Movement Matters in-person class outside

Wednesday, May 19, 2021 at 4:30pm
MAC Plaza

Sign up to attend an improvisation class with dance faculty members. Meet at the MAC plaza, please wear shoes you can wear in the grass. Maximum of 70 participants. Contact dance@middlebury.edu with questions.

Improvisation Showing

Monday, May 10, 2021 at 1:30pm

Mahaney Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre

An ensemble of dancers and musicians demonstrates the ability to compose engaging and coherent pieces “in the moment” after a semester-long study of improvisation as a performing art, facilitated by Laurel Jenkins, Ron Rost, and Deborah Felmeth. Free. Attendance is limited by capacity, register here to reserve your spot. The showing will also be live streamed to the Dance Program Youtube channel. Image: Laurel Jenkins

Memory Map

Wed. May 12th at 5:00 pm

Join us on Zoom for a dance film by Maia June Sauer, followed by a short question and answer period about the work. REGISTER HERE

Filmed by Sam Kann

Independent study with Professor Lida Winfield

Sponsored by The Dance Department

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This film is a love poem to my body and the memories it holds. 

 It asks: how do our bodies store and process our life experiences? And, how does our culture of boundaries and borders limit their fullest expression? 

 Crafted from personal memories of home and belonging, the work also draws inspiration from a selection of contemporary queer indigenous poetry by Natalie Diaz, Tommy Pico, and Jake Skeets. I’m interested in how we wrestle with and perhaps find comfort in our in-between-ness—the intersections of coexisting and conflicting identities. Sharing my own experience through movement, I offer a moment to question: What are the containers, or places of holding, that we can create to offer ourselves solace and space for understanding? What if we slowed down, played along the edges, and honored the stories our bodies have been trying to tell us?

NEW DATE and TIME!

Monday April 19, 2021 at 7:45pm and 8:30pm
Battell Beach tent

Each of the twelve Dance Company of Middlebury members present nine short works at night in projections and portable lights. Free, limited audience capacity, so register here to reserve an in-person spot. The performance will be available to view on the MiddDance Youtube channel. Sponsored by the Dance Program

Thursday and Friday, May 6 and  7, 2021 at 7:30pm
Mahaney Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre

This dynamic evening of ideas in motion showcases choreography by emerging student dance artists. The evening is directed by Scholar in Residence Karima Borni in collaboration with the student choreographers. Free. Attendance is limited by capacity, register here to reserve your spot. The showing will also be live streamed to the Dance Program Youtube channel. Image credit: Graham Shelor

Movement Matters Master Class with the Illustrious Blacks online

Wednesday, April 14, 2021 at 4:30pm

In a discussion format, The Illustrious Blacks share elements of their process for constructing performance during the year of quarantine. With focus on the foundation (video, sound, costuming, set exploration in the 90's) of their tool box for virtual performance they offer ways to exercise the muscle for creating virtual performance. Free, open to all experience levels. A virtual event sponsored by the Dance Program. Please pre-register here to receive the Zoom link

Friday, April 2, 2021

7:30pm, live Q and A to follow

Same but Different is a collaborative duet between Middlebury dance faculty Christal Brown and Lida Winfield, exploring their similarities and differences in a cultural commentary on race, age, and gender. 42 years young and recently orphaned, Lida grew up in the North, Christal grew up in the South, both of them grew up inhabiting small towns. Lida is white, Christal is black. As children, Christal was considered a genius and Lida was labeled dumb. At this point in their lives, Lida and Christal have both lived the rigors of being artists, professors, educators, and survivors of life.

Collaborators:
Composers: Philippe Bronchtein and Farai Malianga

Director of Photography: Sam Kann
Assistant 
Camera: Matteo Moretti
Dramaturg: Michole Biancosino

Lighting designer: Jennifer Ponder

Costume design: Carol Wood

 Trailer: https://vimeo.com/503971081

Same but Different will feature a Q & A with the artists following the broadcast, and the program will remain available to watch on demand for one week (through 04/09/2021). Preregister for free or visit our Digital Stages starting Friday, April 2 at 7:30 PM.

Same but Different was produced by the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, with support from the National Performance Network and the Middlebury Performing Arts Series.

Movement Matters Master Class with Samantha Goodman online

Wednesday, March 31, 2021 at 4:30pm

Goodman offers a master class in Attuned Movement, followed by a dance party! ATTUNED MOVEMENT explores the intersections of contemporary release based movement and traditional Afro Diasporic dance. This approach dives into uses of the spine, hips, and pelvis, as well as ideas of embodiment and energy flow essential to these practices. Samantha Blake Goodman is a Los Angeles based  interdisciplinary creative. As a choreographer and  founder of MAPS ( Movement Arts Performance Space ), she curates unique experiences dedicated to cultivating the contemporary and traditional arts of the Afro-Latinx and Caribbean diaspora in Los Angeles. Film Program for RBMA and mUsic Center. Her choreographic work has been shown at the Getty Museum, ICA LA, Navel, REDCAT Theater,  Fowler Museum, Western Arts Alliance, MOCA’s online screen program, Trapos Sucios ( Mexico City ). Samantha holds an MFA of Dance from UCLA and studied dance and choreography at the Escola de Dança da FUNCEB in Salvador, Bahia Brazil. Free, open to all experience levels. A virtual event sponsored by the Dance Program. Please pre-register here to receive the Zoom link.

“What holds you? on loop”

performed by the Dance Company of Middlebury

Friday, March 26,, 2021, from 7:30-9:00 pm 

MAC Dance Theater

The Dance Company of Middlebury (DCM) invites you to their first performance of spring ‘21. “What holds you? on loop” is an original installation submerging the audience and performers in layers of movement, text, projection, sound, and costume. Blending set material and improvisation, DCM will create a unique piece for each of four time slots at 7:30, 7:50, 8:10, and 8:30 pm. The work is performed by: Akwasi Agyeman, Lí Buzzard, John Cambefort, Bobbi Finkelstein, Rena Gao, Sam Kann, Hannah Laga Abram, Kevin Park, Graham Shelor, Kaila Thomas, Liv Weisel, and Chloe Zinn. A live sound score will be performed by Deborah Felmeth and Ron Rost. This year, the Dance Company of Middlebury is directed by Assistant Professor of Dance Laurel Jenkins with guest artists Maria Garcia (LA), Meena Murugesan (LA), and David Thomson (NYC). Free, in-person attendance will be limited by capacity, so reserve your viewing slot here. Sponsored by the Dance Program. The performance will also be live streamed on the MiddDance Youtube channel here.

Please note, the performance includes saturated colored lights and projections, including rapidly flashing lights and flickering images. 

Movement Matters Master Class with Aysha Upchurch online

Wednesday, March 24, 2021 at 4:30pm

Re-membering Movement, Embodying Liberation

Oppression hurts every (single) body -- holding us to an impossible script of what bodies, body parts, and movement styles are acceptable and privileged or marginalized and policed. Aysha Upchurch will lead a workshop that invites folks to reconnect and reintegrate the link between mind/body and identity/liberation, disentangled from the damaging effects of colonization.  We will be unpacking and inviting new ways to frame the body and movement through lecture, discussion, and embodied exploration.  Upchurch's movement is informed by African diaspora and often combines with spoken word to engage, entertain, and empower audiences. Free, open to all experience levels. A virtual event sponsored by the Dance Program. Please pre-register here to receive the Zoom link.

Framing A Practice 
Friday, November 13, 2020 – 5:00PM
MAC Plaza Tent and live streamed online

Artists all over the world are reimagining performance due to the pandemic and The Black Live Matter Movement. In this context, we present a live stream event showcasing students’ unique movement practice. Students will perform original dances live or via pre-recorded video from the dance theatre. Limited seating in the MAC Plaza tent is available to view the stream, hot drinks will be served!. Reservation form for tent seating. Link to the livestream. Part of the “Light Up the Night” Fall Arts Fest, throughout November 2020: student-focused, student-led arts and cultural activities taking place all over campus.

Online Premier:

January 30, 2021 at 7:00PM
live post-performance discussion on opening night only!

available through February 6, 2021, see below for details.

Purchase $20 tickets here

"Same but Different" is a collaboration between Christal Brown and Lida Winfield, exploring their similarities and differences in a cultural commentary on race, age, and gender. 42 years young and recently orphaned, Lida grew up in the North, Christal grew up in the South, both of them grew up inhabiting small towns. Lida is white, Christal is black. As children, Christal was considered a genius and Lida was labeled dumb. At this point in their lives, Lida and Christal have both lived the rigors of being artists, professors, educators, and survivors of life. Presented by the Flynn and the Middlebury College Performing Arts Series.

Collaborators
Composers: Philippe Bronchtein and Farai Malianga
Director of photography: Sam Kann
Assistant camera: Matteo Moretti
Dramaturg: Michole Biancosino
Lighting designer: Jennifer Ponder
Costume design: Carol Wood

The pre-taped show premieres January 30th at 7:00 pm EST and is available through February 6th. Tickets can be purchased and redeemed any time within that period. After purchase, the content will be available for viewing in the digital content section of your Flynn online account.  Christal and Lida will hold a LIVE post-show discussion that is open to all viewers on opening night at the 7:00 pm performance.

December 4, 2020 at 7pm PST (10pm EST)
and
December 5, 2020 5pm PST (8pm EST)

GOLD SERIES No. 3 by GOLD COLLECTIVE featuring Laurel Jenkins

Location: Gold Collective Virtual Studio on Core to Coeur

https://www.coretocoeur.com/app/teacher/3124/profile and click “count me in!”

https://www.facebook.com/events/1264169763957589/

suggested sliding scale donation $0-20

The Gold Series is an experimental dance event curated by Gold Collective on a Live Stream this December.  The Gold Series brings together performances that address the ever-changing ideas and themes of “gold.”  This year focuses on the mischievous duality gold presents in our modern world.  Gold Series No. 3 will feature a mix of original dance works by the Gold Collective and guest artists Laurel Jenkins (VT) with collaborators Jesse Fleming (NE) and Lewis Pesacov (CA), Keith Johnson (CA), Justin Morris//Steve Rosa (CA), and d.v. wickremesinghe (CA/NY). 

Embodied Happenings
Dance Company of Middlebury, 2021

What: Dance Company of Middlebury (DCM)
Where: Remote J-Term and In-Person Spring, MAC Dance Theater, at Middlebury College
When: J-Term and Spring Semesters, 2021
Who: This year, DCM is open to freshmen through seniors deeply interested in the practice of dancing. Participants must participate in both semesters and be on campus this Spring.
How: To apply, write a one-page letter of intent that describes your history as a mover/artist and your specific interest in joining DCM 2021. Send this to Assistant Professor of Dance, Laurel Jenkins laurelj@middlebury.edu no later than Friday, November 13^th.

The Dance Company of Middlebury (DCM) is a credit-bearing course, open by application this year to freshmen through seniors. DCM requires two semesters (J-Term and Spring) of participation for two academic credits. In the Spring, DCM meets in person M-Th afternoons.

This year 2021, DCM will be directed by Assistant Professor and Chair of Dance, Laurel Jenkins, with renowned guest artists who specialize in performance, media arts, costume design, and arts administration. Laurel Jenkins is a dancer and choreographer involved in interdisciplinary dialogues in the realms of contemporary dance, opera, music, and theater. She engages with the choreographic process as a radical space for reimagining our collective human experience. See http://www.laureljenkins.com/ for more information.

We live in a time of deep change, disruption, and uncertainty that demands innovation and collaboration across our differences. “Embodied Happenings” is a training immersion program involving Middlebury students in the collective process of making original performance work with working professionals. Our remote J-Term will focus on intensive research with the guest artists to articulate our collective questions, devise strategies for dance making, building solo and group phrase material, constructing costumes, and making media collages to be used for performance projections. The Spring will involve continued work with the guest artists as we engage in intensive physical training, choreographic development, and performing. In the Spring, DCM participants will create a number of site-specific performances and virtual events to infuse the campus with Embodied Happenings. We will create performance happenings for the Dance Theater and throughout campus. Some performances will travel across campus, some will utilize projection at night, some will involve costume, duration, and storytelling. Our aim is to invent multiple performance modalities and tour our work across campus this spring. 

Monday, November 9, 2020 – 4:30PM
MAC Plaza Tent
Dance meeting

Note new date! Join the dance faculty and your community for an in-person review of our upcoming opportunities: Dance Company of Middlebury, sharing your movement practice, and the curricular plans for January and spring. We are brainstorming for the spring Movement Matters series, so bring your ideas, we’d love to hear from you. Limited to 25 folks who are allowed on campus, sign up here.

Call for solos, duets, and trios!

We want to share your unique movement practice during a special performance opportunity on Friday, November 13, at 5:00pm. You will perform for a remote audience live from the MAC Dance Theatre in collaboration with lighting designer Jennifer Ponder (5 min time limit), or remotely via pre-recorded video submission (3 min time limit). All bodies, dances, styles and abilities welcome. Open to anyone who has taken a dance course at Middlebury, majors and minors strongly encouraged to apply, feel free to pass this on. For more information contact laurelj@middlebury.edu

• 10 performance spaces are available. 
• Submit a 30 second video introducing yourself and showing your work in progress to the open call submissions folder.    
• Application deadline is Monday, Oct. 26 at 2:30pm

Monday, October 26, 2020 – 4:30PM-5:30PM
Movement Matters Master Class with Kari Borni
Mahaney Arts Center, Plaza Tent            

Kari Borni leads an outdoor movement class in collaboration with musicians Deborah Felmeth and Ron Rost. Come in shoes and clothing that allows you to dance in the grass. All bodies and abilities welcome, face coverings are required. Free, space is limited to those allowed on campus, sign up here. Photo by Peter Sergay. Contact dance@middlebury.edu with any questions.

Monday, October 19 + 26, 2020 - 4:30

Movement Matters Weekly Classes

Mahaney Arts Center, Plaza Tent

Every Monday this semester we are happy to offer Improvisational dance classes led by one of our faculty and musically accompanied by Ron Rost and Deborah Felmeth. Classes are open only to students on-campus. We welcome all bodies and abilities to join us! It is recommended to come in clothes that allow you to dance in the grass and please wear your mask. Spots are limited, sign-ups will be posted on our Facebook and Instagram (@dancemidd) or contact Jenn Ponder (ponder@middlebury.edu) for more informtion. Excited to have you with us! [Photo by Peter Sergay]