“I finally found something that I can say defines who I am.”

Senior Ryan Davalos had never considered himself a dancer. He immersed himself in other activities: soccer, football, even guitar. But once Davalos learned of Bellaire’s eMotion Dance Company, he recalled his favorite dance group: The Kinjaz. The Kinjaz’s synchronization and how they moved as a unit caught Davalos’ attention and inspired him to join the eMotion Dance Company. It became “the best decision of [his] life.” Davalos found a community in eMotion and is now a choreographer.

His breakdance set to Giveon’s “Make You Mine” debuted at eMotion’s Fall Show on November 17. It took him about a week to choreograph. His usual choreographing process entails sitting in an open space and shuffling through a few songs until he finds one that “clicks.” He then replays the song, imaging moves and getting used to the musicality of the song. Finally, Davalos records his dance to remember it.                                                               

Davalos said, “My favorite part of being a choreographer is seeing something that was just an idea turning into something so beautiful. The way all the members work together to try to get the timing right on parts makes my idea even greater.” 

“It feels so good to see everything, like the transitions, the forms, the moves with music. Especially when it’s clean. It’s like you really accomplished something.”

Junior Vivian Zhang joined the eMotion Dance Company three years ago. At the end of her freshman year, after persuasion from the current president of modern, senior Irene Zheng, she applied to be a choreographer. 

Zhang has a process for how she approaches choreography for a dance. She goes to the YMCA, records herself improvising and takes certain pieces from that for her final choreography

“I’ll find a chunk in the music where [the dance step] matches and then I’ll keep doing that over and over again until something works out,” Zhang said. 

Zhang’s process is unique in that she comes up with the choreography before choosing the music. 

“I think of choreography first, and then I’ll experiment with songs, and I’ll see how it goes,” Zhang said. “If I find a song that goes with the move, but it’s not the vibe I want, I’ll look for something similar to that song and then just narrow it down.”

Being in a student-led organization, Zhang is sometimes at the front of the class, teaching all the modern students her self-made choreography. But she is also able to transition from being a teacher to a friend. 

“During class, I kind of switch into a different person,” Zhang said. “I’m like, ‘Okay, I have to get this done.’ Of course, I’m not going to be mean to them. You’re not supposed to be mean to your dancers. I’ll just be strict, but then after class, I’ll be like, ‘Hey, we’re friends again.’”

Choreographing doesn’t come without challenges though. Sometimes Zhang and her assigned partner Megan Wang face an inspiration block that takes them “a while” to overcome.

“When I choreograph, sometimes in the music it’s like, ‘What do I do with this?’” Zhang said. “Especially [in] this Fall Show, [there was] one section where Megan and I had no idea what to do. We were stuck on that section for a good two hours. We would choreograph something and then we wouldn’t like it. So we had to really go on the web and search for inspo.”

This past Fall Show, Zhang and her partner choreographed a dance to the song “Overthinker” by INZO, which fit the show’s theme of ‘reflections’..

“It was kind of a modern-techy type of vibe,” Zhang said. “‘Overthinker’ is like a reflection because you overthink when you have something that’s too simple.”

Another big challenge that Zhang faces as a choreographer is inserting herself into the dance after everyone else has learned it. 

“We were never really in the dance for a good two months, and then [when] we finally put ourselves in, it’s just a little bit hectic,” Zhang said. 

Despite the challenges, Zhang does have a favorite type of dance to choreograph, although it doesn’t match up with the style of dance she likes doing herself. 

“With choreography, I like [contemporary and lyrical],” Zhang said. “But dancing [myself], I really like slow jazz. Lyrical is just so pretty. It’s elegant. It’s flowy. It’s pretty. Contemporary moves are very weird. In a way, it’s like technique is out the window.”

 As shown through her lyrical and contemporary style, Zhang tends to excel at dance types that involve ballet elements due to her previous training in ballet. 

“I would say that my ballet training has helped me have a better grounding in dance because everything is basically built on top of ballet,” Zhang said. “So when we dance, [things] like pointed feet and straight legs just come naturally to me.”

Throughout her almost two years of choreographing, Zhang has found a favorite aspect with choreography.

“I really like it when I just lay on the ground and just feel the music,” Zhang said. “If I have had a stressful day, I just choreograph and then it helps with that.”

At just 3 years old, senior Nevaeh Johnson found a love for music and dancing that is still alive today. 

“I just loved listening to music, and the way I express myself is through dancing,” Johnson said. “That’s just the way I’ve always been.”

Johnson joined Bellaire’s eMotion Dance Company at the beginning of her junior year and has been a part of it it since. She said when she first saw the team perform, she knew she wanted to join. 

“I just loved the team,” Johnson said. “I went to their show and I saw it and it was the best thing ever.”

After Johnson joined the team, eMotion grew to be a family for her. Senior year was when she decided to try something new, extending her passion for dance to the others around her. Johnson had never choreographed  before, but she had always wanted to try it out. 

The first piece Johnson choreographed for her audition was the most difficult. 

“It was really hard,” Johnson said. “I couldn’t think of any moves but I really got through it and did it. I spent five months on it. I did it every day after school and I tried to go through it [over and over].”

After the first piece though, choreographing started to come more easily. Now, choreographing pieces can take from anywhere up to a week to just an hour for her. Johnson’s process includes finding a connection to the song she chooses. 

“I listen to a song and if I don’t get an immediate reaction through my body, I don’t do the song, but usually I get an immediate reaction,” Johnson said. 

This was exactly what Johnson felt while choreographing to “Angels in Tibet” by Amaarae, her favorite of the three dances she choreographed for eMotion’s Fall Show. 

“I choreographed that in like an hour because I heard the song and that was the song that sparked me the most,” Johnson said. “When I heard that song, I really wanted to dance to it.”

The other dances Johnson choreographed for the fall show were “My Power” by Beyoncé and “Lady Apocalypse” which was a mashup of “Alejandro” and “Telephone” by Lady Gaga. While “My Power” was Afrobeat, Johnson’s favorite type of dance, like “Lady Apocalypse” and “Angels in Tibet” is hip hop. 

“[Afrobeat is] my favorite dance style because it’s a lot of hip movement and it’s another part of my culture,” Johnson said. “In middle school, I danced ballet and Afrobeat most of the time. Hip hop is a new thing, but something I always wanted to do.”

Although choreography is a new avenue of dance for Johnson, it inspires her. 

“My favorite part about choreography is showing that I can express myself, but in ways that can help people too,” Johnson said. “Teaching people my dances [and] seeing them doing my dance with their heart is really inspiring to me because I feel really appreciated that everyone else has learned my dances.”

Johnson worked closely with the dancers who’d be performing her dances and made sure they understood and were comfortable with every part of them.

“I try to be really engaged with them so they can know what’s going on and what to do,” Johnson said. 

Although Johnson thinks “the show went great,” it’s a bittersweet feeling. This was the last fall show she will do with the eMotion Dance Company. 

“It feels very emotional,” Johnson said. “I’m not ready to leave this team yet. eMotion has grown to be a family for me.”

Even after Johnson leaves both eMotion and high school behind, she wants dancing to remain a vital part of her life. 

“I want it to be a career,” Johnson said. “I don’t really have stage fright and I just know I love to perform. I just know that I feel happiest on the stage.”