Hillsdale High School’s Knight Moves marks 25 years

Just five years after joining Hillsdale High School, Braccini developed the first Knight Moves. In the 25 years that have followed, she’s crafted new routines based on the interest and skills of each student. At times, alumni of the program will send suggestions to Braccini or she’ll hear a song and can’t stop herself from seeing it in color and movement, she said.

This year’s production, opening on April 27 and running through April 29, is no different. A number of collaborators have helped bring the show to life with creative choreography and advanced lighting. This year’s show will also speak to the program’s past by featuring beloved dance numbers making a return and some alumni too.

“It really is a community and family-based vision,“ Braccini said. “It is a program that I have been super fortunate to be able to start. I came in hoping to be able to just introduce some dance classes and to create his experience for kids. … I never dreamed in a million years this is what it would turn into.”

The ensemble is made up of 24 students from all four grade levels. Most have been dancing for years, having started taking classes as small children and training in outside studios before auditioning for the ensemble their freshman year. A few found their way into the group after taking Braccini’s beginner or intermediate-level dance classes and discovering a passion for the craft.

Regardless of their dance background, each student auditions to be in the ensemble every year and, if selected, will spend hours during and after school learning choreography and performing during school events like homecoming, rallies and sporting events.

The experience has been invaluable for Yuka Fukuda, a senior who began dancing at age 5 and has been performing in the ensemble for four years. She’s built a community through the Hillsdale High School Dance program of people she trusts, friendships and memories to last a lifetime and skills that will help her succeed after high school.

During her first year in the ensemble, the pandemic forced schools into lockdown, ultimately canceling the show for that year. Her second year, Knight Moves was performed as a virtual show and the previous year was her first time performing in the show in front of a live audience.

Now a senior performing for the final time with the ensemble, Fukuda said she wants to make the moment last. And Braccini and her team make sure each senior can by giving them a special segment on stage as their own.

“[I’m feeling] so many feelings, mixed feelings, anxiety, it’s crazy. The house is going to be full and I’m excited for that; but I’m also really sad this is my last opening night ever,” said Fukuda who also dances competitively with Melodic Remedy, a studio in San Carlos, where she’s trained in different styles, such as hip-hop, contemporary, jazz and ballet. “[The dance program ] meant everything to me. Without this, I don’t know what I would have done with my high school career.”

Immense parent support has gone into each Knight Moves production. Parents have dedicated time and energy to everything from building sets and designing new light shows to bringing snacks, driving students to shows and helping plan and run fundraisers.

And 36 male students, many athletes and student leaders without dancing backgrounds, have also volunteered to support the program by dancing alongside the ensemble. Preparation for Knight Moves begins well in advance of the April production with the ensemble beginning to learn choreography in the fall and the boys joining in on practices in February.

Andrea Celentano, co-president of the Hillsdale High School Dance Ensemble booster club and a mother to a junior on the team, lauded Braccini, parent and student volunteers and the ensemble for the work that’s gone into making Knight Moves the “magical,” professional-level production it is.

Like Fukuda, Celentano said her daughter and all students who have either made the ensemble or taken a dance class at the school have received immense gifts for having participated.

“This is something that is so meaningful to our family and we can never repay Sabrina for what she’s been able to give to our daughter in terms of growth and development and confidence,” Celentano said. “And not just her. It’s all the students who have crossed the stage and she’s given so much to the theme, it’s invaluable. We as parents can never thank her or do enough to share our appreciation.”

Visit hillsdalehighschooldance.com to learn more about Hillsdale High School Dance, Knight Moves and how to support the program.