Love takes center stage at Harker’s annual dance production
An exuberant ode to loving yourself. A whirlwind epic about a newfound romance. A soft, pensive ballad exploring the bond between life-long friends. Each of these different forms of love featured amidst colorful costumes and detailed props in the 2025 Dance Production, “All You Need is Love.”
Harker’s annual show highlighted over 130 students and nine student choreographers on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 in the Patil Theater. Act One of the show, titled “Love Language,” explored what love is with songs that prominently featured “love” in their lyrics, while Act Two, “What We Love,” delved into the passions and emotions behind the scenes.
Under the direction of Rachelle Haun and Jill Yager, the opening number united dancers from Kinetic Krew and Harker Dance Company in a routine choreographed to “Baby Don’t Hurt Me” by Anne-Marie, Coi Leray and David Guetta. The dance team members utilized large wooden hearts that were part of the set throughout the routine, creating a whimsical scene that brought the production’s theme to life.
Kinetic Krew captain and student choreographer Arthur Wu (12) appreciated the theme’s meaning, both personally and for the rest of the cast.
“These big, red heart cutouts serve as both a prop and background image to remind us of the theme throughout the show,” Arthur said. “The props elevated the show into something even more fantastical.”
The heart props reappeared for “God Only Knows,” a piece choreographed by Yager that opened the second act. Dancers grooved to the rhythm and blended classic jazz elements with dynamic movements.
In HDC’s senior dance, “Sisters,” seniors Maya Affaki, Yasmin Sudarsanam and Sonia Yu performed a contemporary ballad. Dressed respectively in blue, green and orange, each of them performed their own solo routines before coming together and finally leaving the stage in each other’s arms.
As a senior and captain of HDC, Yasmin found her last dance production to be a bittersweet reminder of all the past shows she has done in Harker’s dance program.
“I’ve been doing the dance shows at Harker since 4th grade, and this was my last one,” Yasmin said. “It was my last time dancing with these girls who’ve been by my side for nine years and having my parents watch me perform my own dance on the stage, so this production was a really special one.”
Yager expressed her gratitude toward the entire cast, praising them for overcoming obstacles like sickness and injury.
“It’s such a process and it’s something that requires a lot of time and a lot of thought,” Yager said. “I was telling the students that the show was a reflection of the people that are in it, our student choreographers, our dancers. It was everything we hoped for and more.”