A first look: The making of eXpressions “Encore”

Across Frist Theatre, hefty backpacks, half-empty water bottles, and discarded hoodies line the aisles in a sea of soon to be filled seats. As the theater’s lights dim, enclosing the room in darkness, I watch as dancers of eXpressions make their way to the stage for one of the final dress rehearsals for their Spring 2026 show entitled “Encore.” After taking an array of formations on the stage, the dancers briefly stand in silence, frozen, before all shouting as one, “we’re set!” 

As the stage erupted into a flurry of music and choreography, there was an immediate visceral sense of the dancers’ collective hard work and excitement. With a wide-ranging selection of genres and bold performances, the group’s collection of experimental styles wielded physical storytelling, balancing fixed and fluid movements, and several props to create a space for each dancer to assert their talent and take over the stage. Maddie Rohde ’27, the choreographer for an upcoming performance of “Tous les Mêmes” by Stromae, explained the risks she took in an interview with The Daily Princetonian.

“I was really trying to push myself as a choreographer and make something new that I hadn’t considered before. And I think my cast was so receptive to it, and it’s been such an amazing experience just being able to experiment in a way that I haven’t really before,” she said. 

Evocative experimentation is most certainly a defining theme of the group’s upcoming show. Commenting on the show’s innovative style, Rohde described, “often during the show there’s a sad piece and then a really upbeat piece, and a sad piece again, so it feels like whiplash for the audience, but I feel like that’s the amazing part.” 

With subsequent pieces featuring motifs such as flickering streetlamps and a revolving door of dynamic costumes, the show’s innovative, creative atmosphere was as compelling as it was genuine — with each choreographer’s unique touch and each dancer’s distinct personality shining through. Yet, these bold stylistic and choreographic choices didn’t come about without a great deal of creative consideration and grueling nights during tech week. 

Touching on the camaraderie before opening night, Rohde shared, “I feel like tech week is the time when we come together as a company and, grow a lot closer, and obviously, we're here for very long hours, and it's very exhausting, but it's so rewarding to see the pieces come together.” 

This overwhelming sense of camaraderie wasn’t bound to the stage. One of the most special parts of the group’s dress rehearsal was hearing the interaction between the dancers and the rest of the company in the audience. During the pieces, as well as after the songs ended, silly exclamations  such as “Disco divas!” floated down from the balcony. 

Explaining the group’s lighthearted “heckling” traditions, choreographer Nina Zeltser ’29 noted, “My favorite part of any show is screaming from the balcony. It’s my favorite thing just being up there, because you see your friends dancing, the costumes, the lights, it’s amazing, and you’re just supporting them.” Zeltser even encouraged me to take part in the electric atmosphere, noting “If you like something, scream, we’d appreciate it.”

By cheering on the dancers, the audience has the opportunity to take part in the encouraging atmosphere and feel the amount of support they have for each other. For instance, since the dress rehearsal took place during Passover, the company decided to host their own Seder before the show began for all their members who wanted to participate. Zeltser emphasized how these intimate moments have strengthened the group’s bond, sharing that “everybody understands that it’s going to be challenging, but the team has been amazing. It’s just a very good support system, despite how hard it’s been.” 

With polished choreography ready for opening night and the hard work put into every piece palpable, you could feel the group’s collective anticipation for an excited audience.  After the rehearsal, Zeltser reflected on the title of the forthcoming performance and what it means for the group’s senior members, sharing  “if we’re thinking about an encore, that’s like your final moment to really show everything … for the seniors, it’s like the encore at the end of the giant performance that’s been their whole time in eXpressions.” 

Rohde described her interpretation of theme as “a distillation of what the company is, in a way that feels very representative of how an encore is the crux of what a performer is.” 

“Encore” opens April 3 at 4 p.m. running through April 4 at 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. in Frist Theatre.

Michael Grasso is a contributing writer for The Prospect and a member of the Class of 2029. He can be reached at mg7604[at]princeton.edu

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.