Extemporize with Intention
Saturday 10:30am – 1:00pm

Using contemporary and post-modern principles of performance improvisation, we will investigate what it means to make and perform dances on the fly. We will consider intention, vocabulary, choreographic and staging devices, and apply our practice to both solo and small group work.

In practical terms, we will discuss how to make effective strategic choices in the moment, how to stay focused and present, finding joy in making it up as we go along.

Praxis is an approach to technique workshops that focuses less on repeating movement for its own sake, and more on bridging standard classroom drills into execution in the context of choreography and improv performance.

Praxis – Hard Stops.
Saturday, 2:00-4:30pm

We will investigate how to create hard stops throughout the body, contextualizing our work through:

1. Conditioning – understanding the anatomical factors that are relevant to sharp movement, and how to improve strength and mobility to produce them.
2. Momentum – adding unpredictable features in timing, body positioning, and layers to understand the challenges of working with these types of movements in different contexts.
3. Study – learning and perfecting a movement study specifically designed to focus on improving and understanding hard stops in terms of both musicality and technical execution, towards increasing freedom of movement and creativity as we apply them to our own dances.

Making Deliberate Dances
Sunday, 10:30-1:00pm

Beginning from the essence of an idea and blossoming into a full-blown dance, we will investigate what it means to make deliberate, effective pieces of dance that reflect our intentions and aesthetics.

We will discuss the role of five major choreographic pillars:

1. Technical vocabulary
2. Gesture, symbol, meaning
3. Expression
4. Quality and aesthetics
5. Music

And together work towards building a complete sample dance that reflects choices made deliberately around each pillar. We will also discuss common pain points, practical approaches, and common language for communicating about our work.

Praxis – Suspension with Belief
Sunday, 2:00-4:30pm

Praxis is an approach to technique workshops that focuses less on repeating movement for its own sake, and more on bridging standard classroom drills into execution in the context of choreography and improv performance.

The effortlessness of a dancer’s ability to “hang” in midair at just the right moment is often described as “otherworldly” and “beyond words.” In reality, learning to appear weightless in vertical space can be articulated as a study of strength, body awareness, timing, musicality, and personal expression.

We will investigate how to create gravity-defying, suspended motion throughout the body, contextualizing our work through:

1. Conditioning – understanding the anatomical factors that are relevant to lightness and suspension, and how to improve strength and mobility to produce them.
2. Momentum – adding unpredictable features in timing, body positioning, and layers to understand the challenges of working with these types of movements in different contexts.
3. Study – learning and perfecting a movement study specifically designed to focus on improving and understanding suspended movement in terms of both musicality and technical execution, towards increasing freedom of movement and creativity as we apply them to our own dances.