West Boca has an abundance of academies that strengthens each individual’s talent, one of them being performing arts. West Boca offers both theater and dance for those interested in the spotlight. Both Academies prepare their students for excellence through the art of expression and share that triumph with our community.
The Dance and Theater Academy both produces and performs its own shows to showcase its talents and dedication. I’m proud to say I’ve had the honor of attending some of their performances, and they do live up to our bull pride, but they are nothing without their amazing academy directors.
Mr. Stanley sets the stage for our young aspiring actors in the Theater Academy. Having over 40 years of experience in acting, directing, producing, and teaching Mr. Stanley, also known by his stage name, Jeremy Quinn, is the Theater Academy’s new director. He graduated with a BFA in Theater Performance from the University of Miami, and has years of experience in the theatrical arts, as he lived in the center of it all in New York for 22 years. This is his first year teaching at West Boca, where he has total support of the administration and finds his students fantastic.
As a newcomer to West Boca, he already has a lot of plans, like revamping the theatre curriculum, adding an AICE theatre class, in addition to including an on camera curriculum, where students can study acting for television, film and commercials. The academy already holds auditions for both students who are interested in the academy, or want to participate in their performances. Other than academy based classes where students receive more acting, technique, and performing focused lessons, there are also elective classes where students can also be a little bit involved in the theatrical world.
Our West Boca performers have a chance to exhibit their skills in the Fall Play, which is more for acting track students, and the Spring Musical, for the musical theatre track. Their performances are sincerely incredible, as I had the opportunity to attend, and it goes without a doubt that they are extremely deserving of their state awards and recognitions. They recently received 26 superior ratings at the district level, and a variety of excellence and critics choice awards, and one district rep; receiving more honors than any other school in attendance.
The theater academy offers numerous opportunities for their students to be able to showcase their full potential, alongside Mr. Stanley, whose enthusiasm and love for the theater arts supports his students in every way.
Up next, our Dance Academy director, Mrs. Sternklar paves the way for our West Boca dancers. She began dancing when she was two years old, and continued all the way up to high school. After she graduated, Mrs. Sternklar professionally danced around the world as a performer on the Royal Caribbean Cruise line! She moved to Boca from upstate New York, and she has been a dance teacher ever since. She has taught in local ballrooms, dance and musical theater studios before landing her teaching job here at West Boca.
Mrs. Sternklar has been the dance director here for four years, and after coming back from her recent maternity leave, she is preparing her students for the upcoming spring concert. As the Dance Academy director, she is passionate about teaching high school students, and says it is “a great age to teach.” Her devotion for dance is what fuels her to prepare her students with the right techniques and help them find their own rhythm. The goal is to train her students to become stronger, in preparing them to pursue dance professionally as a career or continue dance in college.
The dance academy is constantly searching for new students and student involvement. Mrs. Sternklar holds auditions during last week of January, for upcoming freshman or transfer students who are interested in joining the academy. Although, for those who are interested but are unwilling to fully commit the academy, dance technique classes as electives is also an option. The dance classes are very ballet, jazz, and contemporary driven, as that is the forte Mrs. Sternklar mainly provides her students.
The Dance Academy also offers many opportunities for the students to showcase their hard works throughout the year. This includes the Synergy concert in October, where all performing arts students demonstrate their talents, and the Spring Dance Musical in March, which is coming up, so be sure to buy your tickets! The Spring concert is their main event where the students shine the brightest, with all their hard work throughout the year and demonstrate their own student choreographies.
If you are a performance art driven person, and would like to explore that in high school, audition for either the Theater or Dance academy! It is a great track to follow, one where you can thrive and grow your artistry in.
Follow them on instagram to stay updated!
Theater: @westbocatheaterarts & Dance: @wbhsdance
