies,” to perform.

One of these non-PACEies, Maria Dambriunas ’10, spoke about her experience being in the show for the past two years. Dambriunas said that she decided to try out as a dancer for DTW, after being inspired by the creativity of several PACE dance shows such as Kinesthesia and DTW. Enthused by the originality of the modern dances, Dambriunas began to choreograph dances on her own. Once she discovered that she could audition for DTW, Dambriunas decided to try out.

Many students of MHS think that PACE is a cult. Several non-PACEies tend to steer away from the isolated Palmer hallway on a day-to-day basis. The outward enthusiasm of the stereotypical theater geeks tends to scare away those who are not “of their kind.”

Nonetheless, PACE opens up DTW to the whole school in order to inform the non-PACEies of the true nature of PACE kids: crazy and over-dramatic, but genuine too.

Initially, Dambriunas was scared at the thought of joining the PACEies, however, she soon grew to feel accepted, despite the fact that she was not a PACEie.

Last year, Dambriunas claimed that DTW was extremely creative and incredible to watch. “The scenes were hilarious,” she said. “The dances, my personal favorite, really showed the student’s originality.”

So, why encourage students to get involved in PACE? Dambriunas spoke of how lucky MHS is to have PACE at our school. She said that due to the fact DTW’s completely student organized scenes and dances, one gets the chance to express oneself through performing arts is truly a gift.

This year, the plays consist of “English Made Easy” directed by Eliot Cohen ’10, “Sorry Wrong Number” directed by Jack Pace ’10, “Drugs Are Bad” directed by Eric Glauber ’11 and Jackie Sadofsky ’11 and “Three Dimensions” directed by Megan Correria ’10 and Danielle Kogan ’10.

Choreographers include Noah Rauschkolb, Christina Angelitta, Becca Greenblatt, Wendy Becker, Katie Stuntz, Danielle Rome, Danielle Joselson, Matt Gray, Kaitlyn Mirabella, Ilana Zucker-Scharff, Rebecca Paganini, Veronica Guerrero, Liza Strauss and Brendan Gaffney.

Be sure to attend DTW this May!