Dance in the Annex (DITA)

Int/Adv Contemporary Tech w/guest artist Nic Lincoln

January 15, 2016

Join us in welcoming Nic Lincoln to Dance in the Annex!

Sunday January 24th
Wealthy Theatre Annex
4-5:45pm
1110 Wealthy St SE
Grand Rapids, MI
$15/$12 (students w/ID)
For Int/Adv dancers ages 16+
Contact [email protected] for more information

Nic Lincoln is an instinctive seeker of beauty who takes inspiration from pop culture and visual art to voice his activism through dance. For nine years James Sewell Ballet has acted as a creative incubator for Lincoln. Nic has danced with Dayton Ballet, Cleveland San Jose Ballet, Grand Rapids Ballet and performed as a guest artist for Corbin Dances, National Choreographer’s Initiative and Shapiro & Smith, among others. He is a proud recipient of a McKnight Artist Fellowship for Dance and has been named “Best Dancer” by the City Pages as well as one of three “Artists Who We Love” by MN Monthly magazine. He was nominated for a Sage award in 2013 for his performances of Larry Keigwin’s Glitter Garden as well as the entire solo show entitled Yes! Nic was recently named one of 25 to Watch by Dance Magazine. As a dance artist and activist he has collaborated with the Human Rights Campaign, OutFront MN and Queertopia.

Opening Reception: A Gallery Exhibition of new works in Screendance @UICA

December 31, 2015

Opening Reception: A Gallery Exhibition of New Works in Screendance
Urban Institute of Contemporary Art (UICA)
2 Fulton Street W, Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Member Preview: 6pm, Public: 7pm
UICA Members: Free, Non-Members: $5

On January 08, join us as we celebrate the premiere of three dance films presented by ArtPeers and Dance in the Annex (DITA). Enjoy live movement by DITA, which includes a site-responsive exploration of spaces and structures at UICA as well as a screening of each dance film in the UICA Movie Theater. Small bites and a cash bar will also be available.

“A Gallery Exhibition of New Works in Screendance” will feature premieres of three unreleased works by ArtPeers and Dance in the Annex (DITA), created in 2015. The exhibition will include live movement by DITA at the Jan. 8 Premiere and Reception event (7:30pm start, 7:00pm doors). Works premiering for the first time anywhere include “As In Life,” created on a moving 40’ city bus, in partnership with The Rapid, with music by Paucity; and “Pull Me Back,” filmed in the Northern Michigan woods, featuring DITA wsg. Joshua Burge (actor, “The Revenant”) and music by Rick Chyme and Nixon. A third work, “mechanical response,” just completed a six-week exhibition run in Detroit, was created by ArtPeers, SideCar Studios and LaMarre and Dancers with music by Peace To Mateo. The UICA exhibition, Jan. 8-18, also features dozens of performance images from DITA, by ArtPeers.

Learn more: http://www.uica.org/event-calendar/new-works-in-screendance

SAVE THE DATES:
Upcoming Master Classes
January 24th, 4-5:45pm w/guest artist Nic Lincoln
February 14th, 4-5:45pm w/guest artist (TBA)
March 6th, 4-5:45pm w/guest artist Heather Vaughan-Southard

DITA, Int/Adv Contemporary Tech w/guest artist Anne-Rene Petrarca

October 13, 2015

Join us in welcoming Anne-Rene Petrarca to Dance In The Annex!
Sunday October 25th
4pm – 5:45pm
$15/$12 (students w/ID)
For dancers ages 16+
Contact [email protected] for more information

Anne-René is a certified Alexander Technique teacher, dancer, choreographer and artistic director of Sculpted Motion. She received her MFA in Dance from the University of Wisconsin/Milwaukee, Alexander Technique certification from The American Center for the Alexander Technique (ACAT) in New York City and completed her undergraduate work at Point Park University. New York City was her home for twenty years. Anne-René was on the faculty at Dance Space (DNA), assistant faculty at The Juilliard School and guest artist at Sarah Lawrence College, Long Island University/Brooklyn and Hope College. Now living in the San Francisco Bay area, she currently teaches for the LINES Ballet Training Program and the LINES BFA program . She is also on faculty at Mills College, San Francisco State University and Shawl-Anderson Dance Center. Sculpted Motion has performed at the West Wave Festival (San Francisco), Mint Plaza, Shawl-Anderson, Berkeley Art Center, San Jose State University, Dance New Amsterdam Theater, Kumble Theater, Evolving Arts Theater, City Center Studios and the Makor Theater. Anne-Rene travels as a guest artist teaching and creating new works. Her focus has been to integrate Alexander and dance technique, which is a key element of her contemporary/modern technique class.

Anne-René believes in facilitating a safe atmosphere where the student has the freedom to explore, make choices and understand their individual habitual patterns. As a teacher she is always investigating new ways to present the work to the individual. Anne-René maintains a private Alexander Technique practice that caters mostly to performing artist.sculptedmotion.com

Int/Adv Contemporary Technique w/guest artist Hannah Sullivan

July 28, 2015

Join us in welcoming Hannah Sullivan to Dance In The Annex!

Thursday July 30th & Thursday August 6th
Wealthy Theatre Annex
7-8:45pm
1110 Wealthy St SE
Grand Rapids, MI
$15/$12 (students w/ID)
For Int/Adv dancers ages 16+
Contact [email protected] for more information

Class Description:
Int/Adv Contemporary
Hannah’s teaching focus fuses ballet, yoga, Horton and release techniques. Her classes are known for encouraging students to connect intentional emotion to movement. Come experience a challenge for your body coupled with empowering emotional work. Intermediate and advanced dancers 16+ welcome!

Bio:
Hannah Sullivan is a West Michigan-based instructor and choreographer. She is the Co-Artistic Director of the HIS Dance Ensemble with Tassia Hooks Johnson, writing & choreographing original contemporary ballets every year since the partnership formed in 2011. She is current faculty for the School of Grand Rapids Ballet, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, LOCALZ iNTENSiVEs, Hearts In Step Dance Academy and the Dance Coalition. Hannah’s original works have been performed by both professional and student companies including Grand Rapids Ballet, Dance In The Annex (DITA), Macomb Ballet Company, Blue Lake International Ensemble, Young People’s Ballet Theatre and Muskegon Dance Company. Under the direction of Amy & Erin Wilson, Hannah was a collaborator with DITA’s ArtPrize 2014 Juror’s Time-Based Award winning work “respirador (breather)” and ArtPrize 2013 juror-nominated “Angle of Repose”. Hannah is also a featured performer with DITA, dance-on-camera films, and various West Michigan productions including the 2014 Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp opera “Hansel & Gretel”. Hannah is a master’s social worker and marriage & family therapist in West Michigan.

DITA, Int/Adv Contemporary w/guest artist Thom Dancy

July 5, 2015

Join us in welcoming Thom Dancy to Dance In The Annex!

Monday July 6th & 13th
Wealthy Theatre Annex
7-8:45pm
1110 Wealthy St SE
Grand Rapids, MI
All Levels
$15/$12 (students w/ID)
For dancers ages 16+
Contact [email protected] for more information

Using improvisational technique and a ballet base, class works from the ground up. Focus is turned to allowing specific points in the body to be the causality of movement as we progress through increasingly complex combinations. Class finishes with center-work designed to propel the body off its natural axis, using concepts worked on in class to test the body’s potential and create expansiveness. Be prepared to sweat.

Thom Dancy studied ballet at the University of Oklahoma and has danced with Milwaukee Ballet, Grand Rapids Ballet, and The Big Muddy Dance Company (currently under the direction of Brian Enos). Thom is also a member of Actors’ Equity and has performed at The MUNY in Hello, Dolly! and My Fair Lady (2015), as well as in State Fair with the Ohio Outdoor Historical Drama Society. He has originated principal roles in works by Kate Skarpetowska, Victor Alexander, Brian Enos, and Harrison McEldowney.

As a choreographer, Thom has created work on The Big Muddy, Milwaukee Ballet II, Grand Rapids Ballet, COCA, and Danceworks Chicago. His work has been presented at Spring To Dance and the Palm Desert Dance Under The Stars Choreography Festival, and he has won “outstanding choreographer” at YAGP and the World Ballet Competition. Thom is one of The Big Muddy’s in-house choreographers.

DITA, Adaptive/Responsive Movement Exploration with Megan Pitcher

July 4, 2015

Join us in welcoming Megan Pitcher to the Annex!

Thursday July 16th &
Friday July 17th
Wealthy Theatre Annex
*Times Listed Below
1110 Wealthy St SE
Grand Rapids, MI
All Levels
$15/$12 (students w/ID)
For dancers ages 16+
Contact [email protected] for more information

Thursday
People Moving, 6:00 – 7:30pm (All levels, Directed Movement)
Int/Adv Contemporary, 7:30 – 9:00pm

Friday
Int/Adv Ensemble Scores, 6:00 – 7:30pm
(Suitable for nondancers who did People Moving/Serve as AUDITION for SiteLab)
Capoeira 7:30 – 9:00pm – ASCAB Capoeira class with Monitor Dentista, founder – Grupo Unidade Capoeira

Pitcher’s current research and practice approaches movement as system design. She considers patters, relationships, responsivity, changeability, and radical openness through interdisciplinary, audience inclusive performance projects. She is a recipient of a 2015 ArtPrize Seed Grant and will be presenting a new iteration of her work, Breakwall, in the fall. Workshops present a radical approach to technique that affirms availability, recovery, range, and discovery.

Pitcher’s work has been presented in Moscow, Canada, and throughout the USA, including notable venues Philly Fringe Festival, Ingenuity Festival, Chicago Cultural Center, Hyde Park Arts Center, Columbus Movement Movement, and Cleveland Playhouse. She is an adjunct faculty in the Dance Division of Kent State University and has presented through ACDA, Ohio Dance Festival, College Art Association, and other organizations.

Capoeira is a clever and deceptive Brazilian martial art. Classes are all levels with every participant challenged past their expectations. Find empowerment, build strength, and test endurance while learning the basic history and traditions.
ASCAB Capoeira class with Monitor Dentista, founder – Grupo Unidade Capoeira – See more at: https://vimeo.com/43307712

DITA, Intro to Compositional Improvisation w/guest artist Marlee Grace

June 12, 2015

Join us in welcoming Marlee Grace to Dance In The Annex!

Monday June 15th & 22nd
Wealthy Theatre Annex
7-8:45pm
1110 Wealthy St SE
Grand Rapids, MI
All Levels
$15/$12 (students w/ID)
For dancers ages 16+
Contact [email protected] for more information

Join dance maker & improviser Marlee Grace for an evening of movement exploration, open to anyone interested in movement & composition (not just “dancers”).
In this class we will warm into our bodies through a series of exercises calling on all of our senses, we will journal, we will free write, we will dance, and we will make small dances as an ensemble.

We will share our small dances, give each other feedback, and then make more small dances. Dances are small performance works that we will spontaneously create through improvisational tools we will learn in class.
There is no messing up in improvising, but there are ways to create balance and growth in a group ensemble and we will navigate them together.

Marlee Grace is a dance maker, fiber artist, and shop keeper at Have Company in Grand Rapids, MI. She received her BFA in Dance from the University in Michigan in 2010 and regularly studies compositional improvisation with The Architects.

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