Putnam Benefit Features Somers’ Talent, Maggie Foster

SOMERS, N.Y. – Somers’ Maggie Foster, 21, will stage, choreograph and appear in “Emerging Excellence,” a two-part dance and visual arts program, Sunday at the Putnam Council for the Arts. 

“I developed the piece for a junior choreography course,” said Foster, who is entering her senior year at the Boston Conservatory, where she is studying contemporary dance and ballet. 

“The first part is a structured improvisation for the dancers. Movements are set to music and done on the spot,” she said. “You've got to be spontaneous. It’s a challenge for all artists to try a new idea and see what will come up.”

Foster started ballet lessons at the age of 5. Though ballet remains her first love, her “home,” as she described it, she also has done “everything from classical Indian to jazz, to every kind of music. I’d like to perform as long as I can, and I’d love to choreograph one day.”

“Dance makes you aware of what’s genuine,” she said. “It’s honest. It heightens your senses. There’s something about movement – the way people and especially dancers interact with each other in a language that’s not spoken. 

“It’s magical to know that you've said something and people have heard you but you didn't say anything at all.”

In a way, the reprise of “Emerging Excellence” at the Putnam Arts Council is an original production.

“It needed re-staging, and I created costumes for the new location,” Foster said. “It was a challenge to get everyone together because we live in different areas.”

Fellow Boston Conservatory students Elizabeth Cappabianca and Shannon McColl will recreate their roles in the original production. New performers include Katonah’s Eliana Wenick, a student at Fordham’s Alvin Ailey School, and Yorktown’s Colette Dong, who attends Elon University in North Carolina.

“Emerging Excellence” will have two performances, scheduled for 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $10. Proceeds will benefit the Putnam Arts Council and its creative programs. For more information or to order tickets, visit the Putnam Arts Council website. 

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