As a teacher I am fascinated by where movement comes from (especially in the realm of contemporary dance practices). Utilizing elements of classic Modern Techniques (Limon, Cunningham, etc.), David Zambrano’s flying low technique, postmodern techniques, improvisational practices, and a current practice in house dance, my class fuses elements that I value in a performer: fluidity, dynamic energy, rhythmic acuity, and full-bodied awareness. We will start with a floor-based warm-up through a series of exercises to cultivate strength, flexibility, and spatial awareness. As the class progresses we will work through three-dimensional pathways, moving through space and in and out of the floor. There will be some center work, heart-pounding cardio, and rhythmic across the floor. The class will culminate in a final phrase of movement incorporating all the material from class. We will aim for movement in its fullest embodied potential, while remembering joy as our primary directive.

Megan Mazarick is a Philadelphia-based choreographer and performer known for blending movement, theater, and text. Her choreographic style is an exploration of identity and the human experience, often weaving personal narratives into her performances. Her work has been presented throughout the United States and in Singapore, Bulgaria, Hungary, Egypt, Poland, Mexico, and Australia. Megan’s solo old swan won the Audience Award at the 2022 Gdansk Solo Dance Festival, and she was selected as a resident artist at the 2024 festival. She has received support from an Independence Fellowship, Live Arts Brewery Residency, Map Fund, and various American embassies abroad. As an organizer, she developed a free dance program for the new Festival and co-produced the By Chance Festival in Cairo in 2015. She has performed with Merian Soto, David Gordon, Silvana Cardell, Susan Rethorst, and Black Box Dance Theater. She has taught technique, improvisation, and composition in festivals and universities around the world. Megan is currently an Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Dance at Rider University in NJ.