A group of girls, aged 5 to 17, gathered on the corner of 163rd Street and Simpson Avenue, where the Bronx Halloween Parade was set to start. They practiced their moves, asking one another, “Is it to the left or to the right?”while stomping to the beat of the drummers. They playfully teased one another, clad in bright orange t-shirts branded with the dance company’s name, black leggings, and the occasional yellow ballerina’s tutu skirt.

It was only a few hours until these dancers, members of Repertoire Dance Complex, debuted their performance of “Calling All the Monsters” by China Ann McClain on the stage at Rainey Park, where the parade route was set to end on Oct. 26. 

One dancer in the sea of orange and black was Rayne Melendez, a 17-year-old from the North Bronx, for whom this performance would be the last. She took a break from dance before the pandemic but joined Repertoire Dance Complex four years ago.

“I feel like before I came, I was just very quiet and I wasn’t confident,” she said. “It teaches people discipline.” 

Discipline was both on full display and hidden on the day of the parade. The dancers were keen to remember their formations and swiftly follow the instructions of their teachers. But they also ran around and chased strangers in Deadpool and Michael Meyers costumes. 

Shari Fingal started Repertoire Dance Complex in Pelham Gardens seven years ago, in an attempt to address what she saw as a need for additional arts programming in the Bronx. 

“If we are not going to give kids areas to grow and expand their artistic natures, they’re not going to know, ‘maybe I do like dance’,” she said. “In order for them to understand that they can or they might like these things, they have to be able to participate.” 

Like a ‘Family’

In rehearsals a few days before the parade the dancers were focused on getting things right – even when they didn’t remember their second formation. 

“I hope when people leave Repertoire Dance Complex, they feel like they joined a family,” Fingal said. “Preparing for something like this is very, very high energy,” Fingal said. “We have a short amount of time and it takes a lot. It’s not just me.” She and the other dance teachers, Deasia Hargrove and Chantel Perez, worked together to plan the performance. 

This year was their third appearance at the parade.

“Doing stuff like this, for me, is like giving back to the community,” Fingal continued. “It’s always really important to have the arts in school and the community.” Having Repertoire Dance Complex perform in the parade meant showing Bronx residents that art is for everyone, regardless of income, Fingal said. 

That principle also guides the dance company’s policy.

“We try to keep our rates lower and make it accessible for all because I love dance, and I feel like sometimes just because you might not have the financials to do the things you want to do, that shouldn’t be a reason for you to not be able to participate,” she said.

Repertoire Dance Complex is located in Pelham Gardens, just north of Pelham Parkway on the Bronx’s east side. According to data from the NYU Furman Center, the neighborhood has the second lowest poverty rate in the borough, 17.64%. But to the north and south, the poverty rate is higher – Baychester sits at 25.96% and Soundview at 23.7%. 

This hits home, Melendez said, especially because dance competitions can be expensive. “My parents make it happen for me and I’m always going to be grateful,” she said.

Melendez is now aging out of the dance studio. After she completes her senior year of high school, she’ll be moving on to college. In the downtime between the parade and the onstage performance, Melendez acts like an older sister trying to get her younger siblings dancing at a party, hyping up the little ones. 

“I’m very excited to move on, but I’m so sad to leave all my friends and my teachers, and just the dance studio environment,” she said.

High-Fives and Praise

In the time between the parade route and performing, the girls drank water, ate bags of Doritos, and started a dance battle in the parking lot. When it’s finally time to take the stage at Rainey Park, Fingal gave each student climbing the steps a double handed high-five and shouted, “I love you, I love you, I love you!”

Fingal, the other teachers, and enthusiastic parents claimed spots on the grounds below the stage to watch. 

Repertoire Dance Complex got into formation. The “minis” – the younger dancers in this performance – acted their part of the scared citizens hearing about the contaminated bodies, fitting for the parade’s zombie apocalypse theme, and then the teens rose from the dead. For the next few minutes, they were a whirl of orange, flexible and on rhythm. 

The dancers knocked the performance out of the Rainey Park stage. While on the surface, it’s simply a dance, Bronx Halloween Parade Coordinator, Viancey Taveras said the performances and the parade itself mean much more.

“This is to show the world that the Bronx has a lot more to offer, especially in our arts programs,” Taveras said.