WINTER/SPRING
Workshops, Masterclasses,
& Community Classes
January 8–May 5, 2024
Somatic Dimensions:
Embodiment Laboratory
with Ray Eliot Schwartz
Saturdays at 3:00–6:00 pm (2 classes)
February 17
April 27
$25 Drop-in
About the Workshop
The hallmark of a somatic approach is to cultivate trust in experience so that we may develop and own the tools for personal agency and choice-making. The material we will explore is designed to contribute to expanding the range of conscious sensation while moving, thus leading to an increase in qualitative choice in dancing and everyday life.
The class will include guided forms, cues for embodied inquiry, and invitations to explore moving alone and together. Inspirations gleaned from Body Mind Centering® and the Feldenkrais Method®, along with other Somatic Movement Education methodologies will form the foundation of the approach. While no previous movement training is required, the sessions will be geared towards people who enjoy taking time to attend to corporal impulse and enjoy both precise forms and improvisational movement explorations.
Dabke
with Yaa Samar! Dance Theater
Monday 4:30–6:00 pm
April 8
FREE
In partnership with Duke Arts
About the Workshop
Dabke is a Levantine folkloric dance traditionally used in cultural moments of celebration and resistance. YSDT Dabke classes blend contemporary dance and theater with traditional Dabke tools (rhythm, footwork, unison movement etc.) to invite improvisation and play within the traditional form. This workshop starts with an anatomically mindful warm-up and builds skills including technique, strength, stamina, rhythm and improvisation. The practice of Dabke is inherently intertwined with social justice movements, and conversations around the use of dance and art in social justice movements will also be incorporated into the class time.
Ballet Barre For All Bodies
with Alyah Burnett-Baker
Monday 6:00–8:00 pm
May 6
FREE
In partnership with Duke Arts
About the Workshop
Ballet Barre For All Bodies re-imagines the dance class as a radically inclusive and supportive environment for a diverse range of movers. In the workshop, we will center the joy of dancing as we explore the traditional principles of ballet technique in a fun and affirming environment. Participants will have the opportunity to stretch, bend, balance, twirl, and soar while discovering the inner and outer strength and grace that ballet cultivates.
A variety of modifications will be offered to adapt class combinations for a wide range of abilities. Movers of all levels, backgrounds, and identities are welcome and encouraged to join. Participants should wear comfortable clothes, bare feet, socks or flat dance shoes.
SUMMER
Workshops, Masterclasses,
& Community Classes
May 20–September 8, 2024
Latin Dance Mini Series
with Betto Herrera from Mambo Dinamico
Fridays from 7–8 pm (4 classes)
May 17
May 24
May 31
June 7
$50 for 4 classes (individual)
$80 for 4 classes (couple – both must show up to class)
About the Workshop
Learn to dance to the rich percussion rhythms and melodies from Merengue, Bachata and Salsa, their deep history and heritage, and how these dances have survived and evolved through time.
Multi-Generational Camps
with Ronald K. Brown, Arcell Cabuag, and Gregory Hamilton
Monday, June 10–Friday, June 14
Day Camp: 12 pm–4 pm
$200/student
Evening Camp: 6–8:30 pm
$100/student
About the Day Camp
Ronald K. Brown (artistic director) and Arcell Cabuag (associate artistic director) of Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE, together with assistant Gregory Hamilton, facilitate master classes designed for intergenerational participants with a wide range of experience, from novice to advanced dancers. Classes will emphasize alignment, rhythm, and using the body to express ideas and themes of strength, prayer, and celebration. They will introduce participants to various dance techniques incorporated into the vocabulary of Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE, and also involve a text to movement aspect that allows participants to explore how to tell others’ stories through acting, movement, music, and performance.
Participants will learn repertory excerpts from Ronald K. Brown’s On Earth Together and can choose to perform with Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE at ADF on Tuesday, June 18, and/or Wednesday, June 19, at 7:30 pm. NO auditions are required for day camp participants.
Performing isn’t required to participate in the camp. Participants must attend tech rehearsal (day/time TBD) before the show if they choose to perform.
*Additional $50/household for early drop-off (8–8:30 am) and late pick-up (3:30–4 pm)
Each day, students will need:
- Comfortable, stretchy clothing that allows for a full range of movement.
- Bag lunch
- Water bottle
Scholarships for youth are available. More info:
About the Evening Camp
The audition on Sunday, June 9, 3–6 pm at ADF’s Scripps Studio is required for those who want to perform. Auditioning and/or performing is not required to participate in the camp.
Participants will learn repertory excerpts from Ronald K. Brown’s On Earth Together and can choose to perform with Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE at ADF on Tuesday, June 18, and/or Wednesday, June 19, at 7:30 pm.
Participants must attend tech rehearsal (day/time TBD) if chosen to perform.
Each day, students will need:
· Comfortable, stretchy clothing that allows for a full range of movement.
· Water bottle
Scholarships for youth are available. More info: https://americandancefestival.org/rates/
Samuel H. Scripps Studios
721 Broad Street
Durham, NC 27705
919-797-2871
jscullythurston@americandancefestival.org
We are located on the second floor, accessible by elevator or stairs. There is ample free parking (including two handicap parking spots) in the lot connected to our building.