Fundamentals and Flexibility
This course includes rigorous classical training to improve dancers posture, flexibility, and musicality. Within this hour, students will practice the fundamentals of Ballet and Classical Chinese Dance. Throughout the week, students will develop their skills gradually and gain a better understanding of their balance, weight transfer, and classical dance technique.
Character
Character Dance is a massive part of dance performance. Without the ability to communicate with words, dancers must be able to tell stories with body language. Students involved in our Dance Intensive will emerge from this program confident in their ability to communicate characters on stage. This specific class covers Vaganova Character Dance training, musical theatre acting, and gesture studies.
Bearing
Bearing, or “yun” (韻), can best be described as a particular inner spirit. Bearing is an essential part of classical Chinese dance, emphasizing internal spirit, breath, intent, personal aura, and deep emotional expression. In essence, the spirit leads form, so that form is imbued with spirit. This class will explore the depths of bearing and bring out the dancer’s inner beauty.
Dance Kinesiology
Dancers work extremely hard to train their bodies throughout a pre-professional career. This class speaks to the healthy way of taking class, stretching and reviving the body following class, and practicing dance in the most efficient way bio-mechanically. Without getting too scientific, this class simply explores major muscle systems in order to inspire healthy training, injury prevention, and smart recovery.
Classical Variation
Group variation pieces are a chance for dance intensive students to work within a corps. It is a significant chance everyday to work in unison with classmates and peers. When a class learns corps choreography, they are challenged to work together to achieve beauty of all. This class is an excellent way to train teamwork, musicality, and make friends!
Classical Chinese and/or Ethnic/Folk Choreography
This repertoire class will focus on classical Chinese dance or Chinese ethnic and folk dance styles in its choreography. The choreography will draw inspiration from China’s 5,000 year history and from over 50 ethnic and folk groups in China, culminating in a dance that will celebrate artistry and the human spirit.
Solo Variation
Students involved in our Dance intensive deserve a chance to learn a piece of work that they may want to perform solo. In this class, we break down the differences of solo works in order to showcase talents of individual dance intensive students. This way, we can offer students a specific hour to spend working on specific skills for their personal development. This class is an excellent part of the program as students are able to take the solo choreography with them into the future and beyond!