Cunningham Technique

In this Modern class, we will explore the technique of Merce Cunningham. The standing warm-up begins with multi-planal exercises for the spine, moving into fast footwork and longer sequences in the center. Mistakes are highly encouraged and the exercises can be adapted to accommodate remote learning in any space.

Artist BIo

Paige Cunningham-Caldarella is a dance educator, choreographer, performer, and was an Associate Professor of Dance at Columbia College Chicago where she taught modern and contemporary dance techniques, ballet, dance pedagogy, and performance based classes. Cunningham-Caldarella has been awarded a Chicago Dancemakers Forum grant, DCASE Individual Artist grants, and a Teaching Excellence Award from Columbia College. As a performer with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, she toured both nationally and internationally, and has worked with The Seldoms, Colleen Halloran Performance Group, Darrell Jones, Timothy Buckley, and Onye Ozuzu among others. She holds a B.F.A. from the Juilliard School and an M.F.A. from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Akram Khan Workshop

Beginning with a warm-up developed through Akram’s movement vocabulary, participants will be able to explore exercises and tasks focusing on rhythm, speed, cycles and silence. The workshop will develop into learning choreographic phrases from AKC Repertoire. Taught by company member, Lani Yaminaka

Artist BIo

Inspired by Akram Khan’s early training in the Indian classical dance form Kathak, and the hybrid language that organically emerged when Akram’s kathak training encountered contemporary dance in his teens, a vision began to form, fuelled by a desire to learn and create through collaboration with the very best people across all the disciplines in the arts.

The rules were simple: take risks, think big and daring, explore the unfamiliar, avoid compromise and tell stories through dance that are compelling and relevant, with artistic integrity.

Lani Yaminaka grew up in San Diego where she honed her technical skills in Dance while training and competing nationally in Judo, Lani Yamanaka graduated from UC Irvine with BFAs in Dance Performance and Choreography and had the honor of working closely with the late Donald McKayle, whom she continues to draw inspiration from.

She was in the original cast of Pearl, directed and choreographed by Daniel Ezralow, which premiered at Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theatre. She was a Company Dancer with Entity Contemporary Dance, co-founded by Will Johnston and Marissa Osato Moreno, for 3 seasons before joining ODC Dance Company in San Francisco. After 2 seasons she felt the urge to discover more versatility and joined the cast of Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise, a multimedia production designed for The Shed NYC, by award winning director Chen Shi-Zheng. She worked as Dance Captain with choreographer Akram Khan, and assistant choreographer, Joy Alpuerto Ritter to manipulate movement while coordinating with Martial Arts choreographer Zhang Jun, and Aerial Director Lisa Giobbi.

Before Covid-19 lockdown she spent 5 weeks in Dhaka, Bangladesh with Akram Khan Company training 25 local dancers and ultimately performing Father: Vision of the Floating World. A piece featured in MOVE, a dance doc-series by Falabracks on Netflix.

Contemporary Jazz

Hanna's Contemp Jazz combines jazz precision with contemporary grooves to create a unique style. Technique forward warm up, combining improvisational tools into combination work makes this high energy class complete. Learn a variety of styles, speeds, and musicality with Hanna, like no other. From the heart, this passion filled power class, will challenge you and inspire you.

Artist BIo

Ms. Brictson grew up training outside of Chicago. Just after graduating high school in 2004, Hanna was offered a company position dancing for River North Dance Chicago. Spending 12 years as a dancer with RNDC, Ms. Brictson was able to choreograph on the company and be rehearsal director.
In 2016 Hanna joined Visceral Dance Chicago, where she danced and rehearsal directed for another two years. Hanna has taught all over the world and choreographed throughout the country. Her work can be seen on Professional dance companies nationwide, along with television, universities, and competitive dance studios. Recognition for her craft has been shared in Dance Magazine on two separate occasions, along with a Princess Grace Dancer Nominee and Choreographic Nominee. She also has spent the last few years creating a dance and fitness program that fuses ballet, yoga, and personal training together, called BalleX.
From Workouts, to choreographing, she continues to grow and share her passions for dance.

Dunham Technique | Vershawn Sanders-Ward

Dunham Technique is a vibrant African American dance form that engages the body, mind and spirit! Created by dance pioneer Katherine Dunham, the technique is informed by the traditional dances of the African Diaspora, as well as by modern and ballet. Dunham Technique creates strong, dynamic dancers who embody rhythm and grace. Classes will offer a variety of experiences, including breathing, isolations, floor work, barre work and progressions. In this beginner class, dancers will learn the foundational movement of the Dunham Technique.

Artist BIo

Vershawn Sanders-Ward holds an MFA in Dance from New York University and is the first recipient of BFA in Dance from Columbia College Chicago (Gates Millennium Scholar.) She is the Founding Artistic Director and CEO of Red Clay Dance Company and is currently a candidate for Dunham Technique Certification. Sanders-Ward is a 2022 Dance/USA Artist Fellow, 2019 Chicago Dancemakers Forum Awardee, a 2019 Harvard Business School Club of Chicago Scholar, a 2017 Dance/USA Leadership Fellow, a 2013 3Arts awardee, and a 2009 Choreography Award from Harlem Stage NYC. In 2015, 2018 and 2020, NewCity Magazine selected Ward as one of the “Players 50, People Who Really Perform for Chicago”.

Her choreography has been presented in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, The Yard at Martha’s Vineyard, and internationally in Toronto, Dakar and Kampala. Vershawn is currently on faculty at Loyola University Chicago in the Fine and Performing Arts Department and has received choreographic commissions from Columbia College Chicago, Northwestern University, Knox College, AS220, and the National Theatre in Uganda. Her upcoming site-inspired choreographic project, Rest.Rise.Move.Nourish.Heal which is set to premiere June 2023 was selected for a 2021 National Dance Project Award from NEFA with additional support from the NEA.

As an arts advocate, she serves on the Board of Trustees for Dance/USA as well as the Board of Directors for the African American Arts Alliance of Chicago. Vershawn was selected to attend the inaugural Obama Foundation Summit for Emerging Global Leaders and has had the pleasure of gracing the cover of the Chicago Reader and  DEMO, Columbia College Chicago’s Alumni Magazine.

Hubbard Street Contemporary Repertory

This class is geared to those who are interested in learning choreography from one of Chicago's pivotal dance companies, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Each week, students will experience a contemporary-based warm up followed by phrase work from Hubbard Street’s current repertory, led by a rotating roster of teachers including: Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell (Artistic Director), Jessica Tong (Associate Director), Jonathan Alsberry (Rehearsal Director), and Kevin Shannon (HSDC Dancer). Students will develop the way they learn & remember material and translate it to a performative mode. They will also gain insight into the broader context for each work and the company's creative process. 

Artist BIo

The mission of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago is to bring artists, art, and audiences together to enrich, engage, educate, and change lives through the experience of dance.

For 45 years, Hubbard Street has been one of the most original forces in contemporary dance – bringing top choreographers and works to Chicago and beyond. Hubbard Street’s ever-evolving repertory, created by today’s leading choreographic voices, makes us a company that dancers aspire to join and performance venues all over the world are eager to present. To date, the main company has performed globally in 19 countries and 44 US states.

At home in Chicago, Hubbard Street performs 20 times a year and delivers renowned education programs in 50 classrooms across 17 Chicagoland schools. HSDC Education utilizes the choreographic process to teach essential problem-solving skills, creativity, and collaboration - expanding our reach beyond traditional concert dance audiences, ensuring that everyone has access to world-class dance and instruction.

Contemporary

GET YOUR ASS TO CLASS! This hour is designed for us to break a sweat, test our space + our aliveness, and practice with movement styles that straddle contemporary / modern forms with jazz + pop aesthetics.

Class will be interactive - there is space for questions, demonstration requests + brief post-dance chats. To start, I will lead us in an abbreviated warm up, building up to phrase work that moves in and out of the floor --- highlighting effort, athleticism, and musicality always with a strong soundtrack.

Artist BIo

Erin Kilmurray is a genre-straddling dance artist drawing on practices found in nightlife fulture, live performances, and space-making. Her work challenges the traditional relationships between performer and spectator through elctric, pop-fringe works that enlivens the body and its environment. Through facilitating her various dance practices, she is committed to relentlessly amplifying women, queer folks, the underground and the underdog.

She is a Links Hall Fellow (2022-2023), recognized on Newcity magazine’s 50 People Who Really Perform For Chicago (2023), and a Chicago Dancemakers Forum Lab Artist (2021-2020).

Erin is the director/choreographer of The Fly Honey Show — Called ‘Chicago Institution' by the Chicago Reader. Her current work, The Function, will premiere at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Fall 2022.

Contemporary Fusion

Diana's class will explore the dynamic fusion of controlled musicality and raw human expression. The class will begin with a guided warm-up, followed by the exploration of a choreographed phrase. Throughout the class, the students will have the opportunity to develop their own artistic voices while honing in on specific musicality and details. This class will provide an opportunity to move with others within the community, near and far, sharing in passion, dance, and expression.

ARTIST BIO

Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, Diana Schoenfield is a choreographer, dancer, and educator currently based in Los Angeles, California. Through a dynamic fusion of contemporary dance styles, her work explores human connection, vulnerability, and emotional tension. This past December, Diana danced in the world premier of Cirque du Soleil’s ’Twas the Night Before Holiday Spectacular in Chicago and New York, choreographed by Vinh Nguyen. Diana has recently performed with pop artist Sofia Reyes, as well as toured throughout Europe with German artist Helene Fischer. She is an ninth-year member of Entity Contemporary Dance, directed by Marissa Osato and Will Johnston. Graduating from the University of California, Irvine, she earned her B.F.A. in Dance Choreography and a B.F.A. in Dance Performance. During her undergraduate years, she worked with Modern Dance legend Donald McKayle, as a member of his repertory company Etude Ensemble. After graduating, Diana joined Hip Hop Dance company Culture Shock LA, performing in urban dance productions throughout the west coast. She has choreographed for French artist Johnny Hallyday, as well as American artists Niki and Gabi Demartino, Shane Dawson, Trisha Paytas, Joey Graceffa, Luke Conard, and Jake Coco. Diana has also presented original works in the Laguna Beach Festival of the Arts, McCallum Choreography Festival, TEDxOrange Coast,TEDxUCSD, Capezio A.C.E. Awards, and Arena Dance Competition LA. She currently teaches at Movement Lifestyle and Edge Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles. As her immense passion for teaching continues, Diana is dedicated to spreading positivity, empowerment, and creativity through dance education.

Graham Technique

Contraction and Release, two principal actions of Martha Graham technique will be explored throughout the whole class. The class will begin with a series of the floor exercises to practice the control of your core muscles, pelvis and back to prepare for more complex movements later. Next, we will move on to the standing work: focusing on using the gravity to sustain balance while strengthening the use of the torso, the extremities, and challenging weight changes that define the Graham vocabulary.

Artist BIo

Described as “one of the greatest living modern dancers” . Ms Chien-Pott has been honored with the POSITANO PREMIA LA DANZA “LEONIDE MASSINE” 2014 for “Most Outstanding Female Dancer on the Contemporary Scene” and named one of the”Best Performers of the Year” by Wendy Perron of the Dance Magazine in 2014 and 2017. Ms. Chien- Pott was one of the honorees of the “Women‘s History Month” 2015 in Hudson County. In 2017, She received a prestigious Bessie Award for “Outstanding Performer” in Dance and Outstanding Alumni Award from Taipei National University of the Arts. In addition, Ms. Chien- Pott is honored with “People of the Year” in 2017 by PAR Performing Arts Forum of Taiwan and “Outstanding Dance Artist Award” from the government in Taiwan. In 2018, Ms. Chien-Pott received Capri International Award in Dance, and she is selected as a “Outstanding Elite” in Performing Arts by The Generation T List of Asia Tatler in both 2018 and 2019. In 2019, Ms Chien-Pott is selected as Ten Outstanding Young Persons of Taiwan by Junior Chamber International. On April 16, 2019, Ms Chien-Pott was one of the 25 artists invited to perform at the Merce Cunningham’s centennial celebration at the BAM in New York City. Ms. Chien-Pott has taught for major institutions including Duke University, Martha Graham Dance School, School of Nimbus, Taipei National University of the Arts, Ballet Forte, Rutgers, Zhengzhou Institute of Technology & more.

Contemporary

Artist BIo

Rudy Abreu is originally from Miami, FL, where he received his early dance training under the direction of Manny and Lory Castro. Rudy went on to perform on various reality TV shows including Paula Abdul’s “Live to Dance”, “America’s Got Talent”, and at the age of 18, after placing in the top 8 of the hit tv show, “So You Think You Can Dance”, performed on a 77 city tour around the US and Canada with the “So You Think You Can Dance” tour. 

Rudy immediately relocated to LA and began his professional career. Some of Rudy’s dance and choreography credits include Jennifer Lopez, Derek and Julianne Hough, Bebe Rexha,  Ben Platt, Camilla Cabello, Leona Lewis, Little Mix, Jacky Cheung and Jolin Tsai. Rudy founded and is currently directing both his all male company “Embodiment The Collective” and all female company “RAdiance Dance Company” which have both been featured on NBC’s “World of Dance” and just recently premiered their first ever full length work entitled “The Overthinker”. 

Rudy continues to educate and connect with dancers all over the country touring with BTF’s JUMP dance convention. Abreu also teaches at several professional studios in Los Angeles including Millennium Dance Complex, Edge Performing Arts Center and Movement Lifestyle. 

Contemporary

Brandon’s contemporary class will start with a 20 minute warm up and finish with 40 minutes of phrase work. Brandons class utilizes large and expansive movement (for small spaces) and emphasizes the importance of dynamics and musicality.

Artist BIo

BRANDON COLEMAN is a NYC based performer from Katy, TX and is a graduate of the University of Arizona, where he received his BFA in Dance and BA in Communication with a minor in Arts Administration.

Formerly a member of Visceral Dance Chicago, Coleman has also worked with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago as a guest artist for their 2017 Summer Series. Since moving to NYC in 2017, Brandon has danced with KEIGWIN + COMPANY, the Metropolitan Opera ballet, VIM VIGOR Dance Company and is currently a performer at SLEEP NO MORE.

As a teacher, Brandon has taught across the country in major cities such as NYC, Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. Brandon has been on faculty with Visceral Dance Center in Chicago, IL and Inspire School of Dance in Naperville, IL but is a regular guest teacher at Hubbard Street Dance Center, Millennium Dance Complex LV, and METdance Center. Brandon now teaches a regular Contemporary Forms class at Gibney Dance Center in NYC. Currently working as a guest teacher for a variety workshops and intensives across North America, Brandon's class revolves around movement quality and a positive learning environment. Find more about Brandon at www.BrandonColemanDance.com or on instagram @itsBrandonColeman

Floorwork Flow

Hyper-dynamic movement defined by musicality and rhythm allows the body to experience the challenges and sensations of various qualities. Grounded in floorwork and highly physical phrase work this technique places emphasis on momentum and attack of the movement. Int/Adv levels recommended.

Artist BIo

Influenced by cultural past and present, LAJAMARTIN aspire to create engaging live performance. Grounded in relatable themes, LM rides into imagination where anything is possible. From floor to air, a variety of dynamic movement defined by musicality and rhythm crafts the vocabulary that embodies the work’s intention. Originally composed music immerses the viewer into a specific cinematic environment from where the journeys are then limitless. Experiencing the impact of live performance that can invoke a freeing feeling of wonder is the main purpose of  LAJAMARTIN’s work.