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

Day 3: Orientation

Hello everyone! It's Day 3 here at ADF and today is a day where I have received a ton of information about this upcoming weekend- which is going to be hectic!


First off, today is the day that all of the 6WS ( Six Week Students) arrive. Emma and I woke up around 9:00AM and after having breakfast walked to Epworth to get our folders and registration check-in done. Then after that we stuck around Epworth and walked new students to the housing buildings so that we could get them their keys. After doing that for about an hour or so we came back to the residence hall and had lunch. Soon after that I went to do my first airport pickup with Vincent. We had a fun car ride there talking about how awesome we are being Japanese and how we have the same perspectives in life about dance. It was sweet. We got there and as soon as we got out of the car we found a wheelchair. So Vincent pushed me to the Terminal in the Wheelchair. I had the "ADF" Sign in my hand and he strolled me around the entire baggage claim until we picked up our girl Samantha. Once we got back we made a trip to Ben and Jerry's and got ice cream- it was awesome, perfect for the hot Durham weather.


Then we went through a very lengthy orientation where we met all of the directors of ADF. But I found my lover Jacki Calle in the process of orientation so it automatically became totally worth it! The breakdown of classes is CRAZY! There are so many opportunities to work with so many different people. Tomorrow begins day 1 of this crazy preview weekend where we basically take a preview class of every single class ADF has to offer, so that when we register for classes we have a better idea of what classes will be a better fit to our education. 


Then after we had a quick dinner at Randolph we all went to the Duke statue to wait for the bus to take us to DPAC ( Durham Performing Arts Center). Tonight we had the opportunity to watch Doug Elkins perform Fraulen Maria, which is a spinoff homage to the musical "The Sound of Music" [I will put more in depth analysis of the performance later].

Then when we returned i had a last minute airport pickup that Chadi had to give to me because he had lost his key/card in the theatre. So Alessandra and I went to pick up the last batch of students for the day- except we came back empty handed. 

Tomorrow is going to be a long day! I'm excited but also not excited for the crazy weekend that is about to start. Wish me luck all! <3

Day 2: The Calm Before the Storm

Today was a very laid back day spent mostly on resting. I woke up around 10:30AM and found out that we were needed at Epworth around 11:00AM to stuff folders. We walked over and got there late and I ended up Not Stuffing Folders...I actually worked on making my door sign and other signs for the people arriving to ADF tomorrow...we didn't have to make door tags though, and we don't have to do IRS! It's crazy. There's a lot that we Don't have to do here!


Anyways, we walked back to Randolph ( Our residence hall) and Emma and I made a trip to the Target in Chapel Hill. It was a super Target and we ended up buying a lot of stuff! Well. I did at least! Then we came back and upon arriving in the kitchen we ran into a woman making lasagna in the kitchen. Her name was Linda and she was a graduate student at Duke who was living here during the summer for the TIP program. The TIP which is the "Talent Identification Program" at Duke University. Basically the program is for younger students who have a lot of gift in academics and who take classes on a college campus- Duke being the campus. The woman Linda was doing psychological work for the program and I had a nice conversation with her. 


Then after making myself an amazing sandwich, I went back to my room and PASSED OUT from around 3:00PM to 6:00PM when we had a meeting with Olivia and the other dorm counselors. I guess I am just really exhausted and catching up from my lack of sleep from the previous week (Thanks Ben hahah). Anyways,  Olivia went over a bunch of details about tomorrow which seems like it's going to be hectic! But it is also the day that everyone else arrives and the day we can truly become an ADF family! 


Tonight after the meeting, Emma, Christina, and I went over to their VCU friends' house! I met a bunch of new friends and also got to see Johnnie! Everyone is so nice, I am picturing my life now if I had gone to VCU instead of Towson! But we ate hotdogs and drank wine  ( what a good combination haha ) and just hung out. It was really fun!


Today was really chill. Truly the CALM BEFORE THE STORM. The calm before all the craziness. I get my schedule tomorrow and get to register and get all my information. Preview classes begin on Friday and tomorrow we get to watch Doug Elkins perform as well as greet all the 6WS after the performance. 


For those of you who are interested in sending my love letters or updates on your lives here is my address:

Olivia Serrill

Six Week School

Box 90772
Durham, NC 27708-0772

love you all! Goodnight.

Day 1: Getting adjusted

Hey everyone! Welcome to my summer adventures at the American Dance Festival. I will be updating this blog as much as possible, but I am hoping to try to post everyday if possible.


To start, I would like to welcome you by telling you what exactly I am doing down here in Durham, NC. I auditioned/applied to the American Dance Festival Summer Program at the American College Dance Festival at James Madison University. After sending in my application materials and with many thanks to those who wrote me a recommendation ( Nicole Martinell, Catherine Horta-Hayden, Vincent Thomas, Laura Smith, and Kelly Dries- Thank you.) I was admitted as a dorm counselor at the festival with a full tuition & room/board scholarship. The only thing I am paying for is for gas and food- what a deal! In return I will be working as a full time RA as well as taking a full course load of dance classes. I will be supervising a building with 18 other RAs for students who will be here for 6 weeks and will be under 18 and then also younger students ( age range 12-16yrs) who will be arriving at the last 3 weeks of the program.


I have not figured out my schedule yet, but I will be posting that as soon as I can. We basically can take a range of different classes on a routinely schedule every week such as Modern, Ballet, West African, Contemporary, etc. and then we have opportunities to take elective course work on either a consistent or drop-in basis, which includes classes such as Pilates, Yoga, Rituals, Workshops, Body Conditioning, etc. There are also different long-term projects you can audition for and may have rehearsal for as well as auditions for major dance companies to be in one of their future projects or to get into their company. Some of the companies coming this year are including but not limited to: Paul Taylor Dance Company, Pilobolus, Vertigo Dance Company, Shen Wei Dance Arts, Monica Bill Barnes, Doug Elkins & Friends, Scottish Dance Theatre, Hubbard Street, Mark Morris Dance Group, and more. 

So after a long night of traveling to Richmond, and then a 2.5 hour trip to Durham, I made it at 11:30AM. I met my Dorm Counselor Intern, also named Olivia and got my room key and card. Then after unpacking into Randolph Hall I met my roommate, Emma, who goes to VCU! How cool! My old dream school. We got to Epworth Hall for our orientation. There are 18 Dorm Counselors here and we were the lucky few out of the 600+ applicants to get the positions! We are really lucky and I am truly blessed to be one of those lucy individuals! 






After orientation, we walked back and Emma and I decided to do some errands, so we went to Whole Foods, The Gas Station, Dollar General, and the bank. When we got back we unpacked some things and chilled for a bit. Then around 7:00PM we took a tour of the campus with Olivia. She showed us the basic outlines of buildings that would be of importance to us. Duke is a beautiful campus. The buildings all seem to match one another and the general design and style of the buildings and open space are so nice. At the end of our tour we ended up walking to this little cute mexican place called Cosmic Cantina. They had really cheap, REALLY good mexican food. I got a chicken burrito and a Dos Equis and I was in heaven! It did take forever to get our food, however to be fair 20 people walked in with 2 guys working simultaneously. It was great bonding with all of the other counselors today, especially my newfound roommate Emma! I also met another counselor who also goes to VCU named Christina- who happens to remember me from ACDFA at JMU! I am already really excited about my experiences that I am about to embark on at this festival and I have literally not even stepped into the dance world yet. 


I will be posting more information and updates as the time comes, but sorry if some of my blogs become super detailed and boring-I am using this as a recorder for my events here at ADF so I will be adding as much detail as I see fit. Anyways, I have had a long few days of preparing and traveling so until tomorrow- goodnight! Tootles :)