Don’t Mess With Jess
When most people think of dance, they think of a synchronized pattern of movements from a group of dancers showing off pre-planned moves in an organized, yet appeasing, fashion. However, for four year senior Jess Hebl, dance has another meaning. For her, dance serves as a religion, and a way to express herself through creative, flamboyant and sometimes improvised movements in an effort to establish a deep emotional connection between her and her audience.
Growing up, Hebl’s mother used to joke that Hebl learned to dance before she could walk. As a child, Hebl was the youngest of eight children, all of who took dance lessons. She lived in an environment full of music and dance, and in second grade she began participating in a well-known dance company at home in Wisconsin. By the time she was in middle school, Hebl was spending twelve hours a week at the studio. Her hard work there earned her first place at national dance competitions for her contemporary solos two years in a row.
When Hebl first arrived at Exeter, her involvement in dance on campus served just as a continuation of this work. Having had older family members attend the Academy, she planned to follow in their footsteps, getting involved in several dancing clubs on campus and “continuing their legacy.” However, looking back at her prep year, Hebl found that Exeter brought a lot more to her dancing career then she had initially expected—her dancing transformed into a form of art filled with much more emotion and passion.
“When I was a prep, my dancing was very focused on technique,” Hebl said. “It wasn’t as emotional. It was very ‘on the surface.’ I put a face on and just danced.”
When Hebl dances now, this is no longer the case. Senior Morenikeji Oladinni described Hebl’s current style as “eye catching,” with each movement she makes carefully crafted and ingeniously passionate.
“Every movement Jess does is just captivating,” Oladinni said. “When other dancers do contemporary style or ballet, they are more reserved, prim and held together. I like what Jess does infinitely better. She is not afraid to make every movement as big as possible.”
According to Hebl, one of her biggest transformations into a more emotional dancer came from her discovery of hip hop. She was originally introduced to hip hop through her close friend, senior Maya Perkins. The two connected on a spiritual level through dance, and as Hebl explained, Maya showed her a “more fun, spunky side of herself that she had never tapped into before.”
Hebl is now a co-head of Imani, a hip hop club that she joined her upper year. Fellow co-head Oladinni praised Hebl’s leadership in the club. According to Oladinni, Hebl is supportive as a co-head and dancer and unselfish when performing group projects on stage. At the same time, she adds a unique piece to each group dance and helps bridge the different styles of the group.
Two of Hebl’s older sisters founded the Lionettes dance club at Exeter, and when Hebl arrived as a prep, she was eager to follow in their footsteps. She also became co-head of Lionettes her upper year. Prep and fellow Lionette Mary Provencal-Fogarty praised Hebl’s leadership skills and ability to make a number come together.
“She brings life into each practice as a leader,” Provencal-Fogarty said. “She knows how to deal with people of all different skill levels. She is not strict and is also so much fun to talk with. She picks great music and her choreography is wonderful. It all falls into a perfect scene.”
After learning so much about her own dancing at Exeter, Hebl has been grateful for the experience to share dance with others. “I love leading people and showing different dance moves,” she said. “That’s why being a cohead has been a lot of fun for me.” Hebl is also comforted by knowing that dance at Exeter will persist because of the mark she will leave on her clubs right now. “It’s something that’s continuous and generations will keep doing.”
Hebl herself plans on “dancing forever.” She noted that dancing isn’t about how skilled one is, but rather the spirit and emotion they bring, which is something that doesn’t go away with age. She encountered this self-expression herself for the first time her lower year when she performed an improvised contemporary dance with Nathan Bray ’15.
“At the end,” Hebl said, “people came up to me and were like “I’ve felt that before,” and that was the best compliment. When I do more emotional dances and someone can connect with it, it’s the best feeling.”
For senior Ellie Ward, the special emotion and personal touches that Hebl adds has become obvious in her different dance routines. “It’s been a pleasure to learn Jess’ choreography, which is creative and sassy,” Ward said. “You can tell she puts her personality into her work.”
Though Hebl loves to perform and connect with her audience, dance is “first and foremost for herself.” During her lower year, Hebl identified and presented dance as her religion during her Religion 240 course. “Dancing is like how some people might pray,” Hebl said. “That’s where I can just let go and not have to worry about anything and I always have a clear mind after.” Religion instructor Thomas Ramsey described Jess’s project as “the most expressive presentation in the course that term.”
After four years of Exeter, Hebl knows that the legacy of dance at Exeter will continue and encourages more students to try dancing, regardless of their skill level. For her, dancing has always been more than just a way to show off skill or provide visual pleasure: it’s an artform where she can truly express herself, no matter what emotional stage she finds herself in life.
“Even if you feel like you’re not good at it, you can just put your hands in the air and point at the sky,” Hebl said. “ [Dance] is not only a great thing to do with the people around you, but it’s really important to be vulnerable, confident and to let yourself go. I think that’s what dance lets people do.”