Archive: Workshops, Intensives, Master Classes, and Open Houses

Summer Intensive at Hopkins Dance Company

Hopkins Dance Company will be creating a new original piece for our Summer Intensive!

Monday through Thursday evenings, June 20–23 and June 27–30
In-studio performance on June 30!

Dancers ages 7–18 are invited to join. No audition necessary. Register at www.hopkinsdance.com.

The Arena – Moving Practice with Taja Will on Tuesday

Moving Practice is a weekly class series for professional dancers. Classes prioritize rigor, diversity of contemporary aesthetics, variety of class content, and commitment. Professional level dancers of all styles are welcome.

Tuesdays, 10:00-11:30am at The Arena
Taja Will teaches through June 21: Duo and Ensemble Improvisational Partnering. Class is a place for co-learning, collaborative training and meeting in places of creative focus, skill building and current fascination.

Drop in: $17. Buy a 10-class card and save.
Register
FREE parking on all side streets: Aldrich, Bryant, Colfax, 31st

Class culture: My pedagogy is grounded in healing justice and restorative justice at its foundations; this is to say all histories of power, privilege and oppression live in the room, when we don’t pay attention to them we maintain a status quo based on oppression. For me, giving voice and space to the practices of equity and awareness in creative/artistic spaces encourages the field to diverge from the status quo. Classes are open level,  you are invited, regardless of your experience in the dance form/style. Classes will center accessibility and inclusion for QT + BIPOC folks.

Class content: Drawing from my longtime commitment to Contact Improvisation this class will focus on duo and ensemble improvisational skills and structures. We’ll use somatic modalities to warm up awareness, and compositional instigations to encourage movement from small isolations to greater locomotion and possibly bombastic movement emergence. This is a place for us to gather and practice improvisational technique, awareness of our individual choice making alchemies, attunement to each other, and I will invite partnering that includes weight sharing and touch to your desire.

Taja Will (pronouns Taja/they/them) is a queer, Latinx (Chilean) adoptee, performer, choreographer, somatic therapist and Healing Justice practitioner based in Mni Sota Makoce, on the ancestral lands of the Dakota and Anishinaabe. Taja’s approach integrates improvisation, somatic modalities, text and vocals in contemporary performance. Their aesthetic is one of spontaneity, bold choice making, sonic and kinetic partnership and the ability to move in relationship to risk and intimacy. Will’s work explores visceral connections to current socio-cultural realities through ritual, archetypes and everyday magic.

Photo credit: Nanne Sorvold

Soften the System Feldenkrais Series with Pay as Able and Scholarships Available

An 8-week Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement Series with Sarah Baumert
Soften the System
June 29-August 28
Wednesdays at 6:30pm CST and Sundays at 4:00pm CST
Livestream classes will be taught over Zoom.

Our instincts RESIDE in the BODY. 

The lessons in this series are not just exercises in relaxation, mindful awareness, or feeling good. They are ways to better know, experience, and understand your body. Most importantly they can help you develop the ability to settle your body whenever you wish.

These are not just tools that you can lean on during times of stress or anxiety. These are ways to practice what it can feel like to be settled. To get to know the sensation of a settled nervous system, so that you can return to that place when you need to.

This is an alternative view of what we can do to grow in how we relate to the world, to settle our own nervous system, to then be able to engage with the world and in relationships in a way that feels skillful, wise, and from a place of compassion.

We will approach these lessons as a call to action to recognize that in order to create change in larger systems such as our community, our country, our world, understanding our body and softening the system is an important step for that change.

See the links below to learn more about the course and/or register!

Pay as able available, as well as full and partial scholarships. Reach out to Sarah to inquire!

Ballet Royale: July Summer Intensive

You’re invited to join us for Ballet Royale’s July Summer Intensive:

Recommended for ages 8 through professional with multiple progressive divisions to give each student the ultimate experience in dance. Featuring top-quality professional teachers and guest Master Teachers.

Under the supervision of Ballet Royale’s Directors, this program has been designed to develop a well-rounded dancer by providing strong classical ballet training as well as exposure to a mixture of other styles of dance. This intensive includes group special events, Ballet Royale Summer Intensive T-shirt, and culminates in a Summer Showcase Performance.

July Day Summer Intensive: July 11-29
Dancers accepted into Division II, III and Upper Division. Recommended ages: 9-26 years old.
Audition required. Guest Faculty: Gary Joyce, Muriel Joyce and Giselle Mejia.

July Division I Two-Week Intensive: July 18–29
Dancers accepted into Division I. Recommended ages: 8 and older. No pointe.

As all group audition dates have passed, please contact the studio to schedule a private audition at (952) 898-3163 or info@balletroyalemn.org.

9–12 Graders: Free Summer Workshops through FAIR Downtown

Explore your passions for the arts this summer and learn from local professionals in the field! Join the FAIR Summer Arts Exploration and The Cowles Center for two different workshops taking place for 9–12 graders. Click HERE to register. Both workshops are free.

Cultural Exploration of Dance
July 11–21, 2022
Monday through Thursday, 1:00–2:00pm at The Cowles Center
This two-week dance camp will explore multiple dance styles (such as breaking, flamenco, latin social dance, and more). 8 sessions total. At the Cowles Center Target Education Studio.

Backstage Basics
July 25–August 4, 2022
Monday through Thursday, 1:00–3:30pm at The Cowles Center
Work alongside The Cowles Center’s technical staff for a four-day overview of what it takes to bring a show to life behind the scenes. Students will cover technology and basic operation of lighting, setting up sound gear such as microphones and speakers, working with backdrops and other backstage gear, and more! The class will culminate in combining the learned skills into a set-up, “mini-show” and “load-out.” This course is meant to give students a taste of these areas and resources for how they may pursue work or programs for future education.

Additional classes offered through McPhail and other community partners.

Questions? Contact: Adam Clark with MPS Community Education at Adam.Clark@mpls.k12.mn.us

Zenon Dance School – Camp Zenon: Youth Dance Sampler Camps

Discover dance with a week-long camp for young artists! Not sure if your dancer has a style they like best, or looking for a way to try out something new? We’ll explore a variety of dance styles and creative movements in this one-week camp. There will be an informal showing on the last day. All abilities and levels of experience are welcome. In-person only at the Zenon Dance School studios.

July 18–22, 2022
Session 1: Ages 4-6 with Philip Hommes, 9:00am-12:00pm
Session 2: Ages 7-10 with Hannah Pierce, 12:30-3:30pm

Tuition: $195. Need-based scholarships are available for full or partial tuition.

Register online today! Registration closes one week before each camp begins.

TU Dance Center: Dancing Together

This four-week workshop is designed for children ages 2-4 and their parent/caregiver who are interested in a shared movement experience that engages the senses of curiosity and play.

Both child and caregiver will participate in developmentally appropriate movement exercises that incorporate elements such as effort, shape, and tempo. Music will play an essential role in the class as students will be asked to respond to sounds as well as make sounds themselves. Participants will be encouraged to join at their own comfort level with the understanding that observation is often the best form of learning with younger children. This class will give children and caregivers the opportunity to learn more about themselves and one another through the art form of dance.

Mondays, 9:00-9:45am
Tuition: $60.00
Four-week session: July 18, July 25, August 1, and August 8
At TU Dance Center or outdoor location TBD.

Restoring the Dancing Body: Heal, Re-align, and Strengthen

Restoring the Dancing Body: Heal, Re-align, and Strengthen
Workshop by DJinza Thayer at Tofte Lake Center
August 8-14, 2022

Tired of managing your injuries?  Does it take you longer to recover from physical exertion?  Do you just ache? Perhaps it is time to re-orient your training practices. In this workshop, we will introduce an alternative training system that leads to less pain and more ease, more strength and mobility, so that you can keep dancing. The complexity of dancer’s movement requires a multi-faceted and more enlightened approach.  This workshop will help unwind the body from specific movement patterns and introduce new ones by re-patterning the muscular, fascial, bone, and nervous systems.

In this five-day workshop, you will learn how to:
•Unwind your compensation patterns
•Use strength and flexibility training to promote alignment and override imbalances
•Build a new foundation of support (it’s not strengthening your core) by stimulating the nervous system to make better choices, find specific alliances of muscular support to weave it into the fascial lines
•Activate fullness of organs, boney clarity, and fluid support in your personal movement signature

Your week will entail a balance of physical training, and optional yoga, nature activities, and group gatherings. TLC’s staff Liz Engelman and Thea Sheldon will offer elective life/career coaching sessions as there is interest. Kayaks, paddle boards, canoes, and a sauna are available for exploring and enjoying the lake. There will be plenty of free time to explore the lake and property, or simply relax, sitting on the dock and taking in the peace and calm nature has to offer.

“Jinza has a deeply comprehensive, intuitive understanding of each part of the body and how they are all connected… She is able to teach us how to feel those connections in our own bodies (even through Zoom!!) so that we build stability and strength that serves us in every aspect of living.” – Student Testimonial, Online Classes Winter 2020

Learn more about DJinza Thayer.

Ballet Royale: Grand Prix Variations Workshop

Join Ballet Royale for our Grand Prix Variations Workshop, August 8-19!

Unique in Minnesota, this is a focused ballet and variations workshop specializing in preparing dancers for performing or competing in national ballet competitions. Following daily classical ballet technique class, dancers learn classic ballet variations and receive professional coaching.

This workshop benefits all dancers, whether preparing for a competition, an upcoming performance, or simply wanting to polish and improve their artistry, technique, and quality. Class sizes are limited. Pre-competitive, Junior, and Senior Divisions. Ages nine and up. 

Audition required. As all group audition dates have passed, please contact the studio to schedule a private audition at (952) 898-3163 or info@balletroyalemn.org.

ARENA DANCES – Instinct Movement Intensive with Shane Larson

Join ARENA DANCES for one week of movement classes taught by guest artist Shane Larson, member of the renowned Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. Participants will practice contemporary dance technique and learn a new original work as a part of this intensive. Targeted for the high-intermediate to advanced level dancer.

Instinct: August 15-20, 2022
Monday–Saturday, 10:00am-3:00pm
Class: 10:00-11:30am
Rehearsal of new work: 12:00-3:00pm

During class, dancers will build a bottom to top, floor to standing modular class that deepens with task-based repetition, while encoding new movement pathways through basic shapes. Students are encouraged to learn-by-doing, rather than to learn and ‘perform’, relying on muscle memory to strengthen pathways. Architectural forms of the body are created, deconstructed, and recycled within the containers of momentum and temperature, offering a full-body, far-reaching experience of movement.

After class, dancers will focus on creating—using skills as scaffolding for building material as a community. We’ll spend time talking about memory and time, graphing separate experiences together to focus and distill common patterns, shapes, and anecdotes. The final object created will be an investigation that is distinctly your own and something that can be taken into future experiences.

Shane Larson was raised in Minnesota, where he received his early training at the St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists. He graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, with a BFA in Dance and a minor in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies. He also studied at SEAD in Austria. Since living in New York City, he’s branched out to collaborate with punk musicians, film makers, improvisational music ensembles, and site-specific visual artists. He is also a multimedia video artist making collage-based work about memory. Shane joined the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company in 2015.

Ages 16+.
Intensive capped at 15 participants.
Register HERE  must be completed by August 1st
Early Bird: $475 – register by July 15.
General: $550.

Photo by Jim Coleman