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The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

To find inspiration, she surrounds her desk with bright colors, thriller books, old movies and song lyrics. By working in a space that reflects her own interests, she develops ideas for choreography more naturally. 

Meet your staff: Guiding growth through grace

by Young Min and Chelsea Xie October 9, 2024

The first melancholy chords of Adele’s “Hometown Glory” introduce Harker Dance Company’s last routine in Just Dance 2024, where lower, middle and upper school dance ensembles perform together....

Alum-led dance workshop showcases experimental choreography style

Alum-led dance workshop showcases experimental choreography style

by Sam Li and Heather Wang September 30, 2024

New York choreographer and Harker alum Ankita Sharma (’16) hosted a contemporary dance workshop for students on Sept. 20 from 3:15 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. in the dance room. The workshop introduced...

Jason Shim (12) speaks during the inaugural Conservatory Kick-off panel and is joined by Iris Cai (12), Luke Mehta (’24) and Maria Gong. The panelists shared their experiences in the Conservatory program and offered advice to the students and parents.

Conservatory welcomes students and parents with kick-off

by Tiffany Zhu, Co-Sports Editor August 29, 2024

Conservatory teachers and students presented this year’s initiatives and opportunities at the annual kick-off to parents and students in the Patil Theater on Aug. 21.  Upper school performing arts...

Dancer Selina Wang (10) performs in the upper school dance production, with an image of her rehearsing in the background. Despite the intense training required of dancers, many forms of dance strive to hide strain on stage.

Studio grit, stage grace: Dancers debate sport vs. art

by Katerina Matta and Tiffany Zhu March 15, 2024

Competitive dancers can practice at least nine hours every single week, or condition to train endurance for up to an hour each time they’re in the studio. They push the human body to its physical...

Arthur Wu (11) extends his arms during "Clocking out." This high-energy routine was choreographed by Luke Mehta (12).

‘Night and Day’ Dance Production mesmerizes Harker community

by Young Min and Suhani Gupta February 14, 2024

A cluster of dancers, loosely huddled together, rhythmically undulate in a mesmerizing cadence. A red spotlight illuminates their iridescent leotards and mesh pants as the dramatic intro of “(I Just)...

Yasmin Sudarsanam (10), Eileen Ma (12) and Maya Affaki (10) dance to  "Peer Pressure." Eileen choreographed the dance by translating her favorite moments from the song to dance movements.

Growing “Better 2Gether”: Students perform in annual Dance Production

by Young Min and Alison Yang February 19, 2023

The curtains draw back as the Patil Theater is plunged into darkness. Suddenly, strings of neon light descend, illuminating the stage as the first notes of “It Takes Two” by Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock...

Anoushka Khatri (12) and Samvita Gautham (11) rehearse on Feb. 4 in the Patil Theater for the Spring Musical. This year's Spring Musical will be "The Drowsy Chaperone," performed yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Upcoming upper school performances

by Kinnera Mulam, Alena Suleiman, and Sally Zhu March 25, 2022

Spring Musical: “The Drowsy Chaperone”  March 24-26 This year’s Spring Musical, “The Drowsy Chaperone,” will take place today and tomorrow at 7 p.m. and a 2 p.m. show tomorrow in the Patil...

Dancers in the Harker Dance Company stand on props in the first few measures of the 2021 dance production. After the senior members of Harker Dance Company opened the number, the rest of Harker Dance Company and Kinetic Crew joined for their segments.

Leaping “Outside the Box”

by Emily Tan, Winged Post Features Editor May 20, 2021

From breaking free of Zoom squares that have confined dancers all year to thinking creatively in terms of choreography, students and faculty involved in this year’s upper school dance show have had breakthroughs...

After Downbeat's performance, the upper school Jazz Band & Lab Band directed by Dave Hart played "Happy" by Pharrell Williams and arranged by Mike Tomaro.

Conservatory wishes the community happy holidays

by Emily Tan, Features Editor December 13, 2020

On Friday Dec. 11, the upper school community watched Harker’s middle school and upper school performing arts groups during the assembly period. Orchestra members faded in and out of the screen, the...

Kinetic Krew dances outside during a section of their virtual "White Flag" performance. The video was shown during the school meeting on Dec. 3.

No retreat, no surrender

by Alysa Suleiman, A&E Editor December 11, 2020

In wartime, a white flag represents an ultimate, definite concession. It calls the surrender, requests the truce and cements the defeat. But now, the pandemic has waged a war against normalcy, threatening...

Junior Zoe Kister jumps into a crowd of dancers. Zoe is one of eight student choreographers.

“Remixed and Reimagined”: Students and faculty prepare for the annual dance production

by Esha Gohil and Sabrina Zhu January 31, 2020

The stage lights up in a purple hue, silhouetting a group of dancers in the background. They pose as the music begins, before gracefully leaping towards the audience during Thursday’s dress rehearsal. The...

Charlotte Blanc (12) performs during the Homecoming rally. Both varsity and junior varsity dance teams joined this year to form the Harker Dance Company.

Dance teams combine into Harker Dance Company

by Esha Gohil, Humans of Harker December 20, 2019

The junior varsity and varsity dance teams merged together for the first time ever to form the Harker Dance Company at the start of this school year. The choreographers, Karl Kuehn, who previously coached...

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