On January 10, 2025, over 500 dancers from across Maryland gathered at Goucher College in Baltimore for the 35th Annual Maryland Public High School Dance Showcase (MPHSDS).
Executive Director Peter Pucci and CCF Teaching Artist Adrienne Kraus Latanishen volunteered their time to teach master classes at the Showcase. The participating high school dancers represented over 45 different dance programs and diverse communities across the state.
The MPHSDS is an integral part of Maryland’s high school dance tradition. Each year, 20 students are selected through auditions to become Maryland Allstate Dancers, and they are honored on stage during the Showcase’s evening performance. Additionally, many high school dance programs submit choreographic works for consideration, and it is a distinguished honor to be chosen to perform.
Peter taught two Pilobolus-style partnering classes, each with over 60 students from four different high schools. Adrienne also taught two Hip-Hop classes with a large number of dancers from multiple schools.
These classes are always a wonderful community event, fostering interaction and collaboration among dancers from various high schools. The dancers thoroughly enjoyed both classes and enthusiastically engaged with the new movement styles. It’s always a pleasure to witness young dancers embracing something different and unfamiliar.
