Celebrating a legacy of dance

The Greenwich Academy Dance Department recently invited alumnae, current dance company members and dancers from the Moving Arts Collaborative (MAC) to come together to improvise and share the legacy of dance at Greenwich Academy and in the greater Greenwich community.

This event continued the celebration of the life of Madelyn O'Neil (1912-2011), who was both a dance teacher at Greenwich Academy and a founding member of MAC. MAC is a multigenerational group of dancers who improvise every Tuesday morning in the dance studio at the Greenwich Arts Council building. Meryl Green, who taught dance at GA from 1982-1995, now leads the group.

Green and GA Upper School Dance Coordinator Marcia Brooks worked together to plan the event so that all of the dancers could share their love of dance in the context of their common unspoken language, and at the same time, honor the rich tradition of improvisation. The gathering not only bridged generations of dancers but also celebrated the power of individual expression in a collaborative setting,

"Dance is truly a lifelong sport," long-time MAC member, Jane Milliken, said at the get together -- and this event truly echoed the spirit and truth of that statement.