Arms outstretched and toes pointed as she holds her relaxed but steady position, Sonal Muthal (12) holds an air of sophistication and grace as she begins to move across the floor of the dance room. Face filled with emotion, she tells a story with every practiced leap and elegant twirl.

With time, she has found a home in the dance room; though she recently took on the position of captain of the Varsity Dance Team, her dancing career stretches back to kindergarten. After participating in the dance show each year and joining showstoppers, she has discovered her passion for dance.

“I started out as the underdog in all of my teams but through a lot of great mentorships, I’ve been able to grow as a dancer a lot,” she said. “Through my dance teams I have such a strong community around me that’s so supportive.”

Although she has been dancing for years, she has more recently discovered her passion for choreography.

“Dance is a really creative outlet for me, especially through choreography,” she said. “I’m not a very artistic person in a lot of ways. I’m pretty bad at drawing and things like that, but choreography is super creative. You can do whatever you want, and picture whatever you want and see it come to life.”

The process of choreographing dances is a unique one, involving interpretations of real stories and ideas into the form of dance.

“Choreography is very self-driven; you just do what feels right. You start off with a story, an idea, like something abstract, and then you build it up layer by layer to see where you want it to go,” she said.

She took upon herself the task of choreographing a dance for the 2019 Dance Show. She recalls the story she based her dance off of, involving characters from a popular show called “Sherlock,” a series telling the story of Sherlock Holmes and his adventures as a detective.

“[All the choreographers] were able to put [themselves] in the shoes of somebody else and imagine different themes, and sort of portray personal life experiences too,” she said. “I was going off of Sherlock and this idea that Moriarty has this sense of power over Sherlock for most of the [TV] series, [showing] themes of egotism and power.”

In addition to choreography and dance, she enjoys computer science, using it as another means of imaginative expression.

“I really got into [computer science] during my sophomore year when I started going to Hackathons,” she said. “It’s very cool because you can just sit down and create whatever you want.”

Despite the apparent differences between the two subjects, she finds herself able to express herself through both.

“Both hacking and choreography are inherently creative things. With hacking and software development, you’re building something from the ground up; you start with nothing. You can create whatever you want and you end up with something that people can use and enjoy,” she said. “Choreography is very similar. You start with nothing but an idea and you just build it up and see where it goes.”

Through her exploration of choreography, she has found a space for herself onstage where she has the freedom to express herself.

“I’ve always loved dance because I’ve always loved being on stage. When I first started [doing] dance, the idea of being on stage was intimidating because I hadn’t really performed before; it was so new to me,” she admits. “[But] I fell in love with this idea that I’m presenting something, a part of myself, to other people.”