Rutgers Preparatory School
1345 Easton Avenue | Somerset, NJ 08873
Phone: 732.545.5600

News & Events

Drama & Dance

Drama

The Upper School program offers both curricular and extracurricular opportunities for students to explore Drama. Through performing, students learn to use their voices and bodies expressively, to analyze and enliven a text, to think and create on their feet, to physicalize abstract ideas, and to present themselves confidently in front of an audience. Recent alumni have continued their performing in college, where their theatrical adventures have included acting, directing, designing, and stage-managing in productions as well as completing majors and minors in theater performance and production.

Two year-long acting electives are offered each year in the Upper School. Introduction to Acting is offered every year; advanced acting electives rotate so that students can take a four-year sequence with a different emphasis each year.

Extracurricular offerings include two major drama productions each year and an Instant Theater Festival.

The extracurricular Upper School drama program seeks to

  • involve interested students in a variety of aspects of the drama;
  • expose its audiences, actors, and technicians to a wide range of dramatic styles, periods, and playwrights;
  • expand the range and develop the skills of its participants; and
  • promote drama as an enjoyable and thought-provoking art form.

Dance

Whether motivated by a curiosity to try something new or by a continuing interest in the discipline, at Rutgers Prep students can explore several different aspects of dance and performance.
 
In the Upper School, we have three dance offerings:
 
  • Explorations in Dance - Introductions into multiple dance styles (ballet, jazz, contemporary, and hip hop but not limited to these) with performance opportunities at the Spring Dance Concert. This class also participates in at least one dance workshop a year. This class meets every day during 9th period.
  • Intermediate Dance - Developing technical skills in multiple dance styles (ballet, jazz, modern, contemporary, and hip hop but not limited to these) with performance opportunities at the Spring Dance Concert. Part of the curriculum delves into choreography and developing an artistic voice. These students participate in at least one dance workshop a year and meet two or three times a week, depending on the week's schedule.
  • Advanced Dance - Strengthening and deepening technical skills in multiple dance styles (ballet, jazz, modern, contemporary, and hip hop but not limited to these) with an emphasis on artistic voice and choreography. The students are collaborators in the choreography and get to input their creative ideas into the dances. This class performs multiple dances at the year-end show, participates in dance workshops, and meets two or three times a week depending on the schedule.

In the Middle School, we have one dance offering for 6th graders:

  • Creative Movement - A class built to introduce novice or experienced dancers to jazz and hip hop through multiple dance performances throughout the year. In the first session, students learn about the language of dance, notating dances, and ending with creating short dances. The majority of the sessions are spent learning choreography to perform at the Prep Rally and end-of-the-year showcase.