Way to Go!: Lauren Ward, Valley Stream
Lauren Ward, pictured with dance teacher Kristin Martine, was selected to present her original choreography this spring at the 92nd Street Y's Dig Dance Up! Teen Choreographers Showcase. Credit: Valley Stream Central High School
A Valley Stream student with a passion for dance recently presented her original choreography at a prestigious national showcase.
The work by Lauren Ward, a senior at Valley Stream Central High School, was selected from nearly 75 submissions nationwide for presentation at the 92nd Street Y’s Dig Dance UP! Teen Choreographers Showcase. It was held at the Y’s Buttenwieser Hall in Manhattan.
Ward’s creation for quartet, titled “Shallows,” is modern dance performed to music of the same name by Daughter, an indie folk rock band. It explored the confused, hollow feelings after the loss of a loved one.
She performed the piece with Valley Stream Central classmates Naima Alakham, Gabrielle Phanord-Alexis and Halle Williams.
“I was very surprised and very excited,” Ward, 17, said of being chosen. “I feel like choreography is something that allows you to express yourself.”
Ward, who started dancing when she was 8, was selected based on a video of her and her fellow students performing the piece at a school concert in February.
“This is a huge honor and I am so proud of Lauren,” Valley Stream Central dance teacher Kristin Martine said. “Her honesty, maturity and commitment to her choreography make this recognition well-deserved.”
Ward is a member of her school’s kickline team and is secretary of the Dance Honor Society.
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
