Congratulations!

Dear Dancers of Modern 204,

Congratulations on your fantastic work this quarter! I just posted the grades and I think you will all be pleased with your scores.

We did so many things and moved in so many different ways that in retrospect it seems we traveled a great journey together. Some things I had forgotten and was reminded as I was reading your final postings to the blog. Remember the toy phrase? Or the arrhythmic traveling? Or all the spinal articulation work we did at the beginning of the quarter? The butterflies?

From many of your postings, I heard about the discomfort and ultimately, the reward of moving beyond comfort zones. Although the gesture dance was beautiful, the postcards allowed the audience to see a very human side. You have now broken down the sound barrier. Allyssa, what exactly does Harry Potter do to cast a spell? Doesn’t he make a movement and use his voice? Perhaps, you did get into a Hogwart class after all.

Contact improvisation is a real love for me and I’m glad some of you enjoyed it as well. I will be hosting contact improvisation jams at the UW in winter quarter on the first and third Tuesday of the month. For those of you who haven’t made it a jam, these events are a great ways to dance and learn more about contact improvisation with members of the community that do it regularly. Elly - Touch is so important. I appreciate that you made the contact even though it was not easy. Consuelo and Shawna - I’m so glad to hear you experienced a connection through the form. Please join us at the jams in the new year! Look for the schedule on the bulletin boards in the hallway.

You are all so lovely and feel as though I got to see you as individual so many wonderful ways.

Kelsi - I love your scream. There is a priestess in that scream.
Kate - Your freedom of spirit is so great. It was fantastic to watch you approach the class with such fearlessness.
Fausto- YOU are fierce. FIERCE. So, fierce…Louis.
Anna - You are way too good for John Mayer. I mean, look at how he treats Jennifer Aniston.
Juanita - Thank you for sharing and I’m thrilled that you got the experience that you needed.
Amy - You are brilliant! Fantastic work this quarter.
Alisa - Dance me your stories. I would love to hear all your stories.
Gemma - You went first. Many times. When most everyone was most uncertain. Congratulations on your courage.
Brynn - Thank you for embracing it all. Through your posts, I have come to really appreciate the way you integrate everything you’re learning in an immediate and thoughtful way.
Rachel - You’re welcome and welcome to the UW. Thank you for letting us see your whole heart. As open as it is, it was easy to see.
Vi - Thank you for illuminating your past dance life in your post. Congratulations for facing the challenges this class must have presented. You did so with a wonderful integrity of spirit and always a smile. An admirable response!
Mike - I’ve got an image of you smiling and buttering toast for Thao stuck in my head.
Thao - I’ve got an image of you improvising on the black keys stuck in my head.
Kimberly - Your posts throughout the quarter have been exceptional. I admire the mature way you approach and synthesize your learning. Thanks for your words and your dancing.
Ashley - My first and parting impression is that you are busting out, breaking through and flying.
Lindsay - Wow. This class must have been a bit of a trip for you after having only one teacher for so long, but you went for it courageously. Thanks for your words about the cycle exercise. It was difficult for me to share it and I’m glad you found some connection to it.
Kristopher - I don’t think I’ve ever had such an inspired student. Your commitment and passion for dance is so clear and that it gives you so much joy is also so clear. Your smile lit the studio every day. Thank you for your hard work. Through your posts, I heard intelligent discernment of what you were taking in. It’s pleasure to teach students who want to learn as much as you do. Thank you.

Have a happy holiday everyone. It’s been a pleasure. Congratulations again on all your hard work.

Sincerely,

Louis Gervais

Final Posting

Dancers,

For a final posting, please take a moment and think about all the things we worked on this quarter and reflect on them. We worked on some phrases, Twyla Tharp, improvisation, focus, sound, language, gestures and contact. We covered many topics in the hopes of expanding your dance experience. What did you enjoy most? What was most challenging? How do you think this quarter changed your ideas about dance? What did you learn about yourself? Take some time to think about it and write a couple of paragraphs about your learning this quarter.

Louis

Hallelujah

Gestures

This week we worked with gestures. What does it feel like to make movements in dance that have specific meanings or theatrical contexts? How does this change the way you move? How is it different from abstract movement?

Vocalization solos

Dancers!

Fantastic work on Friday facing fears of vocalization and storytelling. Tell me what you learned from this experience. This is a second posting for last week. You can respond to either this one or the next one about the spiral/repetition exercise.

Louis

Repetitive cycle

Tell me about your experience with the cyclical movement idea.

Breathe

What did you discover in your breath work class?

Graduate Research Symposium

Hey Dancers,

Thanks for attending and being part of the graduate symposium this afternoon.  What information did you find most valuable?  What will you take away from this afternoons presentation?  What did you think of the different presentation styles and topics of research?

Louis

Tonya and Rhonda

Hey Dancers,

As you can see, modern dance is a very different subject depending on who is teaching. Each teacher will offer instruction based on their own experiences as a performer with various choreographers and companies. Tonya and Rhonda are very different teachers and dancers. What did you learn this week from these teachers?

Louis

The touch exercise

Teach the touch exercise to a friend and blog me on how it goes. What was their reaction? Were they able to stay with the exercise? What did you learn in the process? I can't wait to hear how it goes.

Compagnie Marie Chouinard

Hey Dancers,

This is the company that I danced with for many years. Check out this class! It will be a trip.

Louis

On the Boards is offering a master class taught by Carol Prieur of
Compagnie Marie Chouinard for advanced | professional track dance artists
and college | university students currently in a dance program.

There will be a number of spots available so PLEASE RSVP to
sean@ontheboards.org.

Marie Chouinard Master Class will be held at Velocity Dance Center | 915
East Pine Street, Suite 200
Sat. Oct 18, 2008 | 12PM - 2PM | $12 ($7 with ticket stub) please bring
correct change or Check made out to On the Boards for Payment.
Doors will be open at 11:40AM

The class will focus on developing the performance experience and the
awareness of a highly tuned dancer. The class will explore through
movement and voice various concepts that exist within the work of Marie
Chouinard. We will be physically exploring the range and potential of the
body | mind as well as the emotional expressiveness of each individual by
connecting into the intelligence of our system and it's potential to be
an articulated vehicle of expression, while staying conscious of the
existing possibilities in each given moment. Much of the class will
derived through working with breath and the fluidity of the spinal
column, the base of all work of Marie Chouinard. Hopefully this class
will offer dance artists a doorway into the work of Marie and her
company.

Carol Prieur started her career with Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers. She
has worked with various Canadian choreographers and has participated in
the touring production of Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault's Joe. Grants
permitted her to pursue her studies in New York, Europe and India where
she was initiated into Kalarypayattu, an Indian martial art form. Three
solos have been created for her since she became a member of Compagnie
Marie Chouinard in 1995: Humanitas and Etude Poignante, as well as
Movements, to mark her 10th anniversary with the company. In 2003, she
has received a research grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, and
she received the Moving Pictures Festival of Dance on Film and Video
Award for Best Performance for her interpretation in Marie Chouinard's
film, Cantique no. 1, in Toronto.

Once again please RSVP and hope to see you there!
Best,
Sean Ryan
Sean Ryan
Regional Programs & Facilities | On the Boards
PO Box 19515 | Seattle WA 98109
206.217.9886 ext 1021 | ontheboards.org

Chamber Dance Concert Writing Assignment

Coming up this weekend is the Chamber Dance Concert. This is required performance for you to see and respond to. (See the syllabus below for ticket information). In response to this concert, you will write a two paged, double spaced, one inch margined paper.

The subject of this paper will focus of the performances of the dance artists. Pick one or a few of the dancers and write about their performance work. You might need to do some detective work to find out who they are. I can help with that. Who were you drawn to? How did they use their focus? What about their performance inspired you or made you feel a certain response? If you choose a piece with a number of dancers in it, you could compare and contrast performance styles. If there is a particular performance you feel was memorable, pull it apart and try to figure out why?

Things to think about: set choreography, improvisation, focus, arrhythm, commitment, connection between dancers.

Enjoy the show and have fun writing the paper. Although you will be writing about others, you will learn about yourself as a performer by noticing what you are drawn to as an audience. This paper is due in class on Friday, October 16.

Question #2

What have you learned this week? What thought or idea has inspired your dancing? Were there any ideas that you understood but feel will take more time for you to develop?

Don't Vote

Free dance concert

d9 dance collective is looking for volunteers for their upcoming concert series

Volunteers will get to see the concert for free. They need 2-3 volunteers per show.

Job description: help with set up and strike as well as box office

Where: Century Ballroom Odd fellows building 915 Pine St.

Dates: Friday 10/3, 6 p.m. call for the volunteers 7:30 show
Saturday 10/4, 12:30 p.m. call, 2 p.m. show
6 p.m. call 7:30 show
The show is only about an hour long so you should expect 3 -4 hours total, possibly less.

d9 is a longstanding dance company is Seattle, staging dancer driven production of nationally renowned choregraphers. UW dance program graduates feature regularly as members of the collective. Kat Behrend UW 07 is a current member.

This years concert features work by New York based choreographers Jenniger Nugent and Paul Matteson as well as a work by Chris Yon. Those who were here last year, Jennifer taught a great guest class at the UW.

If you are interested, please contact assistant professor Juerg Koch in the Dance Program. kochj@u.washington.edu with the date and concert you would like to volunteer for. Please send your phone and email details. He will confirm your availability and forward your information to d9.

Many thanks for your interest.

Juerg

End of Week 1

Hey Dancers,

I realize this first week probably felt a little wonky with that first day audition and ending with a game of red light/green light, but I'm really looking forward to our class together this quarter. As I mentioned in class on Friday, we will be doing a variety of things in this class from phrase work to improvisation and compostion studies. It will be anything but predictable.

For this first blog correspondence, I'd like to know a little bit about why you took this class. If it is a requirement for your major that is fine, but I'd also like to know what you know about modern dance. Why you like it enough to sign up for ten weeks of it and perhaps what you hope to get out of this class. This information will help me create the kind of class that meets both your and my desires.

Great work this week! Looking forward to seeing you again on Monday.

Louis

Syllabus

Modern Dance Technique Course Syllabus
Dance 204A (2 credits)
Autumn 2008
Instructor: Louis Gervais
Meeting Times: MWF 12:45-2:15 Location: Meany Studio 267
Office: Meany 59J
Office Hours: Monday 10:30 - 11:30 or by appointment
E-mail: lgervais@u.washington.edu

Course Description
This course offers instruction in the theory and practice of modern dance technique at an intermediate level with continued development of all beginning areas and expansion of movement vocabulary. This class will include a holistic approach of the dancer/artist by incorporating improvisation, composition along with technique and phrase work. The Modern II class is designed to help you develop and fine-tune your technical skills and to begin to address performance and dynamic skills.

Objectives
At the successful completion of the course you will demonstrate:
• A working understanding of the skills of dance technique including efficient alignment, flexibility, movement memory, clear spatial orientation, and rhythmic accuracy.
• Sufficient bodily strength, control, stamina, and coordination to perform at the intermediate level consistently.
• An understanding of the artistic aspects of dance performance and style including musicality, dynamics, phrasing, presence, focus, motivation, and artistic interpretation.
• Improve awareness of body alignment, rhythm, use of weight, phrasing and musicality.

Requirements and Grading Studio Participation
(65%) Regular participation is absolutely crucial in order to progress in this class. This is considered a lab class. Please try to limit your absences and save them for when you really need them. If you are more than ten minutes late you may not take class (please don’t ask me) but are encouraged to observe. If I call your name and you are not in the room you are late.

Participation grades reflect the following:
• Attending class on a consistent basis
• Arriving on time or early so that you have time to “warm up”, focus and prepare to participate fully in class
• Demonstrating a working knowledge of the ongoing class exercises and combinations. Taking risks in improvisation and composition exercises.
• Demonstrate an understanding of class material
• Show improvements in body awareness and alignment
• Show improvement in use of weight, moving through space, and rhythmic accuracy Demonstrate commitment, enthusiam, respect and support of fellow classmates.

Online Journal Responses (25%)

This blog has been set up for this course. Over the course of the semester, this blog will be the place where we as a class will share our thoughts and reactions to the course. Videos and questions will be posted here and your responses will be submitted electronically. Post your responses to the blog in the comments link below each blog entry.You must post a response to each blog entry within a week of it's posting or receive a 10% reduction of credit for each day you are late. The URL is http://www.uwdance204A.blogspot.com/.

Performance Attendance and Response (10%)

You are required to attend the Chamber Dance Company performance and write a personal response. A more detailed assignment will be given before the performance. You will be asked to turn in your ticket stub the following Monday. Responses received after Monday October 20th will be docked 10% for each day late.

Chamber Dance Comapany presents One Hundred Years of Modern Dance performed by MFA Candidates in Dance. October 9 -12, 2008
Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, 2:00 p.m.
Meany Hall: $14, UW Faculty/Staff/UWAA: $12, Students: $10.

Attire and Changing
Bare feet or cotton socks may be worn for class. Please dress neatly and simply in close fitting exercise clothes. No baggy clothing, jeans/slacks or excessive jewelry. Long hair should be pulled back away from the face. If you are not prepared to dance, you will not be allowed to take class. You may change your clothes in the dressing rooms on the Lower Level. Please do not change in the restrooms on the Upper Level. You may secure your belongings by bringing a lock each day for a locker in the hallway outside of the studios. Locks MUST be removed after each class. Locks may be purchased for $5 from the Dance Office. DO NOT bring personal belongings into the studio. Shoes, clothes, purses, cell phones, etc were stolen every week last quarter. Lock up your belongings!!

Studio Etiquette
• Demonstrate an understanding of the class structure by arriving in the studio, on time, prepared for class
• Be respectful of your peers, instructor and musician at all times. This includes not crossing in front of the instructor or standing in front of the musician
• Receive and apply corrections in a respectful manner
• Work safely and effectively in class and allow others to do so
• Contribute to the classroom by applying focus, concentration and enthusiasm
• If you are unable to dance or have any injuries, please inform the instructor before class begins
• In the event of an injury, alert the instructor immediately!
• No street shoes, tap shoes or shoes with cleats in the studio
• No oils, creams or lotions on exposed body or hair––they make the floor slippery and dangerous
• No food, gum or beverages are allowed in the studio with the exception of water bottles
• No personal belongings in the studio––NONE

Miscellaneous
• Students at the University of Washington are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic conduct. Cheating, plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct are considered serious offenses.
• To request academic accommodations due to disability, please contact Disabled Student Services, 448 Schmitz, (206) 543-8924, indicating that you have a disability that requires academic accommodations. Please present the letter to your instructor so we can discuss the accommodations you require.