In her fifteen years at Lick, Zoe Fyfe has created a dance program unlike any other. On a given day in all four of the dance classes, you can find students engaging in what Fyfe calls “serious fun,” whether that be practicing tendus and flat backs, sharing choreography in preparation for the Dance Concert, or learning a new style from a guest choreographer. Fyfe’s constant dedication to the program—showing up before school for early morning rehearsals or staying past 8 pm every day of tech week leading up to the Dance Concert— constantly inspires students to work harder. When Fyfe first came to Lick, the relatively new program had only two classes, but thanks to her care and inspiration it has grown into a four class dance family. Sophie Hochman ‘18 remarks that “Zoe has this wisdom about her. She often says the most profound things in the middle of class just offhandedly, and she can always sense exactly what our group needs. I have always considered myself a very verbal person- but she’s taught me so much about how my body and your physicality can sometimes be the rawest, most honest way to express yourself.”
The Lick dance program is unique in its noncompetitive nature, yet it also allows students to grow exponentially as dancers and artists. Unlike many other high school dance programs that focus exclusively on technique and teacher choreography, Fyfe has created a program with balance. She shares her extensive dance training with students, providing a strong base technique in Dance One, and incorporating classical ballet, Horton, and Graham technique into curriculum over all four years. At the same time, students are also able to gain more and more creative freedom as they move through the program and choreograph their own pieces. On her choice to focus heavily on the creative aspect of dance, Fyfe remarks that “Creating a dance is a challenge, you have to step in to it and know what you want to say and how to say it. There is a confidence and an ownership in that. As teenagers, I think the balance between wanting to be an individual and wanting to conform is always at play. Choreography gives everyone a chance to explore who they are in a safe way with support from their peers and develop their personalities through dance.” Silvana Montagu ‘18 remarks that, “Zoe fosters community and allows us to explore our own creativity, while also giving us boundaries.”
Fyfe’s credits a lifelong passion for dance as the driving force behind her leadership in the program. She remarks, “Dance can lift up communities, bring people together, make them see and feel things in a new way. On an individual level, it’s a place where you can always grow and learn and it gives you joy in the process. When someone is truly dancing, they’re free, they may not be happy but they feel joy. It’s an art form, you can always get stronger, keep working, and it provides continuous inspiration. It’s a way to create change, change perspectives, enlighten and enliven people. And you can trace it to the beginning of time, you could go on to say the stars are dancing, life is a dance.”
During class, even when students are working individually, Fyfe can be found observing students, stepping in to offer feedback or her expertise at times, but mostly taking a back seat to allow students to generate their own movements. “For me, teaching is about watching students find their voice through dance, and discovering the effect it has on a community.” she continues, “It means being confident in a movement style and being able to adopt other styles- it’s a metaphor for life. You need to be confident in who you are and also embrace who other people are. Just watching the transformations of kids and having the advantage of knowing students for four years and getting to see how they grow as people and dancers is amazing.” Fyfe’s constant attention towards all of her students and her desire for them to grow is evident— she pushes students to take more and more risks when choreographing as they move through the program, and put students in pieces in styles outside of their comfort zones.
Moving forward, Fyfe remarks “I will always have dance in my life, it’s all I’ve ever done. I’d love to teach in different environments, bring dance to communities that don’t have access to it where it would be a positive force. My dream has always been to have a dance studio where I can teach dance, but also other things, like pilates. I also want to write a book about teaching dance. I feel like after twenty years of teaching I have a lot to say and share with the world.”
On the future of the Lick Dance Program after she leaves, Fyfe says, “I hope that it continues to be a safe space for students to find and be themselves, and be supported through dance. I’ve created a noncompetitive dance environment, which is rarely realistic because out in the world dance is competitive if you want to do it professionally. I hope that the dance program continues to reach all sorts of dancers, those that have experience and but also those that don’t. I also hope that the range of styles continues to expand and that the focus on the artistic aspect and choreography stays there.”
While the unique nature of the Lick Dance Program will definitely change next year without Fyfe, students will carry both the values and skills Fyfe has taught in class with them. During her time at Lick, Fyfe has established many traditions—from a program-wide dinner each semester before the Friday Dance Concert, to Dance Mama, Papa, Aunt and Uncle roles for seniors— that make the program what it is— a tight-knit, supportive family. Fyfe remarks, “I hope that some of those positive traditions stay and can be passed down, but it’s okay that things will change too.
