Guest Choreographers
Natasha Korney
Dates: Feb 17, 24, Mar 3, 10, 17 & 24 - 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm - DJD
Workshop Info: An exploration of how one’s personal movement style can inform or be informed by the use of Jazz principles such as improvisation, connection to music, and sharing of vernacular. The goal is to find a new movement language or expression that meets halfway between what we already know and what we can learn from each other.
Photo credit: Noel Bégin
Jared Herring
Dates: Saturdays: Feb 25, Mar 4 & 11 - 1:45 pm to 2:45 pm- DJD
Workshop Info: Jared will explore the intersection between House dance, Contemporary movement and Capoeira floorwork. Dancers will navigate balletic forms through the groove of House into turns, movement in and out of the floor, technical foot patterns, jumps and fluid momentum chasing. Vocabulary will shift each week and balance itself to the dancers in the room.
Kyra Newton
Dates: Feb 25, Mar 4 & 11 - 1:45 pm to 2:45 pm - DJD
Workshop Info: Dance gets to be both pleasurable and fun. For these sessions, we will be focusing on the intersection between the physical form of contemporary dance and states of being. For example, the state of bliss - when everything is going well in your life, you feel confident, and your hopes are high - how can we blend this state of being with physical movement? For each session you will learn choreographed phrases of movement and explore improvisational concepts to create short dance pieces to discover what feels nourishing in your body. Each session will have a different focus providing you with a new entry point for inquiry.
Melanie Henderson Batycky
Dates: Mar 31, Apr 7 & 14 - 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm - DJD
Workshop Info: My workshops will be an exploration of contemporary ballet as well as abstract movement qualities that express human emotions. The movement style that I am investigating moves us toward the connection to our higher self through contemporary ballet, movement and classical music. Do we come closer to our true selves through movement and peeling away the layers that surround us as dancers and as humans? Can we express and heal ourselves by letting go of deep emotion through dance? The level of the workshops is intermediate to advanced ballet-trained dancers.
Barbara England
Dates: Apr 21, 28 & May 5th - 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm - DJD
Workshop Info: During the Ballet Bodies YYC choreographic workshops, Barbara plans to develop phrases that merge contemporary vocabulary with physical theatre…and whatever you bring! Clear as mud? In short, we’ll generate movement qualities through improvisation, learn specific movement vocabulary, and then see what happens when we f#*k with various elements. All levels are encouraged to attend, and everyone can expect to have a good time (and maybe even sweat a bit!)
Luciana Fortes
Dates: Saturdays, Apr 8, 15 & 22 - 1:45 pm to 2:45 pm - DJD
Workshop Info: In my workshop, expect to play, laugh, do lots of gestures, and obviously, MOVE! I like to start with a warm-up and do some exercises to get the jitters out. Then, you will learn some movement and then get to twist it, distort it, and basically make it your own! Some of the exercises will be individual, and some in pairs. You will have a chance to personalize the movement according to your personality and story. And, of course, we always end with a mini-sharing session. Dancers of all levels and styles are welcome :)
Daniela Erewa
Dates: Saturdays, Apr 29, May 6 & 13 - 1:45 pm to 2:45 pm - DJD
Workshop Info: Commercial Movement Workshop -If you want to experience a different way of moving with new and relevant music. Forming new muscular, neural and emotional connections, this space is for you. Dancers who want to explore beyond what they know, willing to expose themselves and feel vulnerable, this is the space. Taking this course will benefit you to find yourself again as a dancer, maybe to know a part of you that you did not know and to grow. You will learn to move differently, think differently and feel different. We will work with the style of each person individually while working as a team. The choreography will be made up of formations, visual ideas and aesthetics, as well as floor work and rapid movements. Are you ready?
Graham Mckelvie
Dates: Fridays: May 12, 19, 26 & Jun 2 - 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm / Saturdays: May 20 & 27 1:45 pm to 2:45 pm - DJD
Workshop Info: For my time with Ballet Bodies YYC I want to explore the communicative potential in gestures. Gestures are a thing we see every day and we take them for granted, almost unseen but completely understood. There is grace or insistence, forcefulness and surrender, inherent in movement that occurs spontaneously in every person. They are genuine and authentic to the doer and reflect nuances in the personality. We will explore ascribing meaning to gestures and, conversely, divesting gestures of meaning. We will construct and deconstruct. Open to any who are curious!