An Evening of Dance Celebrates the Memory of Jessica Sinclair

This year's Evening of Dance celebrated the rich legacy of our dance program, featuring a special dance choreographed and danced in honor of former Director of Dance Jessica Sinclair, who passed away last spring. The dance "Spirited" was choreographed by Dance Director Kay Rediers in collaboration with her Advanced Dance students. There were also performances by three Bravo Guest Artists including Cranbrook Alumna, Lauren Roebuck '20 and Strickland Award Winner Hannah Li '24

Click here to watch the performance of "Spirited." in honor of Jessica Sinclair
Click here to register for Reunion tribute events remembering Jessica Sinclair and Charles Geroux
Click here to make a tribute gift to the Jessica Sinclair and Charles Geroux Legacy Fund for the Arts 

Here is the story of how the dance "Spirited" came to be, from Kay Rediers:
"The inception of "Spirited" followed a conversation with former Orchestra Director Katie Lorts, when I was struggling to find the right music for a dance class. Katie shared the music from one of Jessica Sinclair’s iconic dances, which over the years had become one of Katie’s favorite pieces. She shared memories of Jessica’s dancers in white costumes, featuring lifts and quick footwork. I instantly fell in love with the music, which is called “Song of the Spirit” by Karl Jenkins. It inspired me to choreograph a dance in honor of Jessica, including the dancers in the choreographic process. I directed the dancers to write about what “Spirit” meant to them. The dancers created movement patterns based on their writings, I stitched these patterns together with my own choreography to create a majestic whirlwind of movement named “Spirited.""

More on Lauren Roebuck's performance at An Evening of Dance 2024:
Lauren Roebuck returned to the Cranbrook dance studio as a senior dance and psychology major at the University of Michigan. The current CK dancers loved her work “Dragon” which combined hip-hop and contemporary dance styles. Lauren was an amazing student during her six years in the dance program, winning the Strickland Choreography Competition as a freshman and was a runner up in her junior year here. It was such a joy to have Lauren back in the studio as a gifted choreographer, dancer, and teacher.


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    • Advanced Dancers perform "Spirited" in honor of Jessica Sinclair

    • An Evening of Dance 2024

    • Bravo Guest Artist Lauren Roebuck '20 with CK dance students

    • Director of Dance Kay Rediers and Lauren Roebuck '20 in the studio

    • 2024 Strickland Award Winner Hannah Li '24