Student creativity takes spotlight in Mayfield Dance program’s “To Infinity & Beyond!”

December 18, 2025 · 0 Comments

By Riley Murphy

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Mayfield Secondary School’s Dance Program calls the curtain on this year’s fall dance production, “To Infinity & Beyond! A Toy Story Tale.”

The production, under the artistic direction of the dance teachers Samantha Rolo, Melina Pereira and Given Yirenkyi, featured students in Grades 9 – 12 in the Regional Arts Program, with 200 dancers from their dance department bringing the 1995 animated film, Toy Story, to life.

The show featured an almost fully student-choreographed production presenting a wide range of dance genres, including hip-hop, modern, contemporary, fusion and more.

Mayfield Secondary School also welcomed guest choreographers for their performance,

Kajaanan “KJ” Navaratnam, who choreographed a Kuthu piece that was the opening number of the show, and Raoul Pillay, who highlighted the vernacular jazz genre in their finale.

Students began working on the production in September and have spent many months rehearsing, choreographing, planning, and organizing the show in all areas.

Samaya Hodge, a Grade 12 Student at Mayfield Secondary School, not only played Woody in the production, but took on the leadership role of publicity.

Leadership roles, dance teacher Melina Pereira explains, are introduced into the productions for Grade 12 students.

“It’s really important for them to have another aspect of what it takes to be planning a show,” she says. “And for them to see a different side of what show planning takes.”

She explained the roles range from student producers to room supervisors, creative roles, and more.

“It’s always really nice seeing those Grade 12s step up and take on that role,” says Pereira. “They are really a helping hand to the teachers as well and it’s allowing them to develop a different skill set that they can use once they leave Mayfield Dance as well, which I think is always the most rewarding to see them grow up and take on more of that leadership.”

Hodge participated in the dance production in her first year of high school, and says that coming back in a leadership role this year was not only hard work but also extremely enjoyable.

“This program, being given the opportunities to do such a thing is really important, especially to me and probably a lot of other students too. From having that experience from Grade Nine, giving it a break and coming back to Grade Twelve and doing it, it was just like a really uplifting way to end off my high school career.”

Hodge describes this year’s fall production as a “childhood memory,” bringing forward feelings of nostalgia, happiness, and togetherness.

She shared that the production was about bringing people together, and that was the same throughout the show, behind the scenes, as each class had its own role within the production.

Within the show, there were lead pieces and class pieces, and, during the process, choreographic opportunities were given to senior Grade 11 and 12 students to audition for an extra piece.

“The cool thing about it is that so many people are working so many different parts of it, but bringing it all together to make one whole storyline production that comes together at the end is always the most exciting for me to see everything coming together and just knowing that there’s so many different puzzle pieces that get put together,” says Pereira.

The production was all-hands-on-deck, as their tech for the show was handled by their sound and lighting class, taught by Michael Moon, the Dance and Music Department Head.

“That community of knowing that all these moving parts have to work together in order to put on a show like this is important for them to know as well,” adds Pereira.

For the dancers in the show, that community feeling was truly felt.

Hodge says a part of what she loved about the show was working with the younger grades.

“Back when I was in Grade Nine, I had a lot of social anxiety, and I felt like the Grade 12s were people to really look up to. It felt really nice to be now in their position and working with the Grade Nines within my lead role. For the finale and in all these different things and providing kind of…seniority as in someone to look up to,” says Hodge.

She adds that although everyone’s plates were extremely full, whether with extracurriculars or classwork, it taught them vital skills such as responsibility and organization.

“I have academic work and I have the show and I have stuff going on outside of school, but knowing that I need to focus on this at this moment and making sure that I know what I’m doing, I can execute it properly and I’m doing it with a lot of love and respect.”

Watching the students go through the creative process, Pereira notes, was “finally bringing the magic to the stage.”

“They have to think of the costuming, the storytelling, the movement of the characters that they’re becoming,” she explains. “Once they start setting the movement and actually choreographing it, then to see the final product on stage is always, I think, the most exciting and most rewarding part of it for us as a teacher, but also for them as the students.”

She adds that a lot of times, before the students come to Mayfield, they are used to being a part of someone else’s creative process.

“Now they actually get to experience it for themselves where they are the driving force of this piece being created,” says Pereira.

“It’s a great learning opportunity,” says Hodge. “[Dance is] always something that I feel brings a sense of community and you can portray your emotions, you can portray your culture, you can do so many things within moving your body.”

Hodge shares that she has wanted to do dance since she was two-years-old.

“I always had an itch for creativity even when I was in elementary school. I enjoy choreographing on my own, even though we have the opportunities to do with others, I feel like I’m really able to focus on what I have a vision for, and once it’s all together and I see it on stage and I’m watching back videos and stuff like that, it’s a whole different feeling because I feel like I’m able to show everybody like what’s going on in my head most of the time,” she says.

“All of that doesn’t even compare to how it feels doing it on stage with my peers. It feels really empowering to know that I have that opportunity within the program and just having that space where I can let myself loose and really have fun.”

Hodge is looking ahead to Mayfield’s Senior Showcase, where she will be participating.

“The senior showcase is really where I feel like I can shine when it comes to choreography because it’s often an open concept most of the time, and it’s somewhere where I can just put my mind to it and really just get all my ideas out there.”

Pereira says that the process can often be long and gruelling when it comes to the shows: “You can be laughing, you can be crying, but it all pays off. All that hard work pays off to see the work that’s produced for those four shows, which I think is a really beautiful thing of everything coming together.”

The two shared that the feedback on the performances was “overwhelming,” indicating how much they were enjoyed by all.

Dance teacher Samantha Rolo highlights the importance of regional arts programs.

“We’re really, really proud of the involvement of all of the arts students, and we continue to have auditions every year,” she says. “It’s really important to keep the program going in all of the arts areas.”

Pereira adds that they tell their students this is a “once in a lifetime opportunity.”

“There’s not many high schools that get this opportunity to do a full big production like this, use these spaces that we’re so lucky to be in, the lights that we have available to it, it’s pure magic.”

“I’m really thankful that my mom told me to go to an art school because I wouldn’t be able to get this experience like many other places. Especially just with the people I meet and lovely teachers. I feel like it’s really just a space for a student to grow.”