This class is an exploration of intermediate classical ballet physicality and artistry. Through an intellectual approach to the study of ballet, healthy practices meet a traditional classroom environment and structure aiding student-centered explorations and the experience of playful combination patterns. There will be an emphasis on anatomically sound movement principles, awareness in alignment, somatic efficiency, personal expression in time and sequence, and community building. Intermediate/Advanced.
Come ready to move! We will start class by exploring a wide variety of movement phrases that will eventually weave together into a longer piece of choreography rich with gesture and athleticism. Intermediate.
This session is an advanced contemporary dance course designed to incite students to reevaluate their approach to movement through sensation-based improvisation and the performance of choreography created by Ole Martin Meland [Carte Blanche, NO]. This movement laboratory will encourage students to enliven an interest in and means of reflecting upon their unique facilities and the knowledge and preconceptions they possess regarding their performing bodies.
Dancers will cultivate a deeper relationship to the floor as they explore contemporary dance technique that centers around head-tail connection, fall and release, and ease into the floor. We will explore the exhilarating feeling of falling and using one’s weight to move efficiently through movement patterns, navigating the relationship of bound and supple energies. Intermediate/Advanced.
Katsugen is a part of the Japanese healing tradition that seeks to maintain the harmony of all the body’s functions, from the grossest to the subtlest level. This class will begin with a brief Aikido/Qigong warm-up, followed by partner work and culminating in an improvised performance. We will explore some of the following concepts: what is yielding? What is blending? What is “outer” and what is “inner”? How does one move from the center? How does one tap into the innate intelligence of the body? This class is open to all movers who are comfortable with partner work. All Levels.
Students will be challenged with different approaches to their movement style and asked to find complexity and application within their own practice and technical facility through dynamics, floor work, and space as an impetus for movement.
Brooklyn Draper is a performer, choreographer, educator, and researcher currently residing in Salt Lake City, Utah. In 2012 she received a Post-Graduate degree from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance in London, UK. Brooklyn has had the honor to perform and choreograph throughout the U.S., China, and the UK. Brooklyn is currently attending the University of Utah's MFA Dance Program.
Class will begin with an opening warm up, followed by a ballet barre and center practice geared towards the intermediate/advanced dancer. Students can expect to engage with a ballet practice that celebrates personal uniqueness, mindfulness, artistic expression, and interpersonal connection. Students will enter into a supportive, encouraging environment designed to offer an invigorating movement experience that will engage mind, body, and soul. Intermediate/Advanced.
This contemporary technique class will start with a centering warm-up, finding a nuanced connection throughout the entire body and growing in size, rigor and specificity. Explore ways to push the boundaries of the body's movement potential in this physical and energizing class.
This session is an advanced contemporary dance course designed to incite students to reevaluate their approach to movement through sensation-based improvisation and the performance of choreography created by Ole Martin Meland [Carte Blanche, NO]. This movement laboratory will encourage students to enliven an interest in and means of reflecting upon their unique facilities and the knowledge and preconceptions they possess regarding their performing bodies.
…will be a blending of Shane/Janice Janice Janice's training in modern dance, heels, and whacking. Be prepared to shift your weight, change levels, and jump! It is strongly encouraged to wear heels as you are forced to engage your core differently than say with bare feet, ballet, or jazz shoes, however any foot wear that you are most comfortable in is acceptable. Most of all be prepared to showcase your own personality as JJJ will merely be providing the skeleton of the movement; it will be your task to dress up said skeleton as you see fit in the immediate moment. All Levels.
What are the elements of hip hop culture? Find out how the spinner, the spitter, the breaker and the writer all came out of the Boogie Down Bronx to form the most influential cultural phenomenon in American History.
The Movement Lab is a place to create and connect. While in the lab, we have verbal and physical conversations. The verbal conversations contextualize our movement exploration, guided through structured improvisation and movement games. We work individually, in pairs, and as a group. Throughout the lab, ideas from the group might become small set phrases/duets that can be remembered for participants to take with them into their own creative processes. In the Movement Lab, we hope to address tough issues through movement. We believe that dance has the ability to transform individuals, and thereby communities. Examples of topics include but are not limited to: power, pacifism/military action, belonging, and immigration. Nothing is off limits. This time an inclusive and respectful environment. All Levels.
Following an improvisational warm-up, we will move through rhythmic and full-bodied center and across the floor sequences, focusing on felt sensation as an inroad for personal meaning making and empathic connection as a community of dancers. Intermediate/Advanced.
The Intentional Ride, a contemporary modern dance class. Focus is on organic and useful transitions of body weight and efficient flow through conscious body sequencing. This technique class will begin with a cardio/improv centered warm-up. Center floor work will aid our search for seamless transitions. We will end with a body conscious choreographic sequence. Intermediate/Advanced
In this movement class, we will focus on virtuosity of detail, layered and quick-to-shift qualities, and athletic physicality in imagined body forms. Come with your curiosity and be prepared for floorwork - rolling, crawling, and being close to the ground. All Levels.
This class is a fusion of jazz and contemporary dance that synthesizes classic jazz technique and vernacular movement with contemporary aesthetics and sensibilities. Intermediate/Advanced.
This technique class will focus on sensorial awareness of the body, using the floor as a guide and access point for expansion into space. We will begin slowly, tuning into this relationship with the floor and our physical connectivity while accessing power in the core. Dancers will explore balance through dis- and re-orientation with gravity, as well as momentum and articulation in collaboration with ease. Improvisation will be incorporated into class as a way to further explore given imagery and concepts. Wear layers (pants preferred) for warmth and ease of friction against the floor. This may be a good class for dancers just arriving to campus who want to ease into the ACDA experience through a somatically-focused, release-based technique class.
This movement class will focus on transforming our understanding of space through improvisation practices, investigation of inner and outer spaces, and movement dialogue. Drawing inspiration from deep investigation of self and from our environment while interacting with others, we will celebrate uniqueness and authenticity through movement. Intermediate.
Through Improvisation and partnering principals this class will explore weight sharing, creating or holding boundaries, and collaboratively working to achieve a group goal. We will look at building and sustaining a community, speaking up, awareness, and respect as literal and metaphorical ways of peaceful protest or ‘pushing back’. Kneepads are recommended but not required, and cautions about physical touch or other personal boundaries will be accommodated.
Halie Bahr is a dancemaker, performer and educator who relocated from Minneapolis, MN. As a Minneapolis choreographer, she presented work at The Soap Factory, Bryant Lake Bowl Theater, Zenon Dance, and Gamut Gallery. She has performed and presented work nationally in venues such as... Read More →
Class will begin with an opening warm up, followed by a ballet barre and center practice geared towards the intermediate/advanced dancer. Students can expect to engage with a ballet practice that celebrates personal uniqueness, mindfulness, artistic expression, and interpersonal connection. Students will enter into a supportive, encouraging environment designed to offer an invigorating movement experience that will engage mind, body, and soul. Intermediate/Advanced.
A conditioning program created specifically for collegiate contemporary modern dancers with a focus on increasing strength, endurance, and connectivity through high physicality built around L/BMA and kinesiological principles. Created by Kate Monson, Assistant Professor, BYU and Amy Markgraf, Associate Professor, UVU. Previously presented at two IADMS conferences and two NDEO conferences. Intermediate/Advanced.
This class focuses on teaching conditioning and therapeutic movement exercises that will aid in improvement of strength and flexibility. It will also share with you the tools to free tension from the muscles and joints to gain more freedom of movement for both technique and performance. All Levels.
Get deeply warm as you move between floor and standing sequences, in constant flow during the first part of class. We will explore off-centered action, sequential follow-through, dynamic relationship to the floor, and bold use of the entire studio space in athletic movement sequences. Drawing from a myriad of influences including contemporary modern dance, somatics, yoga, and kinesiological & sport science principles, be prepared to dance hugely and break a sweat. Intermediate/Advanced.
In this contemporary forms technique class we will place the pelvis at the core of our dancing. A language combination of LMA concepts, metaphors/images, and scientific terms will be used to frame our experience as we discover and express through our bodies. Using both improvisation and structured movement sequences we will learn how to move in and out of the floor with ease, travel with gusto, fly, carve in space, & dance with delightful abandonment. Intermediate/ Advanced
Participants of my class will experience the Pilates principles of breath, concentration, control, centering, precision, rhythm, balanced muscle development, whole body movement, and relaxation. In addition to gaining an understanding of these Pilates concepts, dancers will learn how the Pilates principles relate to their dance training. Class will focus on all movements flowing from a strong core and postural awareness. All Levels.
Through Improvisation and partnering principals this class will explore weight sharing, creating or holding boundaries, and collaboratively working to achieve a group goal. We will look at building and sustaining a community, speaking up, awareness, and respect as literal and metaphorical ways of peaceful protest or ‘pushing back’. Kneepads are recommended but not required, and cautions about physical touch or other personal boundaries will be accommodated.
Halie Bahr is a dancemaker, performer and educator who relocated from Minneapolis, MN. As a Minneapolis choreographer, she presented work at The Soap Factory, Bryant Lake Bowl Theater, Zenon Dance, and Gamut Gallery. She has performed and presented work nationally in venues such as... Read More →
Contemporary dance continues to push the limits of the physical body as more technique and choreography moves towards the inverted dancer. Using Bartenieff/somatic based warm ups that weaves between the lower and the upper body as the dominant base of support, this class prepares the body for inverted/upside down technique on one's shoulders, hands, head, and upper back for the final combination. Come dance to the beats and see the world upside down. Intermediate/Advanced.
The class will explore his Framework for Integration, a movement analysis system anchored in the way babies and animals move that helps all movers make new, healthier movement decisions and encourages more coordinated and integrated bodily use. All Levels.
An introduction to court and theatrical dance vocabulary and music forms as practiced in the late 17th/early 18th C French noble style. Dancers will also be introduced to Beauchamps/Feuillet notation. All Levels.
Mestre Jamaika (Mauro Romualdo) found his passion for capoeira at age seven as a native of Teixeira de Freitas, Bahia, Brazil. He began his training under Mestre Gil, of Capoeira Garras De Ouro. By age 15 he was traveling throughout Brazil to train and compete (under the direction of Mestre Loka of CapuraGinga), later winning three consecutive titles in the 1996, 1997 and 1998 Brazilian Capoeira Confederation Championships, all before age 20.
Mestre Jamaika Certified to teach under the title of “Professor” in 1997, Mestre Jamaika’s exceptional skill and explosive acrobatic talent have since placed him among the most sought-after instructors within the capoeira community, teaching and performing at workshops and events throughout the US, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, Mexico, and Brazil for the past 20 years. You might recognize him from roles in various independent films, documentaries, and music videos, or as Shockwave’s popular Capoeira Fighter 3 video game character, appropriately named “Jamaika.” In June of 2013, Jamaika was awarded the title of “Mestre” by Mestre Amen.
Mestre Jamaika continues to give workshops all over the United States and the world for other capoeira schools as well as for arts and professional dance programs. He currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with his wife, Amanda. He has extensive experience as a teacher, performer, and musician and would like to continue to reach people through the multi-faceted martial art of capoeira.
Fletcher Fusion is a combination of three unique syllabi from the Fletcher Pilates curriculum. This particular class will include flowing movement from the towelwork, floorwork, and barre series to assist students in transferring Pilates principles to the Dance studio. Previous training in Pilates is not required. Mats are not required but may be helpful. All Levels.
This class is part floor work, part Gyrokinesis warm up, and creative exploration and play. Inspired by elements of streetdance, contemporary floorwork, and Gyrotonic Expansion System principles, we will begin with an improvisational exploration of texture and articulation and move into a whole body warm up focusing on circles, spirals and sequential spinal articulation. We will then move into looped patterns on the floor to play with breath, speed, and visceral connection. Class will culminate across the floor applying these textures to accents in the hips, pelvis, and rib cage to add percussive and rhythmic flare. Class will feature a juicy playlist and plenty of stretching to warm you up for the rest of your day. Intermediate.
Learn about the ethnic, geographical, and historical components that shape character dance. Students will be introduced to the technical components and stylistic nuances of character dance, excerpts from the classical repertoire, and associated folk styles. All Levels.
The Limón technique is based on principles of weight, fall and recovery, and sequential initiation as established by José Limón and his mentors, Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman. It focuses on the movement of breath through the body, the dynamic use of weight in each body part, and the fluid succession of one movement into the next. The core elements in Limón’s technique come from human movement and the sensations the body experiences in motion. Limón was interested in human wholeness, and it is key in his work that the whole person participates- mind, body, and spirit. All Levels.
Learn about New Visions Dance, a program in Montana that celebrates inclusive dance education. In this session we will practice strategies for working with and leading dance experiences with individuals who have a variety of physical and developmental abilities. All Levels.
In this partner work class, we will examine the importance of weight bearing, sharing, and shifting through experimental movement tasks, imagined scenarios, and improvisational games. Together, we will build trust, presence and sensitivity with our partnering skills. All Levels.
Mestre Jamaika (Mauro Romualdo) found his passion for capoeira at age seven as a native of Teixeira de Freitas, Bahia, Brazil. He began his training under Mestre Gil, of Capoeira Garras De Ouro. By age 15 he was traveling throughout Brazil to train and compete (under the direction of Mestre Loka of CapuraGinga), later winning three consecutive titles in the 1996, 1997 and 1998 Brazilian Capoeira Confederation Championships, all before age 20.
Mestre Jamaika Certified to teach under the title of “Professor” in 1997, Mestre Jamaika’s exceptional skill and explosive acrobatic talent have since placed him among the most sought-after instructors within the capoeira community, teaching and performing at workshops and events throughout the US, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, Mexico, and Brazil for the past 20 years. You might recognize him from roles in various independent films, documentaries, and music videos, or as Shockwave’s popular Capoeira Fighter 3 video game character, appropriately named “Jamaika.” In June of 2013, Jamaika was awarded the title of “Mestre” by Mestre Amen.
Mestre Jamaika continues to give workshops all over the United States and the world for other capoeira schools as well as for arts and professional dance programs. He currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with his wife, Amanda. He has extensive experience as a teacher, performer, and musician and would like to continue to reach people through the multi-faceted martial art of capoeira.
…will be a blending of Shane/Janice Janice Janice's training in modern dance, heels, and whacking. Be prepared to shift your weight, change levels, and jump! It is strongly encouraged to wear heels as you are forced to engage your core differently than say with bare feet, ballet, or jazz shoes, however any foot wear that you are most comfortable in is acceptable. Most of all be prepared to showcase your own personality as JJJ will merely be providing the skeleton of the movement; it will be your task to dress up said skeleton as you see fit in the immediate moment. All Levels.
This contemporary dance technique class focuses on creating bridges between internal/external, subtle/voracious, sensation/display, expression/clarity – not to suggest that these are all mutually exclusive. Prepare to tumble, swoon, stomp, sweep, hang, and devour movement with risk and intention in relationship to music that assists in transcending any language put forward in this description. Intermediate/Advanced.
This will be a lecture demonstration class including a 20-minute meditation practice and findings from a recently completed research study assessing the effects of Mindfulness Meditation on collegiate dancers' stress levels. A meditation practice used in the study will be practiced and a brief presentation of the study and its findings will follow. Mindful Meditation is a mental training practice that involves focusing the mind on personal present moment experiences. Breathing, mental imagery, muscle relaxation, and body awareness are practiced in Mindful Meditation. All Levels.
Class will begin with phrase material, improvisational structures/passes, dance combination and culminate with conversations about the Bates Dance Festival experience! (knee pads and layers highly encouraged!)
In this class we will explore methods for creating duets while utilizing contact, refining our ability to respond to our partners’ cues, weight, and choices. We will try out exercises that help us hone in on “listening” and “speaking” through movement as we work together in partnerships. {All Levels}
Working from the ground up, this contemporary modern technique class will interweave improvisation with movement exploring breath, sensation, and spinal mobility. Investigations will explore intuition to develop a sense of self woven within the context of structured movement phrases. Cultivating momentum with abandonment, we will spiral and surrender ourselves to the space. Intermediate/Advanced.
Tango, the Art of Communication between partners. Explore the enticing rhythms and footwork of the American style Tango, while developing sensitivity to partner leads. Basic Tango moves will be introduced, practiced and transitioned into sequences allowing for individual interpretation of rhythms and styles. All Levels.
This class will explore the articulate and intricate ways the languages and voices of rhythm tap and spoken poetry can support and enhance each other. Students will experiment with, expand upon, and hone their rhythmic awareness, vocabulary, choreographic ears, and ideas of what constitutes musicality in this realm of tap and poetry. Intermediate/Advanced.
Contemporary dance continues to push the limits of the physical body as more technique and choreography moves towards the inverted dancer. Using Bartenieff/somatic based warm ups that weaves between the lower and the upper body as the dominant base of support, this class prepares the body for inverted/upside down technique on one's shoulders, hands, head, and upper back for the final combination. Come dance to the beats and see the world upside down. Intermediate/Advanced.
Using current research on fascial and tissue glide, this ballet technique class will focus on accessing a functional use of external rotation, pelvic bone rhythm and fascial recoil during barre and center. Intermediate/Advanced.
Working in the methods designed by Alito Alessi, artistic director of DanceAbility International, this is an improvisational class that fosters awareness of oneself through sensing one's own movement, of others in relationship and the space in design, all the while thinking about inclusion. This class aims to foster collective intelligence so that the potential diversity in the room can support everyone in dancing. All Levels.
The Limón technique is based on principles of weight, fall and recovery, and sequential initiation as established by José Limón and his mentors, Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman. It focuses on the movement of breath through the body, the dynamic use of weight in each body part, and the fluid succession of one movement into the next. The core elements in Limón’s technique come from human movement and the sensations the body experiences in motion. Limón was interested in human wholeness, and it is key in his work that the whole person participates- mind, body, and spirit. All Levels.
This class introduces the technique and repertory of forgotten dance pioneer, Michio Ito. With permission from the Michio Ito Foundation, students will learn the 10 signature arm gestures, stylized walking, and the artistic sensibility behind Ito Technique. In a creative component to the class, students will explore how the gestures can be developed choreographically and how meaning can be derived from the use of gesture. A brief historical context surrounding the Japanese-American modern dancer will be discussed.
Melanie Meenan is a Clinical Assistant Professor and Co-Coordinator of the Dance Program at the University of Idaho where she teaches modern, composition, ballet, experiential anatomy and history courses. She received her MFA in Dance from the University of Oregon, an MA in Dance Performance from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, and a comprehensive Pilates teacher certification from BASI Pilates®. Her research has examined the somatic practice of dance and strategies for approaching dance training, pedagogy, performance, and the creative process with mindfulness.
The Movement Lab is a place to create and connect. While in the lab, we have verbal and physical conversations. The verbal conversations contextualize our movement exploration, guided through structured improvisation and movement games. We work individually, in pairs, and as a group. Throughout the lab, ideas from the group might become small set phrases/duets that can be remembered for participants to take with them into their own creative processes. In the Movement Lab, we hope to address tough issues through movement. We believe that dance has the ability to transform individuals, and thereby communities. Examples of topics include but are not limited to: power, pacifism/military action, belonging, and immigration. Nothing is off limits. This time an inclusive and respectful environment. All Levels.
Pilates and Body Conditioning for the Dancer is meant to enhance strength, coordination, and build beneficial movement patterns. Floor exercises will be used to enhance strength, coordination, and flexibility as wells develop a deeper awareness of anatomy and kinesiology concepts. All Levels.
This class will explore generative improvisational structures aimed at developing choreographic ideas. As we unleash raw movement, we will begin to play with different processes for capturing the transcendent moments of improvisational insight. Nurturing these movement seeds towards choreographic expression, we will investigate methods for keeping the sensation of rawness alive inside of form. All Levels.
Students will participate in a variety of improvisational exercises that challenge habitual body patterns and ways of thinking about movement. We will explore different prompts and mental/physical challenges in order to expand our movement abilities and choreographic vocabularies. The ultimate goal is to step into the unknown, confront insecurities, and find originality in unexpected places. All Levels.
Basic CI skills will be introduced in a playful and continuous movement exploration. Skills including rolling, surfing, gliding/sliding, and weight sharing help us to create the "third thing." All Levels.
Countertechnique class prepares the body for rehearsal and performance. Within a clear class structure, it provides tools for body and mind to deal with the demanding dance practice of the 21st century. It is a movement system to help the dancer think about the dancing body by focusing on the process of incorporating information into action. The goal is to enable dancers to move bigger, with fluidity, and spatially, while becoming stronger and more flexible. Students will be introduced to the Toolbox: a framework from which ideas and principles of Countertechnique are accessed during an exercise. The priority is to experience clarity and enjoyment of movement. Dancers are encouraged to be proactive in discovering connections and solutions, to be less concerned with judging themselves, and to work in a healthy way physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Letting Go is a technique class in the Open Source Forms practice, which is derived and fluidly adapted from the Skinner Releasing Technique developed by Joan Skinner. This class will cultivate students' ability in letting go of habitual patterns and tensions that might impede freedom of movement and expression. We will practice letting go into movement, speed, dynamic shifts, vocal expression, nuance, and a multi-directional alignment. The technique integrates poetic imagery with hands-on partner studies as a way into releasing holding patterns and creating a supple dancing-self. All Levels.
An overview of vocabulary and basic backstage practices to allow dancers and choreographers to communicate more effectively with designers and technicians. All Levels.
This class will explore the traditional rhythms of Guinea, West Africa. Participants can plan on a high energy class of dance and song with live percussion. A primary focus is on polycentric movement and understanding the connection between dancers and the drummers. Join this class as we build upon West African dance basics and embrace the spirit of community.
Rosie Banchero is the Artistic Director, founder and force behind Wofa Afro Fusion Dance Company, an African Dance & Drum group that has shared its unique brand of performance art in venues across Utah since 2014. The company has quickly gained a name for itself based, in part, on Rosie’s dynamic leadership and dedication to African Dance. She’s visited Africa five times now to study her craft and continues to educate herself with current dance styles. Rosie also is a highly sought-after choreographer and dance instructor who has choreographed pieces and taught classes and workshops for Repertory Dance Theater, Ririe–Woodbury Dance Company, Ballet West, and numerous high schools and community organizations. Her classes have been described as “energetic,” and “life changing.” Rosie is an adjunct professor at the University of Utah, Utah Valley University and Salt Lake Community College. Rosie graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, and is trained in jazz, modern, hip hop and African dance. She also was a Utah Jazz Dancer from 1992-1994. Her latest endeavors include Soom Soom Design, a clothing line inspired by African culture. As president of the Lahydi Collective, an African cultural exchange program, she is dedicated to supporting the artistry of Africa. Rosie is a born teacher. Whether it’s guiding a group of dancers across the floor or teaching her son, Griffin, how to tend a garden to produce copious vegetables – Rosie coaxes the best performances.
Using the influences of power yoga/ashtanga yoga/bikram yoga we will begin the class with a slow warm up that will lead to standing pose sequences before transitioning to seated/prone/supine poses. We will then tune in to our breath through pranayama, to our sense withdrawal through pratyahara and transition to a meditation technique inspired by jnana yoga and Zen Buddhism before ending the class in a shavasana pose. All students are welcome to take this class. All Levels.
Rick brings considerable European influences to his teaching, after dancing in the Netherlands for nine years. Much of his class in informed and influenced by instruction in kinesiology, bio-mechanics, and Bartenieff Developmental Movement Fundamentals.
Afro Hop embraces the current and contemporary forms of Africa. Participants will work with current musical genres and study the unique forms being created due to the influx of technology in Africa. A solid base of West African styling coupled with global Hip Hop genres keeps this energetic class moving.
Rosie Banchero is the Artistic Director, founder and force behind Wofa Afro Fusion Dance Company, an African Dance & Drum group that has shared its unique brand of performance art in venues across Utah since 2014. The company has quickly gained a name for itself based, in part, on Rosie’s dynamic leadership and dedication to African Dance. She’s visited Africa five times now to study her craft and continues to educate herself with current dance styles. Rosie also is a highly sought-after choreographer and dance instructor who has choreographed pieces and taught classes and workshops for Repertory Dance Theater, Ririe–Woodbury Dance Company, Ballet West, and numerous high schools and community organizations. Her classes have been described as “energetic,” and “life changing.” Rosie is an adjunct professor at the University of Utah, Utah Valley University and Salt Lake Community College. Rosie graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, and is trained in jazz, modern, hip hop and African dance. She also was a Utah Jazz Dancer from 1992-1994. Her latest endeavors include Soom Soom Design, a clothing line inspired by African culture. As president of the Lahydi Collective, an African cultural exchange program, she is dedicated to supporting the artistry of Africa. Rosie is a born teacher. Whether it’s guiding a group of dancers across the floor or teaching her son, Griffin, how to tend a garden to produce copious vegetables – Rosie coaxes the best performances.
The class will explore his Framework for Integration, a movement analysis system anchored in the way babies and animals move that helps all movers make new, healthier movement decisions and encourages more coordinated and integrated bodily use. All Levels.
Discover movement styles from regions along the Silk Road. This survey will include folk, ethnic, and historical dance forms from Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Persia, Azerbaijan, and more. All Levels.
Do you aspire to teach dance in the elementary classroom or to develop community outreach lecture demonstrations for your dance company? This workshop will be an activity-centered session that endeavors to apply the most current research on how the brain learns through movement to some teaching strategies used in the elementary classroom with fun and creative dance "games". All Levels.
How does the complexity of individual human experiences, emotions, and ancestral past inform our movement? What can we learn from the ephemerality of improvisation, and how does the vessel of our mind-body-spirt speak to us through movement? In this experimental contemporary class, students will focus on these questions through use of guided improvisational tasks, contact improvisation, and choreography. Students will tap into their physical senses, emotions, relationship with music, and intuition by dropping into the freedom of being informed by the movements of our bodies. When we remove judgement, and are present in the moment with ourselves and each other, the possibilities for movement and discovery are endless. Intermediate.
A contemporary modern dance class that develops from the ground up emphasizing attention to sensation while moving, investment in the transitions, and extending energetic reach beyond your periphery. Class will develop through improvisation and learned material with an emphasis on personalizing movement through deepening sensation. Intermediate/Advanced.
A contemporary technique class designed to introduce 21st century dancers to the methods and movement of west coast dance legend Bella Lewitzky. Utilizing her theories on preparing dancers for dynamic and exciting movement phrases, dancers will experience movement from her choreography while gaining insight into an iconic modern dancer from our not so distant past. Intermediate/Advanced.
This studio class aims to prepare dancers for performing in immersive environments. Film projections and curated soundscores meet improvisation and guided movement to create an interdisciplinary experience steeped in sensory awareness and personal discovery. All Levels.
Grounded, visceral and volcanic, Feral Torque is a contemporary dance class for professional and advanced pre-professional dancers. This class is an ever-evolving re-definition of virtuosity informed by ballet, gaga, contact improvisation, quigong, tai chi, capoeira, martial arts, various somatic practices and eclectic modern dance forms. Feral Torque use displacement, distortion, leverage and centrifugal force to enhance power, detail and flow -- suffusing floorwork and standing combinations with elasticity and momentum. Intermediate/Advanced.
In this restorative ballet class, we focus on the joy of moving, and taking care of ourselves while doing ballet. Supported by sound anatomical principles and grounded in classical ballet technique, this class will incorporate luscious movement and breath work to tap into the parasympathetic response. The goal is for the dancers to leave refreshed, restored, and ready for rehearsals and performances. Intermediate/Advanced.
Jennie Creer-King has spent the last 20 years teaching classical ballet in both University and Professional settings. Her professional career with Ballet West and Oregon Ballet Theatre ignited a love for both the classics and contemporary works in a broad range performance experience. Jennie graduated from the University of Utah Fine Arts Department with a BFA in Ballet Performance and an MFA in Teaching Pedagogy and Choreography. She was an Assistant Professor of Dance at Brigham Young University and Artistic Director of BYU Theatre Ballet. During her time at BYU she re-staged classical repertoire, and created 11 world premieres. In 2004-2014 she established Classical Ballet Academy developing a well-rounded syllabus and growing her studio to 300 dancers and a staff of 7 instructors.
In this class we will focus on Pilates-based work beneficial for dancers. We will move through exercises designed to help improve mobility, alignment, and core strength. All Levels.
This class is a fusion of jazz and contemporary dance that synthesizes classic jazz technique and vernacular movement with contemporary aesthetics and sensibilities. Intermediate/Advanced.
Through embodied imagery, this class focuses on expanding self-awareness, increasing improvisational comfort, and exploring the internal landscape through narrative movement practice. Personal expression, an investigative attitude, healthy practice, and efficiency of movement will be emphasized. Participants are encouraged to improve individual understanding of their structure in working toward one’s fullest movement potential. Together we will investigate concepts including awareness of the whole self (mind/body/spirit); articulation of joints; weight of bones and organs; dynamic movement choices; attention to sensation; and engagement with the inner creature. An anatomical understanding of the body will be stressed. Class content is influenced by modern/post-modern techniques, contact improvisation, somatic practices, and various ‘efficiency’ based techniques. Intermediate/Advanced
Dancers will cultivate a deeper relationship to the floor as they explore contemporary dance technique that centers around head-tail connection, fall and release, and ease into the floor. We will explore the exhilarating feeling of falling and using one’s weight to move efficiently through movement patterns, navigating the relationship of bound and supple energies. Intermediate/Advanced.
Let's Dance! Right-side up, upside down, through the air, into the floor, traveling big, and with intimate subtlety. If you've forgotten how much fun it is to MOVE, the goal of this contemporary modern class is to remind you. Intermediate/Advanced.
This contemporary dance technique class focuses on creating bridges between internal/external, subtle/voracious, sensation/display, expression/clarity – not to suggest that these are all mutually exclusive. Prepare to tumble, swoon, stomp, sweep, hang, and devour movement with risk and intention in relationship to music that assists in transcending any language put forward in this description. Intermediate/Advanced.
In this class, we will explore methods of combining voice and movement, playing with ways to generate text, speak and modulate our voices, and create movement that responds to or directs our spoken word and soundscores. All Levels.
Using current research on fascial and tissue glide, this ballet technique class will focus on accessing a functional use of external rotation, pelvic bone rhythm and fascial recoil during barre and center. Intermediate/Advanced.
Basic CI skills will be introduced in a playful and continuous movement exploration. Skills including rolling, surfing, gliding/sliding, and weight sharing help us to create the "third thing." All Levels.
Floor play is a workshopping of floorwork techniques and improvisational tasks designed to provide students tools in order to navigate movement on the floor in a safe, efficient, and dynamic way. Dancers will explore movement approaches that utilize momentum, intention, relationship with gravity, time, pivot points, pushing and pulling, wheeling, spiraling, head to tail relationship, and body placement specificity in order to partner with the floor. Movement techniques are influenced by human development, Mexican-Contemporary Floorwork, Israeli-Contemporary Floorwork, American Urban Contemporary Floorwork, and Hip Hop foundations such as Breakdancing and Threading. All Levels.
This class will explore modern dance techniques such as swing rhythm (fall and recovery), locomotor propulsion from a centered place, weight shift and breath support. Beginning/Intermediate.
In this partner work class, we will examine the importance of weight bearing, sharing, and shifting through experimental movement tasks, imagined scenarios, and improvisational games. Together, we will build trust, presence and sensitivity with our partnering skills. All Levels.
Pilates and Body Conditioning for the Dancer is meant to enhance strength, coordination, and build beneficial movement patterns. Floor exercises will be used to enhance strength, coordination, and flexibility as wells develop a deeper awareness of anatomy and kinesiology concepts. All Levels.
All Levels. Lorin Hansen is a passionate instructor, performer, and lifelong student of Samba and Afro-Brazilian dance. Lorin has taught and performed for hundreds of schools, events, and venues in the Western United States as well as Canada, and she holds the 2018 “Female Malandro Champion” title, which she won at the 2018 International Samba Congress in Los Angeles. Lorin is the Artistic Director and founder of Samba Fogo, a band and dance company that is featured regularly at large-scale events and festivals, and reaches over 12,000 students annually with their arts outreach programming. Join Lorin and her drummers to experience a high energy Afro-Brazilian Samba class.
In this class we will explore aesthetics, techniques, and movement influences from the Middle East and North Africa, Central Asia, and street dance alongside contemporary dance ideas. Students will learn isolations, undulations, sequential spinal articulation, hits, locks, pops, and arm ornamentations that will support an array of movement possibilities. This class will focus on developing versatility, flexibility, coordination, stage presence, and musicality. Creativity, and cultural curiosity are highly encouraged. All Levels.
Endalyn Taylor joined the Dance Theatre of Harlem in 1984 and became a principal dancer in 1993. Taylor's roles and productions include Myrta and peasant in the Peasant Pas in Giselle, the pas de deux in Le Corsaire, The Flower Festival in Genzano, Alonzo King's Ground and Signs and Wonders, Serenade, Agon, The Four Temperaments, Concerto Barocco, Stars and Stripes, Holberg Suite, Fête Noir, Etosha, Mirage, Concerto in F, Dialogues, Les Biches, Songs of Mahler, and Medea. She has performed for such dignitaries as Coretta Scott King, Colin Powell, Bill Clinton, the late Princess Diana, Nelson Mandela, and many others. In 1992, Taylor made her Broadway debut in Carousel and went on to perform in two other Tony Award-winning musicals, The Lion King and Aida. As an original cast member of all three shows, Taylor had the great pleasure of participating in the cast albums, two of which received Grammy nominations, as well as performing for the 1993 and 1997 Tony Awards. Taylor has been commissioned to choreograph several works over the last five years, including Ugly Duckling as part of the Works and Process at the Guggenheim series, Dies Irae/Dies Amore for the High School of Performing Arts in New York City, Healing for the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community, and Pulcinella Suite, Journey of a Knighting Gale, and Out De Blue Dream for the Orchestra of St. Luke's. Taylor has been the director of the Dance Theatre of Harlem School, where she was recently invited to bring 10 of her students to the White House to participate in a new arts initiative of the Obamas. In 2012 Taylor received her MFA in dance from Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia.
George Staib began his dance training at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in conjunction with the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. After receiving a BA in political science, he pursued his Master of Fine Arts degree at Temple University where he served on the faculty upon graduating. Staib’s company credits include Ann Vachon/Dance Conduit, Coriolis Dance Company, and Paula Kellinger and Dancers. In addition, in 2006 Staib performed with the José Limón Dance Company as a guest artist in Missa Brevis. He was also invited to perform as a guest artist with the David Dorfman Dance Company in the spring of 2008. As a choreographer, Staib has been honored with awards and citations both nationally and internationally for his work, oncluding: the Prague Dance and Theatre Prize 2000 Czech Republic; and the Walkley Prize and the Weiss Prize for the Arts. His work has been extensively commissioned and has been produced in over 20 states. As a teacher, he served as a Guest Artist-in-Residence at Wilson College and the University of Nevada, and for four years was a choreographer for the Las Vegas Civic Ballet. Staib has an extensive background in music and has been recognized nationally for his choreographic and design contributions to high school band and colorguard programs, as well as the drum corps and winter guard activities, to which he still remains very devoted. He joined the Emory Dance Faculty in the fall of 2001 and teaches modern and ballet techniques, Introduction to Dance, Choreography, and Music for Dancers. In 2011, he traveled to Tel Aviv, Israel where he spent five weeks studying both Gaga technique with members of the Batsheva Dance Company and release technique with Iris Enez. He also led choreographic workshops and feedback sessions. His relationship with Israeli dance continues with the recent publication of his article in the online magazine “Dance in Israel” and the incorporation of Gaga technique in his summer workshop in Sorrento, Italy. Most recently, George was invited to Stockholm to teach at one of Sweden's top colleges, Södra Latin and to set work on SARACENO DANCE COMPANY, a Swedish contemporary company.
Leah Cox is the Dean of the American Dance Festival, a Term Associate Professor at Bard College, and part of Liz Lerman’s latest performance project. She danced with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company from 2001-2009 and served as the Company’s education director from 2009-2015. She has been a guest choreographer and teacher at numerous colleges nationwide; has adjudicated for the American College Dance Association and YoungArts; and was a member of the New York Dance and Performance Awards (Bessies) Committee from 2015-2018. Her choreography has been presented in New York City at the 92nd Street Y, Dixon Place, the DUMBO Dance Festival, and the CoolNY Festival. Leah believes our embodied wisdom and histories are uniquely expressed and accessed through dancing with others. Her current research focuses on praxes of inclusive pedagogy and furthering the political potential inherent in the dancing body.
This class offers a look into the freestyle and compositional elements of hip hop movement from funk and break styles toward a more commercial influenced combo. All Levels.
This will be a lecture demonstration class including a 20-minute meditation practice and findings from a recently completed research study assessing the effects of Mindfulness Meditation on collegiate dancers' stress levels. A meditation practice used in the study will be practiced and a brief presentation of the study and its findings will follow. Mindful Meditation is a mental training practice that involves focusing the mind on personal present moment experiences. Breathing, mental imagery, muscle relaxation, and body awareness are practiced in Mindful Meditation. All Levels.
