Dance

In this workshop we will explore how embodied communication with equines informs our movement choices and cultivates heightened spatial awareness and clarity of corporeal presence. In the process we will build both our physical listening and decisive leadership skills. No prior horse experience necessary and all levels of movers welcome (this workshop is on the ground only – no riding involved). Due to limited space this workshop is open only to the Middlebury College community.

Butoh is an internationally recognized physical art-form that embodies Japanese post-war expressionism. Rooted in the body, this workshop will focus on the corporeal experience as well as imagery as a cultivator of sensation, movement, state, and performance. The workshop will be a safe space for vulnerability, curiosity, vitality, inclusivity, and discourse. Class will be accompanied by visiting musician Kenta Nagai. Sponsored by the Dance Program and the Japanese Studies Department. Free and open to ALL ages and experience.

This class brings principles of the Chinese 5 element system in relationship to somatic and improvisational approaches. How do we relate to each other, to touch, to energy, to mind, to form, to space and to movement from there? Exercises like the Swimming Dragon, Energetic Organ Touch and following a shared pressure point in partner movement are offered to cultivate individual movement intuition and activate the energetic qualities we each are innately drawn to. Sponsored by the Dance Program. Free and open to the public.

Company members preview material from their upcoming performance.

Cameron’s teaching style blends house dance, breaking, capoeira, and contemporary floorwork. Classes place heavy emphasis on going in and out of the floor smoothly, while using the driving power of house music to keep the energy high. In his classes, he explores the physical limits of the body and how exhaustion can become the catalyst for reaching an even higher level of performance. Cameron also believes that community creates strong performance, and creates an open and fun environment in every class. Free and open to the public.

Brian offers a class on Contemporary Modern Technique that uses the joy and passion of moving to engage in the structure and foundation of dance. Be ready to practice a broad range of skills that will help diversify your physical well-being and stimulate your adrenaline. Sponsored by the Dance Program. Free

Stuver has worked with BANDALOOP—a pioneer in vertical dance—for nearly two decades, touring worldwide. As a dancer, he has also performed his own work and with other companies in Dublin, Berlin, New York, and San Francisco. He currently works as a writer and puppeteer in LA. Stuver’s talk will focus on his professional journey, and how being open to other, possibly unexpected, disciplines, forms, and experiences has shaped his career path. 

Basso is a neuroscientist, dancer, alumna, and a Visiting Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at the College. Her work focuses on the body-brain connection and how we can use physical movement such as exercise and dance to alter brain function and physiology. This talk will focus on the relationship between the self-organizing nature of the brain and the self-organizing processes that drive the group behavior in Compositional Improvisation. Sponsored by the Dance Program. Free

Described as “mesmerizing” [The Stewardship Report] and “brilliant” [Huffington Post], Cameron McKinney is a New York City-based choreographer, dancer, educator, and author. He founded Kizuna Dance in 2014 with the mission of creating works that celebrate the Japanese language and culture. Since then, he has received many awards and honors, including recently being named a participant in the Alvin Ailey Foundation’s New Directions Choreography Lab, provided through generous support from the Rockefeller Brothers Foundation.

A lecture-performance about unfolding communication, language, subjectivity, practice, empathy, isolation and potential. Harnessing vocalization as an agent for choreography and the notion that ‘languages’ exist everywhere, the lecture/performance probes a philosophical thread offered by Roland Barthes’ ‘grain’ of the voice, or the body within the voice as it sings. For mature audiences. Sponsored by the Dance Program. Free and open to the public.