Vector Series: TECHNIQUE, IMPROV, AND PHRASEWORK WITH KELLIS MCSPARRIN OLDENBERG, MERYL MURMAN, AND
SEPTEMBER 15-17, 2015
– Tuesday: Contemporary technique with Kellis. Class will focus on athleticism, articulation of the spine, weight sensing, floorwork, musicality, and accessing one’s full kinesphere, with roots in Cunningham, Horton, and Release techniques, and some stylistic attributes from jazz, ballet, and hip hop. Kellis’s class begins with an extensive warm up, followed by stationary and locomotor technical exercises that grow in expansiveness and level of difficulty. Class culminates in repertory phrase work with hints of improvisation to allow dancers to find freedom, expression, and creativity in their movement.
– Wednesday: Structured improv with Meryl. Students will explore new pathways into their bodies through play and problem-solving. Tools will be introduced for manipulating other bodies in space, including skills for ensemble building, improvisation, and compositional techniques through games and prompts. Students will learn introductory partnering skills based in contact improvisation and contemporary partnering techniques. Exercises will include building skills for releasing into the floor, shifting between soft and sharp focus, using gravity, dancing on the vertical as well as horizontal plane, weight sharing, and counterbalance. Students should come wearing layers for floor work and bare feet or socks.
– Thursday: Contemporary phrasework from New Dialect repertory with Rebecca. We will begin with an improvisational warm-up, then move into a few structured exercises from New Dialect director Banning Bouldin’s class to help prepare us for the rep. Repertory will likely be taught from New Dialect’s Fight/Flight.
All classes from 10-1130am at Live Oak Dance (1128 Dublin St) in Riverbend. Drop-in rate is $12. Class cards are available in 10-class increments for $100.
