Dance Technique
Contemporary Dance Technique
Classes in contemporary technique are shaped by the expertise and teaching philosophies of our resident and guest faculty. They focus on integrating use of the torso and limbs; articulation of different body parts; alignment; and use of energy, weight, and space. Dancers work on physicality, centering, musicality, and clarity of movement.
Different sources of movement are explored, with a strong focus on internal/external motivation. The class begins with work at the barre or centre work, followed by movement across the floor, including a variety of jumps.
Graham Technique
Graham Technique is derived from the work of American modern dance pioneer, Martha Graham. These classes provide dancers with an understanding and an experience of the use of the basic movement principles of contraction/release and spiral, beginning in the body’s centre and radiating into its extremities.
The contraction, an elongated curve of the back, begins with an impulse from the centre of the body related to the exhalation of breath; the release, a lengthening out of the curve of the contraction, relates to the breath inhalation; in the spiral, the torso coils around the central axis of the spine.
With variations in falls and turns, the body sculpts the space in three-dimensional curves. One of the most dramatic of modern dance techniques, the Graham movement vocabulary has tremendous power and expressive potential.
Each class begins with breath-related exercises seated on the floor, and it progresses through codified floorwork to standing work, complex movement phrases travelling through space, and jumping.
Ballet
Ballet classes consist of classical ballet work particularly designed for contemporary dancers, emphasizing principles of functional anatomy and movement flow in combination with musicality and aesthetic expression. Students will improve skills in areas such as fast footwork, quick changes of direction, speed, agility, port de bras, and elevation. The individual attention and positive, focused atmosphere in the classes enable students to make major advances in their technical work.
Additional Technique Training
Students receive classes and workshops in Limón, Horton, ballet for contemporary dancers, and other relevant techniques. Ongoing training is supplemented by periodic intensive workshops from expert guest artists in various related disciplines.
Limón Technique, based on the work of José Limón, uses principles of fall/rebound, suspension, spiral, and points of opposition, and it plays on the dynamic interface between the stability of the vertical body and the mobility of the off-centre, falling body – the “arc between two deaths.”
Horton Technique, based on the work of Lester Horton, is a rigorous, powerful, and demanding technique, which utilizes lateral torso movements and a dynamic attack, building increasingly difficult movement sequences.
All dance technique classes feature live music provided by an experienced dance accompanist using piano or percussion.
Special Workshops, Master Classes
Workshops and intensive courses are given by guest artists and speakers. Topics have ranged from various dance techniques including African, Bharatanatyam, butoh, Cunningham, Mitzvah, and Skinner Releasing, to health and fitness subjects such as nutrition, performance psychology, Pilates mat work, and yoga.
Body Work
The challenges of technique to each particular physique and nature require exploration and practice outside of class throughout a dancer’s entire career. Body Work is an umbrella term for sessions which are designed as an adjunct to technique class and provide students with personal practice material in a number of critical areas.
Cardio/Conditioning
Cardio/conditioning students participate in a preparatory class emphasizing the development of strength, power, flexibility, endurance, and coordination. The class involves choreographed phrases created specifically for dancers’ needs in this training program.
Some of the material is derived from the work of neuromuscular educator Irene Dowd.
Movement Clinics
Movement Clinics are usually one-on-one sessions, in which an appropriate faculty member can address the needs of a single student to find ways of working in class which will free them from particular technical or performance concerns that may be impeding their progress. The sessions sometimes address more than one issue, encompassing a broad view of the student’s approach to movement.
Coaching 1
A hands-on experience for the dancer, these classes are taught in small groups, addressing individual technical, movement, and performance concerns in a caring and creative learning environment. Exercises are broken down to their fundamental components for a deeper physical and intellectual understanding.
The dancer is encouraged to ask questions and clarify issues, principles, and exercises that have been introduced in their technique classes. Coaching classes provide important time for students to work with each other in order to understand their own and each others’ needs.
The classes provoke personal investigation and movement research, and they promote a sense of responsibility towards learning, critical analysis, and becoming one’s own teacher.
Anatomy
This course is designed and taught by a physiotherapist with a parallel career as a dance artist. It gives the dancer a practical understanding of basic human anatomy and functional anatomy. Additionally, classes investigate principles of muscle and exercise physiology, the nervous system, and their application to the dance artist.
Classes are interactive, and include exploration of functional anatomy – bony landmarks, locating muscle groups, and palpation on each other in a professionally facilitated manner.
Classroom discussions and physical workshops also focus on strategies for injury prevention, rehabilitation from a dance injury, and taping; basic taping principles and the purpose of taping for an injury are covered.
Principles of nutritional requirements for a dancer are also addressed. Handouts with diagrams and other reference materials are provided. Pre-class readings, assignments, and examinations are a mandatory part of the coursework.
Throughout the three years, additional anatomy workshops will be held for all three years on an ad hoc basis for newly identified needs, e.g.: first aid, the principles of stretching, the effects of recreational and therapeutic drugs on a dancer’s body, etc.
