From February 13-16, I attended the Northwest Regional High School Dance Festival in Vancouver, Washington — not Canada, and not Washington, D.C. Known to be the largest dance festival in the US, it brought together student dancers from across the country came together to take classes, perform and shared experience.
From left to right: Jackie Sacks, dance instructor at the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics, Kathryn Kearns, founder and executive director of the National High School Dance Festival, and Summer Park. (Photo courtesy of Queala Clancy)
From left to right: Jojo Gott, Dana Raike, and Summer Park. (Photo courtesy of Queala Clancy)
I went with four of my classmates from my school’s Dance Performance and Production class, along with my teacher, Ms. Queala Clancy. Being there together made the experience feel more grounded. We weren’t just individual dancers, but a group representing Harvard-Westlake’s Upper School dance program in a completely new environment.
Summer Park is lifted by a fellow dancer during a partnering class, exploring balance and trust in movement. (Photo courtesy of Queala Clancy)
What stood out right away was how different the classes felt. Instead of focusing only on technique, many of them centered around culture, identity, and intention. We weren’t just learning movement, but where it came from and what it meant.
Summer Park, left, and dance professor Shannon Mockli, right. (Photo courtesy of Queala Clancy)
Throughout the weekend, I moved through a wide range of styles, from Afro-Cuban and Afro-Latin salsa to Jazz dance, Afro-contemporary, Cuban Modern, and partnering. Each class felt less like memorizing choreography and more like being asked to think about how movement connects to something larger.
Kemba Shannon, left, and Summer Park, right, after an Afro-Funk class at the Northwest Regional High School Dance Festival. (Photo courtesy of Queala Clancy)
Two classes in particular, really stayed with me. In an Afro-Funk class taught by Kemba Shannon, I don’t think I’ve ever sweated that much in a dance class before.
Her energy was constant and contagious, and she pushed us to go beyond just executing movement. She talked about the floor as the earth, as soil, and encouraged us to feel grounded in it. That idea stuck with me, and I found myself connecting to the movement in a way that felt both physical and emotional.
Ethan Chen, left, Summer Park, center, and Maray Gutierrez, right, after Cuban Modern class at the Northwest Regional High School Dance Festival. (Photo courtesy of Queala Clancy)
Another class that shaped by experience was Cuban Modern Contemporary with Maray Gutierrez from the Ruth Page Center. We learned choreography and did technical exercises, but what stayed with me was her emphasis no not dancing like a “copy and paste.” She encouraged us to bring our own identity and artistic voice into the movement.
Summer Park, left, speaking with Maray Gutierrez, right after a Cuban Modern class at the Northwest Regional High School Dance Festival. (Photo courtesy of Queala Clancy)
At the end of class, I spoke with her in Spanish, which made the experience feel even more meaningful. It became less about learning steps and more about understanding what dance can express.
From left to right: Ethan Chen, Elsa Cheng, JoJo Gott, Summer Park, and Vicky Yu performed “Series of Parts” at the Northwest Regional High School Dance Festival. (Photo courtesy of Queala Clancy)
Outside of class, it was surprisingly easy to connect with other dancers. Conversations would start casually, but often turned into discussions about why we dance or what certain styles meant to us. In one Cuban Modern class, I spoke with a dancer who identified as African American, and she shared that she chose the class because she wanted to feel more connected to the African diaspora through movement. That moment stayed with me. It made me realize how dance can be a way of exploring identity, not just performing it. Being in that environment made everything feel more open and collaborative rather than competitive.
On February 14, my classmates and I performed “Series of Parts” a piece choreographed by Ms. Queala Clancy, in one of the festival showcases. Performing on a new stage, in front of dancers from different schools pushed us to be more present and connected, not just to each other, but to the audience as well.
By the end of the weekend, what stayed with me wasn’t just the choreography I learned, but the people, the conversations, and the shift in how I think about movement. The festival reminded me that dance isn’t just about getting steps right, but about expression, identity and connection.
Group photo of a jazz class taught by DeShawn Morton at the Northwest Regional High School Dance Festival. (Photo courtesy of Queala Clancy)
