Day 4: First day of Preview Classes

Hello Everyone!


So today was the first day of preview classes for the festival. Preview classes are like advertisements for each and every class offered at the festival. So, because there are SO many different classes and teachers here offered, the classes are over a span of 5 days and are shortened from 20-45 minutes per teacher or class. This means that we get to taste a lot of different samples of classes! I really like how the system works because there are some teachers that you would of never even thought of taking, but have now found interest in because of the preview! Of course, the more classes I take, the more confused I am about what to put on my class schedule!


Anyways, today I started my day off in the Southgate building and took my first class with Andrea Weber, Abby Yager, and Ming Yang. They all had very different styles and ways of moving, but they were all classified under the "modern" dance category. We first had Andrea Weber, a former dancer with the Merce Cunningham company, give us some Cunningham technique warm-ups. Her style was very precise, and very straightforward. There isn't much fusion to add to class when you are teaching a strict style that is already developed, however I have taken Cunningham classes and have liked them in the past- so this portion of class was really enjoyable for me...maybe not to others. Then after about 25 minutes, Abby Yager took over. Abby's style of dance comes from release-based Laban technique which some of it can stem from the fact that she was in Trisha Brown's company previously. She had a little bit of a slower paced class and taught a lot about weight and connecting the spatial patterns of the body to the weight and release of the body. Then after  she showed us a combination, Ming took over. He talked a lot about similar concepts that Abby had talked about, however his movement style was SO different. He also worked with Trisha Brown- it's funny how different they move when they both worked for the same company. His combination focused on the weight and flow of movement coming from the release of muscle tension in the body to create more efficient movement patterns. All in all, some pretty enjoyable classes.


Then we moved to East Duke and talked to three different teachers regarding Composition or "Choreography" classes that they were taking. I wasn't sure about using Composition as one of my classes for the six weeks, just because I already take Composition at school ( 6 semester of it) I think I have had enough Composition...however someone brought up the point that while in class, we could develop something in the class that we could carry over to our senior project- which could potentially save me a lot of time during the school year. Not a bad idea, but I think I want to be more challenged than that. The teachers for those classes were Ursula Payne, Amanda Miller, and Jillian Pena. They were all really cool- and it would be fun to talk to them someday specifically about choreography, etc. 


Then we got out early from that session so I went to Whole Foods and bought $2 locally grown blueberries- what a deal, as well as some other food for the kitchen. Then I went home and made a hot delicious salad ( lol Molly) and chilled until I walked over to the Ark to take Ana Marie Forsythe's Horton Class!....Except that I didn't get admitted into the class because it was already full. I went in and watched for a few minutes however, and guess who decided to walk in...Clifton Brown...nbd...a beautiful dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, along with fellow friend Elisa Clark, who came to Towson this semester to set Battlefield on Towson dancers. Super cool. I observed for a few minutes and then left to do some errands before my next class at 3PM. 


I found Jacki and we hung out with my new friend Tim on the grassy field in front of Duke's East Campus and watched the smart TIP ( Talent Identification Program ) kids play frisbee and pretend to catch their frisbees. Oh and we took intelligent photos of ourselves in the Duke library ( "It's like we're at Harvard") and acted like fools. 

Then I headed over to the Nelson Music Room which is where our next preview class was which featured "Improvisation Techniques" with Ishmael Houston-Jones, Rafael Lopz-Barrantes, and Ellen Hemphill who teaches "Voice Gesture Exploration for Performance Art". We started out with Improvisation with both teachers, and we played around with charing weight with one another in the body as well as sensing the partner's body and how our partners moved through space. We also got an opportunity to, as Malcolm would call it, be one another's "Mountain". We rolled around and massaged each partner, it was just wonderful! Then we proceeded into the voice class. Ellen talked about how finding your voice within is an important skill not for just actors, singers, and other spoken word performances, but also for dancers so that we can access our body in a different way. It was very interesting, and if this class is offered in the WFSS series, I am definitely taking it. 


After that class we ended our day at Southgate. I walked in and saw Paul Matteson sitting on the floor, we said hello. After a few minutes of stretching, he asked me how our day had been, so I told him how ready I was to move, since we hadn't moved as much as I was hoping we would! As soon as everyone got there, we started by walking in the room and utilizing different patterns of walking. We then found a partner and had our partners guide us around the room with our eyes closed, almost crashing into everyone. It was a huge "trust" activity, but it definitely helped me get in tune with my body and my inner senses. It was a great way to start the class. Then after we finished partnering, we learned a quick combination. Paul's movement quality is so unique- I am in love with the way his body moves and I couldn't quite figure it out. After our section with Paul was over, Elisa Clark taught her portion of class. I took her class when she was here in March/April to set Battlefield for Towson Dance and I remember taking her master class she offered. It was very similar to the class I had previously taken, but I still enjoyed it and appreciated the simplicity of the combinations. I loved that combined class, and seeing Elisa again was a joy as always. The decisions of what classes to take just keep getting harder.


After class I rushed back to the dorm and made a quick dinner and then headed over to the buses to take us to Stephen Petronio's performance at DPAC. The show was not what I expected. The parts of I appreciated were the added mixed media of the video clips in the background as well as art design of the lighting and overall "cinematography" of the dance. The dancers were also exquisite and very talented movers, however I did not understand or relate to the concept of the piece at all. I was very confused by the uncomprehensive nature of the connection from piece to piece. Each piece felt almost like a different dance entirely, and although I found different motifs within the dance, I felt as though the audience as well as the dancers were disconnected from the meaning of the choreography and piece in general. It was a free performance for me however, so I really can't complain. And the dancers kept me intrigued an interested consistently throughout the performance, just watching their bodies move was enough to keep me from falling asleep. 


A few other nice things that happened today was that, I saw Christian Von Howard at DPAC today! It's so nice to see him; also I won a pair of tube socks at Convocation today!


Tomorrow is a long day! I have auditions at 8AM for the Footprints Show- which is a Mainstage Performance and a huge opportunity provided by three choreographers making new pieces on ADF dancers. It's really hard to get into- but whatever! I will just do my best and have fun! Also I have ballet with Bullock, Limon with Houlihan, and Hip Hop and African tomorrow! I am SO excited. I am going to be extremely tired, but it will be so worth it!


Tootles <3