Summer Dance Intensive 2013

The Williston Summer Dance Intensive is a week-long program focused on giving students the opportunity to immerse themselves in creative and technical dance study. Students participate in two to three daily technique classes, explore their own creative movement ideas, and are introduced to yoga practice. Open to experienced dancers, students will focus on technical clarity, expand their movement vocabulary, become stronger and more versatile, and learn to perform with confidence. The program is from July 22-27, 2013.

Students will take technique classes in ballet, modern/jazz fusion, and hip-hop as well as classes in yoga and Contemporary Creations (choreography.)  Students may opt to participate in daily repertory rehearsals in preparation for the Saturday morning informal performance on July 27.  Daily lunch is provided at the Birch Dining Commons on the campus of The Williston Northampton School. The daily schedule is Monday – Friday 9:15 a.m. – 4:15 p.m. and Saturday 10:30 a.m. – 12 noon (informal performance).

Tuition for the week is $485. Space is limited to 24 students. Students wishing to enroll must complete and send all required registration forms (enrollment form, class choice form, and a waiver) with a non-refundable deposit of $100 to guarantee a spot.

Please send completed forms to:
Summer Dance Intensive
C/O Laurel Raffetto, Director
19 Payson Avenue
Easthampton, MA 01027

Questions about the dance intensive may be directed to the Program Director, Laurel Raffetto. She can be reached at lraffetto@williston.com or by phone at 413-522-6477.

Classes
Schedule
Instructors

Classes
Contemporary Creations:  This class is an opportunity for emerging choreographers to explore their creative sides and develop their individual choreographic “voice.” Working with the tools of improvisation, weight bearing, partnering, and various choreographic elements, dancers will study and design movement to collaboratively create dances that may be shown in the Informal Showing at the end of the week.

YogaStrength:  Signifying “union,” yoga is an excellent way to build physical strength, balance, and flexibility in the body. It’s the perfect companion to the study of dance technique and offers and broad range of wellness benefits. This yoga class emphasizes the fundamentals of proper form and the integration of the breath, with special focus placed on building strength and increasing flexibility in the whole body.

Ballet:  Ballet technique provides a solid foundation for the study of many different styles of dance. The dancer learns to properly hold the spine, work with external rotation, and absorb the French terminology associated with dance. Basic fundamentals will be emphasized with focus on correct placement, clarity and detail of movement, and development of musicality and grace. Ballet shoes are not required but strongly recommended.

Jazz/Modern Fusion:  Both modern and jazz styles of dance focus on the use of the body’s weight and spatial relationship to the floor. Dancers will become more familiar with the way forces act on the body as well as how to overcome or work with those forces. Modern study will emphasize clarity of movement, taking risks, suspension, technical placement, and fulfilling range of motion. Jazz study will emphasize specific jazz vocabulary such as turns, leaps, extension, stylistic aesthetics, and performance principles. Jazz shoes are not required, but strongly recommended.

Hip Hop:  Born on the streets, hip-hop is grounded, unapologetic, precise, and dynamic. Dancers will learn about the energy and effort of specific hip-hop vocabulary as well as how to concentrate on the isolation of body parts to create distinct imagery. Popping, locking, and other basic techniques will be introduced. Sneakers and knee pads are required for this class.

Repertory:  In preparation for the Informal Showing at the end of the Intensive week (Saturday morning) dancers will work in collaboration with the choreographer and one another to create a longer dance to be performed. They will come to understand the social aspects of creating dances and refine their performance skills with their peers. They will use one another’s body weight, experience partnering, learn to use their peripheral vision, and learn to project or convey messages through their movement.

Schedule

Dodge Room	Dance Studio	Lunch
9:30 – 10:45   YogaStrength (Marroquin)	9:30 – 11:00 Ballet Technique (Raffetto)	12:15 – 12:45
11:00 – 12:15 Contemporary Creations (Marroquin)	11:00 – 12:15 Hip Hop (Ursprung)
1:00 – 2:15 Contemporary Creations (Marroquin)	1:00 – 2:30 Jazz/Modern Technique (Ursprung)
2:15 – 2:45 Break	2:30 – 2:45 Break
2:45 -4:00 YogaStrength (Raffetto)	2:45 – 4:00 Repertory (Ursprung)

Arrival time 9:15 a.m., classes start promptly at 9:30 a.m. Pickup time is 4:15 p.m.

Instructors

Michelle Marroquin is a certified Yoga Instructor and movement educator. She is the foremost Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis Pretrainer in Western Massachusetts, having trained extensively with Juliu Horvath, Gyrotonic Expansion System creator. Michelle grew up in Mexico City where she learned ballet, folk and modern dance forms from the age of 6, growing up in a family of professional dancers. She earned a BA in Dance and Anthropology at Hampshire College in 1993, and then moved to New York City to dance professionally. Here she discovered Juliu Horvath's classes at White Cloud Studio and Leda Franklin's Studio Riverside, where she began her teaching apprenticeship in 1996. In 2003, after 9 years of dancing professionally and teaching in New York City, Michelle and her husband, Tony Silva, moved to the Pioneer Valley in Western Massachusetts to live, work, and teach. In 2010, Michelle earned her MFA in Choreography and Performance from Smith College. She currently teaches at VegaYoga & Movement Arts and conducts Gyrotonic private sessions and Gyrokinesis workshops. She brings to her classes a love of movement, years of experience as a dancer and a lifelong fascination with the human body.

 

Laurel Salvi Raffetto has been creating dances in her head for as long as she can remember. She became the Director of Dance at Williston five years ago and has since been exploring new ways for the Dance Program to continue to grow and thrive on campus. In 1997, after earning her BFA in Dance from UMass Amherst, she went on to earn her MFA in Choreography and Performance from Smith College in 2000. Since then, she has been performing, teaching and creating work with artists and students in various private schools, local dance studios, and colleges such as Mount Holyoke College, Keene State College, Northfield Mount Hermon School, Deerfield Academy, Amherst Ballet and Karen’s Dance Studio in Greenfield. She lives on campus with her husband Charles, her seven year old son Gabriel, and her two year old daughter, Charlotte.

 

Stephen Ursprung holds an MFA in dance performance and choreography from Smith College. While at Smith, Stephen was a Teaching Fellow and taught Jazz, Tap, and Contemporary at Smith College and advanced Jazz at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the dance BFA program. Prior to his graduate studies, Stephen graduated with a degree in Economics and Italian Studies from Brown University, where he ran Fusion Dance Company, imPulse Dance Company, and was a guest dancer with Dance Extension under the direction of Julie Strandberg (in collaboration with the American Dance Legacy Institute). He has been creating work for the concert stage since 2009. His work has been produced at Brown University, Smith College, the Bates Dance Festival, the American College Dance Festival, the Willison Northampton School, and the SpringWIDEOpen Festival. Most notably, Stephen has performed work by Paul Taylor, Pilobolus, and Monica Bill Barnes, and choreographed promotional videos and events for Columbia Records (Sony/BMG Music Group). Stephen is currently creating work with NilsSprung Dance Project and Reject Dance Theatre, two companies that he co-founded and co-directs with his collaborators. He served as company director for Re-Memberings Dance Project, with whom he performed at the Confluences VI Conference at the University of Cape Town in Cape Town, South Africa. Stephen is currently on faculty at the Y Dance Program in Tarrytown, NY.

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