Woodside dance students to stage fall ballet November 19-21
Posted: November 14, 2025
Dancers spun around the studio, whirling and dipping. Dr. Denise Purvis called out a few instructions over the music and took notes.
The scene repeated many times this week as students in Woodside High School's Center for the Arts & Communications dance magnet program rehearsed for their annual fall ballet, which this year is a re-imagining of "Swan Lake" titled "Black Swan/White Swan."
Performances will be held during free matinees for more than 1,000 Newport News Public Schools elementary school students November 19-21 and for the general public on November 20 and 21 at 7 p.m. in the school's auditorium with $7 general admission tickets available online.
Woodside's dance magnet, which is the only place in NNPS where dance is taught, offers students instruction in ballet, modern dance, jazz, choreography and dance history. Students who participate in the fall ballet work on its choreography both in class and after-school rehearsals.
They are learning the various roles that are part of "Black Swan/White Swan," which was choreographed by former Woodside Director of Dance Hope Hunter and premiered for the fall ballet in 2019. It's being presented as a tribute and token of gratitude for all that Hunter contributed to Woodside dance.
"The performance shares classical music and the concept of classical ballet with the community and builds awareness of dance education opportunities at Woodside," said Dr. Denise Purvis, director of dance at Woodside. "We currently have students who watched this ballet in 2019 when they were in elementary school and are now performing in it. The ballet provides long-lasting community connections."
Janay Heyward, an eleventh grader at Woodside, saw the 2019 performance of "Black Swan/White Swan."
"When I first saw it when I was in elementary, it definitely sparked something, seeing the black and white swan," Heyward said. "And then later on I wanted to join the program."
Heyward, who also performed in last year's fall ballet, emphasized the friendships and fun that dance students experience daily. She likes both preparing and performing in front of audiences.
"Dance is really just something fun to do, for me personally," Heyward said. "Because in my future, I want to do something else. But I definitely think for someone who's really into it, they would enjoy it and really gain techniques and experience from it."
Tenth grader A'Zareia McCallum was also drawn in by seeing performances. She followed her mother, who completed the dance magnet program at Woodside.
"I saw it at Sanford during my third and fourth year," said McCallum, who also performed in the ballet last year. "We've been working really hard and I can't wait to see what the seniors do when they graduate."
The fall ballet fits into the dance curriculum in numerous ways.
"The production allows students to understand the real-world context of technical dance instruction," Purvis said. "Because we are performing a version of a classical ballet, 'Swan Lake,' students also connect physically with a historical ballet and perform to classical music by the icon Tchaikovsky. By sharing the production with local elementary schools, students understand the value of dance as a community builder.
"The show is an ensemble production, requiring students to develop and hone their interpersonal skills and develop their sense of self-discipline and individual responsibility to their dance community. And performing the ballet in a formal setting builds students' artistry and performance skills. So this production teaches several Virginia Department of Education standards together."
The accessibility of the programming to the younger students provided by the directors hosting an introduction from the stage and the explanation of characters allows the story to come to life for the elementary schoolers, according to Katie SheehanSmith, NNPS supervisor of visual and performing arts.
"As the magnet program, we recognize this is often the earliest exposure to the art of ballet," SheehanSmith said. "For our magnet students, the emphasis is on the historical significance of the contributions of ballet to the art form of dance and ensuring, through the annual ballet and the magnet's Dance History course, our dancers are learning the classic repertoire of ballet storytelling."
Makayla Veney is a twelfth grade student in Woodside's theatre magnet program who is taking ballet for the first time as an additional class.
"It's a fun opportunity to learn new things even if you're not necessarily technically trained for ballet," Veney said. "It's just overall something fun and new.
Angelyn Brown, an eleventh grader, like many of the performers will dance multiple roles.
"When you see us perform, just have in the back of your mind that we had limited time and if we miss a step or something, don't judge," Brown said. "Just think that at least we're still up there performing it.
"We do it because we love to do it and also it's to honor our former teacher. We wanted to do this for her. And just to enjoy ourselves."
