of art & design
The Dance Program invites all NC State students to participate in our 2011-2012 Master Class Series!
Classes are held in the Carmichael Dance Studio (2307 Carmichael Gymnasium); see below for the exact dates and times. FREE for NCSU students, faculty and staff, but space is limited, and preregistration is required. You may register for individual classes or the entire series by emailing danceprogram@ncsu.edu; please specific the dates of the classes you are interested in taking. Classes listed as "Intermediate" are designed for students with at least two years of previous dance experience; all other classes are open to students of all experience levels. *Additional master classes may be added throughout the season; please continue to check our website for updates.
Spring 2011
Tuesday, January 10, 2012 | 5:30-6:50pm
Intermediate Modern by Michelle Pearson
This class will include traditional and post modern technique exercises designed to support the movement of original phrases through space. Proper alignment, strength, and range of qualitative efforts will be included in warm-up exercises. The class will culminate with full body repertory material.
Michelle Pearson was a core member of Liz Lerman Dance Exchange from 93-97 and is currently an Artistic Associate with the company. Before joining Lerman’s company, Michelle danced with the Doris Humphrey Repertory Company and the American Dance Ensemble in NYC. She is a member of Raleigh’s Even Exchange Dance Theater and is a lead artist for the “Healing Arts Initiative” throughout New England. She was recognized by the NC Arts Council with a Choreographic Fellowship in 2002-2004. Most recently, she is honored to join the Wildacres Leadership Initiative as a 2006-2008 William Friday Fellow committed to improving human relations in the state of North Carolina.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 | 5:30-6:50pm
Kathak Nort-Indian Classical Dance by Neena Jha
Kathak is a narrative dance form where each dance tells a story. Hence Kathak means storytelling. Characters, events,and ideas are depicted through body movements, gestures, hand and facial expressions. It is an intricate art and takes years of practice and dedication to be able to perform in a manner required to gracefully interpret the meaning of the dance subject. The dancer, bedecked in exquisite traditional costume with 100 little bells tied to her ankles, performs the art of Kathak, which is a sight to behold!
Neena Jha has been teaching Kathak Nort-Indian Classical Dance since 1982. For ten years she owned and operated her own dance studio, Shiva Dance Center in Dehradun, India. She also held Director of Dance and Music titles at both Holy Cross Institute in Darjeeling and Mussoorie International School in Mussoorie, India. In Macau Neena held the position of Professor of Indian Culture at Institute Culture De Macau, in Macau. Schooled at the Prayag Sangeet Samity University in Allahabad, India and at the University of Garhwal in Srinagar where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degrees in Kathak dance and Tabla, a percussion instrument of India. Neena has parlayed her education into award-winning dance routines including Best Performance Dance in International Culture Nite in Hong Kong, Best Kathak Performance in Macau and at the All India Dance Conference in Kanpur, India. In 1988 Neena toured the United States performing in San Francisco, Washington, DC and Miami.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 | 5:30-6:50pm
Intermediate Ballet by Cherilyn Joy Lee Kirkman
The focus of this ballet class is to give the intermediate student a further understanding of core ballet technique, as well as encourage individual artistry.
A New York City native, Cherilyn’s path has included being a scholarship student at the School of American Ballet and the Rock School of the Pennsylvania Ballet, a dancer with the Hartford Ballet in Connecticut, and a move to North Carolina to be one of the founding members of the Carolina Ballet. Throughout her career she performed diverse roles ranging from Juliet to Desdemona (The Moor’s Pavane) to the Jumping Girl (Who Cares?) along with those in other ballets by George Balanchine, Robert Weiss, Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Kirk Peterson, and Tyler Walters. After a fulfilling career as a ballet dancer, Cherilyn continues to teach at City Ballet in Raleigh while pursuing her academic goals studying Spanish and Business at NC State University.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 | 5:30-6:50pm
Partnering by Jack Arnold
This class will center on principles of focus, touch, alignment, the basics of sharing weight, and how to lift and be lifted. The class will introduce the use of balance points, counter balance and reciprocal weight sharing.
Jack Arnold, a native of Enfield, NC, received his B.F.A. from the North Carolina School of the Arts and his M.F.A. from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. He is a former member of Pilobolus Dance Theatre, with whom he toured extensively throughout North America, South America, Europe and the Far East. He has worked with Lucas Hoving, Gerri Houlihan, Alwin Nikolas, Paul Sanasardo, Bill Evans, Dan Wagoner, Marcia Plevin, and continues to work with Robin Harris. Jack has taught, choreographed and performed at colleges and universities throughout the Southeast, has served on the faculty of the Pilobolus Institute, was a member of the American Dance Festival faculty from 1991 thru 1999, was a guest teacher for the Guangdong Modern Dance Company in Guangzhou, China and was a 1996 recipient of the North Carolina Choreographers Fellowship.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012 | 5:30-6:50pm
Improvisation by Carol Finley
Carol's improvisation class focuses on the use of visual, physical, and narrative scores to engage dancers in spontaneous group composition. Dancers will find that deepened technical and performance skills emerge from their work. Improvisation experience is not required to be successful in the class, just a willingness to risk and the ability to focus no matter what is happening around you! The class is not contact improvisation based.
Carol Kyles Finley serves as Associate Professor, Director of Dance, and Artistic Director of Meredith Dance Theatre at Meredith College in Raleigh, NC. Her works for stage have been produced at numerous local and regional venues and has been selected for the NC Dance Festival tour twice. Her works for video have been screened nationally and internationally. She holds an MFA in Dance from The Ohio State University and a degree in Graphic Design from NC State University where she was a member of the NCSU Dance Company for four years. Improvisation, composition, movement analysis, production for dance, ballet, and modern are among the courses she has taught at Meredith since 2001. Carol currently creates work with Susan Haines and Talani Torres as co-director of It Must Have Been Violet Dance Productions based in Bellingham, WA; Raleigh, NC: and Jacksonville, FL.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012 | 5:30-6:50pm
Contemporary Jazz by Gerren Mobley
Gerren's Contemporary Jazz is a fast-paced class with a great balance between classical jazz technique, core strengthening exercises and choreographed movement combinations.
A native of South Florida, Gerren began studying dance at the age of three, becoming a very serious young dancer in ballet, tap, jazz, modern, lyrical, hip-hop, and acrobatics. He trained at Southern Dance Theater in Boynton Beach, Florida, and was a student in the dance department at Palm Beach County School of the Arts. In 1996, he moved to North Carolina and continued training intensely at Cary Ballet Conservatory where he is now a faculty member and choreographer for the 3D Projec,t which has been hailed nationally among concert jazz professionals and dancers as a premier pre-professional jazz company for dancers six and up. Gerren is a graduate of North Carolina State University’s College of Management and, while in school, was a member of the NCSU Dance Company for two years. Gerren has choreographed for the NC State Dance Program, and he has performed at the American College Dance Festival’s Gala and as a guest artist for Megan Marvel’s graduate thesis concert. He currently is a dancer with Code f.a.d Company in Raleigh.
Email danceprogram@ncsu.edu for more information or to register!