Hip Hop and House Workshop at Peridance!

Do you watch hip hop? Are you fascinated by this dance form? Do you wish you could participate but you don't know where to begin?

Now is your chance to learn the fundamentals of Hip Hop and House with Brian Green!

Jun 22, 2010 - Jun 25, 2010

Tues/Wed/Thu: 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Fri: 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM

The class will focus on the basic techniques, isolations, and rhythm patterns of hip hop and house. Attention will also be paid to the styles of dance that influenced them. Students will leave with the ability to understand choreography and improvise.
Learn more about Brian Green and register today!

The Meaning in Moving with Monica Bill Barnes and Kate Weare

"How does a dancer make meaning while moving?"

Come investigate this with Barnes and Weare!

Jun 21 - Jun 25 2010

4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Technique class turns into a laboratory as

both choreographers follow the development of the individual student's interpretive choices within a phrase that is built on thoughout the week.

Register today!

Contemporary Ballet & Improvisation with Johannes Wieland

Learn from one of Dance Magazine's 2003 "25 to Watch".

Jun 14, 2010 - Jun 18, 2010; Mon - Fri

The workshop is separated into two separate classes. One, an intermediate/advanced contemporary ballet technique class, prepares dancers for a range of choreographic styles. Unexpected timing and weight shifts provide challenge. The second class, an improvisational and repertory class, utilizes collaboration and experimentation to explore possibilities.
This excellent opportunity is not to be missed!

Contemporary Ballet:
Tue/Wed/Thu 4:00-5:30

Improvisation/Repertory:
Mon/Wed 1:00-2:30
Tue 6:00-7:30
Thu 5:30-7:00
Fri 2:30-4:00

Read more about Johannes Wieland

Improvisation with Michelle Mola

Study improvisation with recognized choreographer, dancer, and founder of dance troupes.

Jun 14, 2010 - Jun 18, 2010; Mon - Fri
Monday through Friday: 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

The course will develop the artist and technician. There will be emphasis placed on technique and expression, as well as giving the dancer choice in performance. The workshop intends to prepare the dancer to develop a range of intensities not conclusions.

Please visit the Peridance website for further details and to register.

Explore Forsythe Technique with Helen Pickett

Helen Pickett Returns to Peridance in March to teach a week of Forsythe Technique and Improvisation!

Mar 29, 2010 - Apr 2, 2010; Mon - Fri
11:30 AM - 1:30 PM

Helen Pickett, who performed for over a decade with William Forsythe's Ballet Frankfurt, leads two unique master classes in which students will be given the opportunity to learn and gain an understanding of the basic foundations of Forsythe Technique and Improvisation Modalities.

All dimensions of your body will be challenged; a fun and invigorating workout for the mind and body!

Bring a notebook and socks (no bare feet) and be prepared to asks lots of questions!

Helen Pickett's Rave Reviews!

Peridance would like to thank Helen Pickett who recently conducted a successful workshop in Forsythe-based Improvisation.

Helen performed with William Forsythe's Ballet Frankfurt for over a decade, becoming a principal in 1991. Currently, she teaches Forsythe-based improvisation throughout the United States and Europe and choreographs works for many of America's leading ballet companies, such as Boston Ballet, Washington Ballet, Louisville Ballet, and Aspen Santa Fe Ballet.

We also congratulate Helen on the outstanding reviews she received for her piece Tsukiyo which the Boston Ballet premiered in October.

Here's what the critics had to say:

"Pickett’s language is profound, fluid and intimate." -Keith Powers, Boston Herald

"The beautiful choreography was exquisitely performed and created a powerful piece that stayed with the audience long after the curtain closed." -Shannon Brown, The Simmons Voice

"Helen Pickett’s world premiere, 'Tsukiyo,' with music by Arvo Part, [is] one of the most distinctive works to now join the troupe’s repertory." -Iris Fanger, Patriot Ledger

Thanks again, Helen and congrats!

Who is Michelle Mola?

A 2007 Juilliard graduate, Michelle Mola already has an extensive resume including an impressive number of awards and accomplishments. Her senior year of college, Michelle and a group of students raised funds to travel to Peru for one month and share dance with the people. They successfully fund raised enough money to support the troupe on a four-week, four-city tour of Peru, and dubbed themselves the Public Dance Theater. The goal of that trip was to perform as a dance company and also to provide free workshops to anyone who was interested. They worked with University students in Peru as well as impoverished children’s resource centers. While on this trip, Mola was able to premier her choreography, “Fish out of Water,” at the Instituta Cultura Peruana Norte Americano in Cusco, Peru.


Soon after graduation, she was awarded a grant as part of being named one of 10 recipients of the new Leonore Annenberg Fellowships in the Performing and Visual Arts. Mola plans to present new choreography and continue her work as a teacher and artist who operates inside and outside of the concert hall.

Recently, Mola was unanimously chosen by the 2008 Dance Films Association team of mentors as the winner of the 2008 Susan Braun Award to create a dance for the camera for DFA.

Thank you to choreographer, Michelle Mola for responding to interview questions for the PeriBlog. Michelle sent her written response from residency at The Yard Dance Colony on Martha’s Vineyard.

Q. As an artist, what is your favorite part of the creating process; from conception to stage?
A. We are always asking questions, finding ways to describe life, becoming moved by it. The line between truth and fiction is a mirage. I like to ask how do you reveal truth beyond the merely factual? When a performer identifies with a concept and believes something to be true, my favorite part is watching it turn into pretend.

Q. Can you tell me a little more about your work with Gluck Community Fellowship Program?
A. What most people call outreach is an integrated part of my work. The programs were for Juilliard students to share performances with patients at Metropolitan health care facilities. We danced for modest sized audiences in psychiatric wards, nursing homes, Aids clinics and Children's hospitals; we also talked informally. CSF programs give people a change from the daily routine of hospital life. I became a better performer there.

Q. What is your most prominent memory of the trip to Peru in 2006?
A. I became a teacher in Peru. This is the first place I taught improvisation and I learned to speak and teach in Spanish. The artists who I traveled with had information about their work to share with the students at La Catolica University in Lima. They were the first people in the country to graduate with degrees in Dance. Those same people formed a company called Andanzas. I am hugely supportive of their efforts and drive to continue dancing. Life led me to Peru and I found exchange and friendship here. Teaching and performing in cities (Arequipa, Lima, Cusco and Atalaya) where there is almost no infrastructure for dancing, but there's an interest, was empowering to everyone involved. Andanzas continues to self produce their own work in addition to teaching the younger generation throughout the city of Lima.

Q. What advice could you give another aspiring choreographer in the beginning of their professional career?
A. Tell people why you believe in what you ask them to do.

Q. What was the process like applying and receiving the grant from Annenberg Fellowship Foundation? How has that changed your mindset of your work?
A. You never know what can happen. I got a phone call about a fellowship nomination and I wrote a proposal. Through the fellowship Larry Rhodes, the Director of The Juilliard Dance, has become a mentor. It’s great to be the first choreographer and performer awarded. I was working as a cleaning lady before this to fund new pieces. I didn’t perform for anybody else so I could continue to make things while many learn about choreography by being a dancer. Other dancers have always encouraged me. And these relationships mean a great deal to me. Through friendships and periods of solitude I have always had everything I needed to get myself started. As a choreographer hopefully strong new work is on the way. This is a time to study and enjoy doing what I’ve wanted to since becoming inspired to make dance. Whatever adversity you will encounter in your life and careers I hope you always continue dancing. You never know what can happen or who is watching you.

Q. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
A. New York City, The Catskills, Traveling

Q. Who were some of your influences or best teachers?
A. My best teacher was Andra Corvino. Northeastern shores

www.MichelleMola.com