Newest dance teacher Ms.Pinta assists in the success of November dance concert

When members of the York dance community came back to school this past August, many were shocked to see a familiar face; that face was Annie Pinta. Ms.Pinta is one of the newest members of the York staff. She spends her school days teaching dance classes and is a co-director to the York Dance Company (YDC).

Ms. Pinta began her dance career at the age of two and has since then been trained in every style of concert dance. She then continued her dance career throughout high school and was a member of the Lyons Township poms team. She chose to major in dance education and received her degree from Illinois State University. During her senior year at ISU, Ms. Pinta was a student-teacher at York, and this past year was hired as a full-time dance teacher. Her true passion for dance is demonstrated through the relationships she has with her students.

“I just want to be able to connect with every student that comes through the program,” Ms. Pinta said. “And give them that outlet during their school day of something to look forward to.”

In the absence of YDC’s main director Michelle Jensen due to maternity leave, Ms.Pinta had to step up in order to keep the company running at its fullest potential. One of the events that advanced dance and  YDC puts on is the annual November dance concert. This dance concert allows the company and the advanced dance classes to showcase what they have worked on all semester. 

“[YDC] has been awesome because all of those students are very passionate about dance, and want to absorb all of the material I give them,” Ms.Pinta said.

The annual November dance concert was held this past Wednesday. Members of YDC and the advanced dance class performed in addition to special guests singer Sean Solemn and piano player Sebastian Rohn. The audience was filled with parents, friends, fellow York students and members of the community who just appreciate the art of dance.

“The dance concerts are something that aren’t as well known at York but I think they are something anyone should go to because of all the creativity and hard work that goes into them,” YDC Senior dance member Ally Splittstone said.

The dancers performed 5 dances: Rain, Everything Old is New Again, For Will, For the Lost ones, and Sleepless Tango.  Each dance was a different genre so students were able to use their creativity in order to show different emotions that come with different styles.

“I thought the dances were all unique from each other and I liked all of the meaning behind the dances and the music,” Audience member Francis Bronson said.

The next dance concert will be held on March, eleventh. Students will have the opportunity to produce their own dance routines with the guidance from Ms.Pinta and other dance teachers.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the student-produced choreography in the spring. Every artist has their own way of expressing themselves through their pieces so I’m interested to see how the students go about doing that,” Ms.Pinta said.