Open Adult Intermediate/Advanced Contemporary Release
Summer Session: June 22 — August 10 August 31!
Saturdays 11-12:30 PM
Teacher on 8/10: NICHELE WOODS
About Class: Class is intended for Professional and Pre-Professional Contemporary Dancers. We call it Int/Adv because it is taught with the assumption that dancers are in different places in their careers, and with the intention of providing space for emerging and seasoned artists alike to experience agency and choice-making that honors their personal and professional needs.
When: 11:00-12:30 PM
Where: Performing Dance Center: 3310 S 2700 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84109
Cost: Venmo, check, and cash are accepted
Drop-Ins: $12
5 class cards: $50
Special Sliding Scale Rate: For those in financial need, a sliding scale is available of $8-12. No questions asked.
Work Study: Work Study will be offered for one to two people each season. Work Study is intended for those in financial need who intend to take classes regularly. Please contact Nichele if you are interested in this opportunity.
Logistics: Preregistration is not required. Please arrive early to complete payment and sign liability waivers. Class will start and end right on time! New-to-class dancers, please allow at least 10 minutes to complete paperwork and settle in.
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Class Description: Nichele’s (she/her; MFA) classes pull from Postmodern dance aesthetics, release technique, yoga, her studies in Body-Mind Centering®, improvisational methods, and myriad teaching styles and methodologies that have resonated with her over the years. As a fusion of classical, somatic, and experimental forms, this class can be considered “Contemporary Release,” or perhaps, “Post- Post-Modern.”
Class begins with a guided, experiential warm-up often incorporating improvisation and exercises that strengthen the body and aim to expand internal awareness, connectivity, and the mover’s sense of space and gravity. Center exercises focus on safe alignment and articulation for greater expression, while getting off the central axis and drawing upon earlier concepts and explorations in a formal, organized structure. Class usually finishes with sequences of movement that move dynamically across the expanse of the room, and occasionally time will be left to dance a longer combination of learned material. In short, we will strengthen our bodies, play, build internal and external awareness, and practice self-care and full embodiment simultaneously, whatever that means to the individual.
Although the “how” behind movement material is given, this class is “advanced” in the way that it focuses less on the how of movement mechanics and more on the qualities one might play with inside of their multifaceted experience. This class is “intermediate” in the way it also aims to break down complexity through discussion and workshopping, as needed, and I hope that dancers can navigate the material and get something from it whatever their experience level. I am always happy to discuss movement mechanics in more depth if desired, although sometimes this needs to happen after class. This class also requires a certain degree of strength in the core, upper body/shoulders, and in the hips. For all dancers: please always take care of yourself—modify or step out if the material asks more of your body than you are ready to experience in the moment.
For Nichele’s teaching resume, go here.