Bill Evans Dance Teachers Intensive Newsletter 2

BILL EVANS DANCE TEACHERS INTENSIVE !
JUNE 2013
NEWSLETTER
this newsletter continue as a collaborative project and become a shared conversation across this wonderful community of people. Best wishes for a summer of celebrations and rejuvenation, Cynthia Williams, Geneva, NY, June 2013 newest issue, and welcome your comments, questions, and photographs for future issues -- wed love to have Welcome to the second issue of the Bill Evans Dance Teachers Intensive Newsletter! We hope you enjoy this
Certied Teachers Prole

Current Proles: In this section we ask people who have held certication for a few years what they are currently up to, and how their experiences with the Bill Evans Dance Technique certication process has shaped their teaching/dancing lives. Here we hear from Clarence Brooks, Marlene Leber, and Jenny Showalter.
Clarence Brooks: I am an Associate Professor and Director of Dance in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. The newly revitalized dance program is in its infancy now nine years old. Established in 1961, only two other professors had taught dance at FAU previous to my tenure here. Now with two adjunct dance faculty members joining me in teaching dance courses, the dance program appears to be growing. After nearly eight years teaching without dance peers, it is a pleasure to have colleagues. I hold a certicate of movement studies (CMA) from the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies in New York. My focus upon entering the yearlong certicate program was on personal analysis and self-reection: understanding my body and the effect that coming out versus being closeted engendered in my body through movement. This work enabled me to heal wholesomely and holistically by allowing me to examine my movement history, in part, through videos and photographs. I left New York for graduate work at the University of Washington where I intended to work with other CMAs on faculty there, but sadly the Laban studies program had been dissolved and the teachers I had yearned to study with had moved on by the time I arrived. While there I had the unique experience of learning and performing Vaslav Nijinskys LApres midi dun faun from Labanotation as coached by Ann Hutchinson Guest. The value of Labans work in preserving masterpieces long after the choreographer and original dancers had transitioned was immediately present to me. Under the mentorship of Karen Scherwood, I developed and taught a Laban Movement Analysis course to University of Washington undergraduate students during my nal semester in graduate school.

T h e B E T I N e w s le t t e r is p r o d u c e d a n d e d it e d b y C y n t h ia W illia m s , w it h d e s ig n c r e a t io n b y D o t V o g t . T h e n e w s le t t e r c a n b e a c c e s s e d o n lin e a t w w w . b ille v a n s d a n c e . o r g . C o p y r ig h t 2 0 1 3 C y n t h ia W illia m s / B E T I N e w s le t t e r

Prole cont.
JUNE 2013
I moved to Florida to teach dance at Bak Middle School of the Arts, a wonderful arts-magnet school in West Palm Beach for six years before accepting a position in higher education. For nearly a decade after graduation, I had no one to speak the language to since I found no CMAs to converse with in my community. When I read an announcement about a workshop in Evans pedagogy/technique, I considered it a godsend since I was not entirely satised with my progress in incorporating LMA into the technique classes I was teaching. William Evans mastery and eloquent delivery of the material was so evident from the start that I knew I had to seek out his intensives yearly. I immediately appreciated and was grateful for not having to reinvent the wheel, so to speak, in blending the LMA work into technique classes. For the past several summers the Bill Evans Teacher Intensives have become my place for professional development, exploration, networking, and recuperation. The range of dance educators, movement practitioners, choreographers, and dancers who participate each summer is as impressive as the distinguished panel of teachers that William hires to impart the intensive course work. Along with reawakening and deepening my interest in LMA, the presentations by my fellow BETI colleagues have enabled me see ways of widening my use of the material. The Evans Method is how I teach dance technique courses, how I choreograph, the language I use when coaching, and my means for reviewing and evaluating what I see and do. Seeing how embodied and expressive William is in his seventh decade of living gives testimony, in my opinion, to the healthiness of his technique and is an inspiration to me as I continue performing into my fth decade of life. Community building is a current focus of mine and this summer I am bringing two newbies to the IN THIS ISSUE: ! ! ! ! ! Bartenie Fundamentals Uncovered................6 Whats in My Pocket?........................................9 Applied Pedagogy..............................................10 The Long View...................................................12
International S o m a t i c s Conference in Brockport. Recently during one of my two years as the Florida Dance Education Organization conference chair, I brought Don Halquist in as keynote presenter to work with dance educators and students from around the state. I am pleased to report that now with six Labanites, (the term by which we in the tri-county area including two of us from BETI reference ourselves), the Laban family has grown in south Florida. We are just starting out planning regular gatherings to share our work with one another. But we dream big and have exciting plans for the future. Marlene Leber Marlene has been teaching, choreographing, and performing in the greater Cleveland area for almost 40 years. As well versed in musical theater as modern dance, her choreography has been seen on the stages of Mentor High School, Kent State University, Lake Erie College, Cleveland State University, The School of Fine Arts, Shaker Heights High School, Hawken High School, Cleveland School of the Arts, and Hathaway Brown School where she has directed the dance program since 1993. Marlene has performed extensively throughout the Cleveland area both in contemporary and Musical Theater venues, but her true love has always been modern dance. In 2003, Marlene and colleague Jennifer Burnett presented their duet Resolve at Cleveland Public Theater as a part of the Food For Thought showcase directed by A Bagel Walks Into a Bar..................................14 William Tells......................................................15 In the Next Issue..............................................17 International Conference.................................18 News, Workshops, and Transitions..................19

Prole cont.
JUNE 2013
Gina Gibney, and in 2005 Marlene was the recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to Dance Education Award from the Ohiodance Association. Marlene served on the 2012 dance standards writing team for the Ohio Department of Education and was the lead writer for Gifted Standards in Dance in 2009. She has also served on the Arts Partnership panel for the Ohio Arts Council. Marlene holds a BFA in dance from Lake Erie College and is currently serving her 8th year on the board of directors for Ohiodance. Marlene completed the Bill Evans Teachers Certication program at SUNY Brockport in 2011. In describing the effect the Bill Evans Dance Teacher Intensives and certication program has had on her teaching, Marlene wrote: It has generated greater condence in my teaching abilitiesperiod! It has also validated some of the things that I had already been incorporating throughout my many years of teaching. This program has instilled a desire to be more patient with myself in order to be able to more efciently assist my students. I am more present than ever before, and I feel comfortable with the language as well as my understanding of the material. The results this program has produced are inspiring to me as a teacher and life-changing to my students. The pedagogical values have impacted my life on so many levels by allowing me to re-discover what I valued about myself as a person, dancer, and artist. Marlene noted that what made her decide to participate in the certication program was
remembering what a difference it made for me as a dancer and a person when I began to incorporate BF and Laban concepts into my own technical and creative development. The changes were remarkable. I felt that my dance training had just begun and I had already been dancing for almost 20 years when I was rst introduced to this material. I also felt that there were still holes in my BF and Laban understanding after college. I believed in the benet of this body of knowledge, but I lacked condence in my ability to teach this material well. When I found out about this teachers training program, I knew that Bill was the person I wanted to study with because I was already familiar with his body of work and master teaching skills. It was a no-brainer. I had found it. The community of dancers that Bill has built around this material was inspirational to me, and I wanted to be a part of it regardless of the fact that I was discovering this information much later in my career. It was life afrming, not just dance afrming. Looking at the way her life will be changing as she retires from Hathaway Brown School this year, Marlene commented: I am in a period of transition in my teaching career right now and havent devoted much time to how I plan to reinvent my teaching life once I leave Hathaway Brown School. I cant imagine my life without dance or teaching, but it will denitely take on another form once I leave this amazing institution of learning. I have always been happiest as a freelance artist/ teacher and will continue to nurture the relationships I have forged over the years through my involvement with area universities and as a board member of Ohiodance and a panelist for The Ohio Arts Council. I have been teaching for almost 40 years, the last 20 in a private, all-girls institution, and right now I am anxious for change. I am convinced that leaving Hathaway Brown will provide me with the space and time I need to reinvent and rediscover myself again. The BETI program has given me the strength and courage to reinvent myself. I dont mind not knowing what the future will hold. I do know it will be impacted by this program, and I do know that it includes dance. I dont know what the future will hold, and I am oddly excited about the uncertainty. I do know that the community of dancers I have met through this program will continue to sustain me whether or not I

Prole cont.
JUNE 2013
am supporting them or they are supporting me. Whatever adventure I choose to embark upon will always be impacted by the values I have learned through this experience...always! I feel condent in what I have learned and that the learning will continue. I am so grateful that I have been able to immerse myself in this program even though I am in a state of transition with my career. My participation in this program has never been just about the information; it has also been about the community, the values, the spirit of giving, and the joy. It has allowed me to rediscover my love for all things dance and that its never too late to learn anything. I have felt inspired by the young dancers I have had the joy of taking class alongside of and learning from, as well as the wisdom from those of us who have been doing this forever, and I have loved sharing the laughter. The act of learning just gets me red up, and oddly enough, teaching gave this to me. Like Bill says, I teach what I want to learn, and there is so much more I want to know. I feel an obligation to share it with others, whoever those others may be in the future. I just want to pay it forward. Thats what this program has given to me. Jenny Showalter, Co-Artistic Director of Treeline Dance Works, has recently been presented in France, NY, MI, CT, OK, OH, IN, TX, CA and IL. Showalter has served on faculty at Ball State University, St. John Fisher, The College at Brockport, and currently teaches at Arizona State University, Scottsdale Community College, Grand Canyon University and Glendale Community College. Her choreography has been commissioned for the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (NY), Vision of Sound (NY) and Heidelberg Music Festival (OH) and at various universities. Showalter is also in the Bill Evans Dance Company. She holds an MFA in Dance, BS in Exercise Science, is a personal trainer, Pilates instructor, and Registered Somatic Movement Therapist. www.treelinedanceworks.com For those who know me, I have once again been on an adventure to teach the work I believe in, yet again in a new location! I have moved several times since nishing my MFA in 2008 from The College at Brockport and forming Treeline Dance Works in 2009 with Co-Director, Lyndsey Vader. My focus, as
with many dancers, has been to experience it all...teaching, performing, directing, traveling, and all the while maintaining sanity! I am currently teaching dance in Phoenix, AZ at Grand Canyon University, Arizona State University, Glendale Community College and Scottsdale Community College. Having such a diverse teaching load has once again challenged my process as an educator, but I have pulled from my dance experiences thus far. Particularly, my time spent working with Bill Evans as a student, company member and demonstrator has proved benecial. Not only for the knowledge I gained from him, but also as motivation to continue expanding the work he has done and exploring what it means to me. Immediately, after starting my MFA studies I was inspired by Bill and his pedagogy. I felt alive and

Prole cont.
JUNE 2013
challenged while dancing his work and free to express myself. As I pursued my studies I had the opportunity to assist him in modern technique classes and in the summer of 2008 he hired Courtney World and I to be technique demonstrators for his summer workshop at The College at Brockport. The rst summer in this role was challenging, but I fell into a comfortable stride as the summers continued and in reection have discovered so much from these experiences. Most notably, when Heather Acomb and I began traveling each summer to assist, I started to not only demonstrate but lead others and share my heart more fully. I believe it was also the summer of 2010 when the term "Bill's Body" came about. I remember standing in class and all the sudden hearing "I need my body," as Bill looked directly at me. I'm sure my eyes became large as I walked towards him thinking, "how in the heck am I going to do this?" People often ask me to describe the experience of this equally humbling and pressure lled role and it is hard to summarize. Probably one of the funniest memories was when I demonstrated something different than he expected and he said, "I'm having an out of body experience." I thought to myself, "well now, so am I."
I knew that Bill trusted me and it was a role I tried to assume humbly as I became good at quick embodiment of his ideas and concepts. It was not always easy to be examined so closely by others, but it taught me that mistakes are part of self-discovery. The experience gave me access into the work in a completely different way. I was hearing directives, making split second decisions/connections and then embodying the ideas. Ultimately, I had to trust myself and trust being supported by the wonderful people who take his workshops. There were moments of complete joy and also frustration, but I am thankful for the opportunity. I am also thankful that I have shared in the "body" role with so many talented movers! I feel that the Evans' pedagogy in particular has sustained my beliefs that teaching dance changes lives. I have witnessed Bill in multiple settings leading students with passion and patience and I have adopted these qualities more fully from my years of working closely with him. The Evans technique has offered me new ways to use my own uniqueness and movement signatures within a framework that encourages expanding the dimensions of dance. The things I am interested in my students learning are vast and ever changing just as in Evans methodologies. I nd it freeing to one day explore one concept and the next day discover a completely new way of teaching the same idea! I am nding some sense of my own technique forming and it has been exciting. The most benecial thing I have learned through doing this work is to be ready, be open, and trust that wherever you are you can make a difference in people's lives.

Ba rt e n ie f f Fu n d a m e n t a ls Un c o v e re d : Be y o n d t h e Ba s ic s In t h is s e c t io n w e o f f e r p e rs p e c t iv e s o n t h e Ba rt e n ie f f Fu n d a m e n t a ls , in t h is is s u e w it h Ef f o rt u n c o v e re d b y Ca d e n c e Wh it t ie r, A s s o c ia t e Pro f e s s o r o f Da n c e a t Ho b a rt a n d Willia m S m it h Co lle g e s , CLMA , a n d c o - d ire c t o r o f t h e In t e g ra t e d Mo v e m e n t S t u d ie s Pro g ra m .
JUNE 2013
BARTENIEFF FUNDAMENTALS
USING LMA EFFORT TO ENHANCE BODY CONNECTIVITY1 This article explores how to use Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) Effort theory to expand your expressive range and strengthen your body connectivity. We are in the realm of Effort when we consider the overall energy, emotionality, and dynamic quality of any given movement. Consider the following quote from Rudolf Labans text Language of Movement: We not only alter the positions of our bodies and change the environment by our activity, but bring an additional color or mood to our movements from our psyche An observer of a moving person is at once aware, not only of the paths and rhythms of movement, but also of the mood the paths in themselves carry, because the shapes of the movements through space are always more or less coloured by a feeling or an idea.2 When Laban writes about moodcolouredfeeling, he is writing about Effort. Expressively, Effort heightens the feeling-tone and emotionality of a movement. There are four main categories within the Effort framework and each category is broken down into two polar parts: Time EffortSudden and Sustained Time, describes how a persons intuitive sense of time causes him/her to move. Is s/he urgent? Or, does s/he linger? Space EffortDirect and Indirect Space, describes how a person attends to his/her environment. Is it pinpointed or expansive? Weight EffortStrong and Light Weight, describes how a person engages his or her mass as s/he moves. Is s/he moving powerfully or delicately? Flow EffortBound and Free Flow, describes the energetic quality of a persons ongoing movements. Are they controlled or unconstrained?
Functionally, embodying different Efforts will change the physical organization of your body: your muscle tone, proprioceptive responses, neuromuscular connections, Breath Support, and body sequencing will all shift and change as your Effort-life changes. Experimenting with Effort as you perform your Bartenieff Fundamental (BF) sequences will therefore create different moods and dynamic statements. For example, a Core-Distal (Starsh) Opening and Closing performed with outpouring power (Free Flow and Strong Weight) looks and feels quite different than a Starsh

Bartenie Fundamentals cont.
JUNE 2013
Opening and Closing performed with contained delicacy (Bound Flow and Light Weight). Take a moment to embody both of those examples: Do you feel the force and momentum that accompanies the rst example? Similarly, do you feel how the second example promotes an airy but controlled movement quality? Use of a particular Effort or combination of Efforts will change how you execute the BF sequences. Use the following Table as a map for exploring the functional and expressive benets for each Effort quality. Add to these benets as you explore Effort in your Bartenieff Fundamentals sequences.
Ef f o r t Sudden Time Sustained Time Direct Space Indirect Space Strong Weight Light Weight Bound Flow Free Flow F u n c t io n a l B e n e t s Moving with speed and agility Drawing movements out; Suspending movements Moving with precision; Channeling a movement in space Moving with multiple points of focus Moving with power and force Moving with delicacy and lift Moving with control Moving with fluid ease Ex p r e s s iv e B e n e t s Performing with an urgent attitude Performing with a lingering attitude Performing with focused awareness or a single-minded attitude Performing with an expansive attitude Performing with a bold and commanding attitude Performing with a gentle or soft attitude Performing with a contained and measured attitude Performing with an outpouring and carefree attitude
Navigating through LMA Effort provides you with both exibility and specicity. Put this idea into practice by performing each Effort quality in isolation as you rehearse your BF sequences from the BETI modern dance classes. For example, play with: Strong Weight during Thigh Creases. Raise your leg with bold determination and lower it back down with a rm stomp! Indirect Space Effort during Starsh Openings. Expand your focus and attend to the vastness of the space around as you open into a Starsh supported on your side. Sudden or Sustained Time during Diagonal X sit-ups. Indulge in the moment when you rst arrive on your sitz bones or prolong the descent down the diagonal to the X on the oor. Or, do the opposite: raise and lower your upper body with sudden and excited bursts of energy.
Take a moment to investigate the other Effort elements: Light Weight, Direct Space, Bound and Free Flow. What words and images come to mind as you play with these qualities? How does each Effort quality challenge your body connectivity in different ways? How does the mood of the movement shift as the Effort-life shifts?

Bartenie Fundamentals cont.
JUNE 2013
Also experiment with the Effort qualities in combination. For example, embody: Light Weight and Free Flow during Starsh Openings and Closings. Fold all six limbs in toward the center of your body with an unconstrained and airy energy. Then, expand all six limbs away from your core center with delicate effervescence. Sudden Time, Direct Space, and Strong Weight during level changes: Immediately and powerfully channel your bodys energy into space as you change levels: from the X into a ball supported on your shins or from the arabesque penche to the forward pelvic shift to the oor. Allow urgency, force, and pinpointed accuracy to drive your level changes.
A journey through Effort reveals numerous dynamic possibilities and coordinates the entire being in a d y n a m i c w a y. 3 N e x t t i m e y o u experience difculty with your Bartenieff Fundamentals sequences, change your Effort-life and investigate how that affects your body connectivity. Maybe a particular Effort quality will help you coordinate your breath with your movement phrasing, or establish greater core support and lower body grounding, or release undesired tension in your body. There are many possibilities to explore. What new expressive and physical connections do you discover as you play with Effort? ________________________________
1
I explore these ideas further in my forthcoming book on ballet pedagogy. 2 Laban, Rudolf. Edited by Lisa Ullman. Language of Movement: A Guidebook to Choreutics. Boston: Plays, Inc., 1966. 48. 3 Hackney, Peggy. Making Connections: Total Body Integration through Bartenieff Fundamentals. Routledge. 2000. 219.
J u d e

Wh a t s In My Po c k e t ? In t h is c o lu m n w e e x p lo re p e d a g o g y re s o u rc e s a n d s u g g e s t io n s o f f e re d b y Dr. Do n Ha lq u is t , Ch a ir o f t h e De p a rt m e n t o f Ed u c a t io n a n d Hu m a n De v e lo p m e n t , Co - A s s o c ia t e De a n , S c h o o l o f Ed u c a t io n a n d Hu m a n De v e lo p m e n t , S UNY Co lle g e a t Bro c k p o rt .
JUNE 2013
WHATS IN MY POCKET?
I recently experienced a first: teaching at a dance convention. This type of gig wasnt on my bucket list, but when the opportunity presented itself, I thought sure, why not. Truth be told, I found the experience exhilarating. Teaching a 50 minute class in a hotel ballroom on a small elevated stage to as many as 75 junior dancers ranging in age from 5 to 15 is a unique, not to mention demanding experience. While there were fewer senior dancers (those over the age of 16) the challenge of keeping everyone in the room engaged was still present. During each class, I left the little stage to work the roomoffer suggestions and words of encouragement; told a few jokesWhy did the ballerina stop dancing? (It was tutu hard!); pulled out a 24 inch piece of elastic, which seemed to capture almost everyones attention for a brief period, and explored inversions, spirals and the concept the movement rides on breath among others. Looking back, I now realize that teaching in this type of environmentessentially a series of master classes gave me an chance to brush up on my classroom management techniques but more importantly it provided me with an opportunity to consider some of my fundamental beliefs about teaching and learning and ponder how I might explore some of the underlying concepts of the Evans Method in such a context. One essential belief that informs my work is that teaching and learning are about being in relationshiprelationships between me and the students and between and among the students. And while its challenging to build a relationship in 50 minutes with dancers whom I dont know and will likely not work with again, I feel its important to try. Below are some of the ways I worked to build relationships with the dancers at the convention as well as strategies I use with my current students at The College at Brockport:
1. Remind myself that I dont teach technique, I teach people (borrowed from William); 2. Remain fully present with who is in the room and craft a class based on their needs; 3. Use a circle formation to enable students to see and witness each other; 4. Look students in the eyes (and call them by name); 5. Create a serious yet relaxed atmosphere, one that includes high challenge, low threat and elements of humor; 6. Create opportunities for students to dialogue with a partner and/or me about what they are experiencing, noticing, discovering about themselves and/or their partner; 7. Create opportunities for reflection/personal meaning making; 8. Ask questions that invite students to investigate their process and consider what they are experiencing; 9. Invite students to set and refine goals throughout the class/semester; 10. Enable students to reveal their personal uniqueness through choice, problem solving and improvisational activities; and 11. Encourage student to engage the thinking, feeling, sensing and intuiting aspects of themselves.
I recognize that it takes at least two to be in a relationship, so how I work to cultivate relationships looks different in different contexts and is based on a negotiation with the people in the roomtheir interests, desires, expectations in combination with my interests, desires, exceptions. Over the years it has been easier to cultivate stronger relationships with some students more than others. Regardless of the amount of exertion required, I find it exceedingly important and potentially transformative. It was Carl Jung who said. The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed. Even if you dont aspire to work on the dance convention circuit any time soon, I invite you to take some time to reflect on what you value and believe about teaching dance and how those beliefs shape and guide your daily practice. Gaining clarity on what you value and believe will enable you to make those beliefs visible and operative for you and your students.
JUNE 2013
A p p lie d Pe d a g o g y : Th is s e c t io n f e a t u re s e x a m p le s o f a p p lie d p e d a g o g y , t e c h n iq u e s t ra n s f e rre d f ro m t h e s u m m e r w o rk s h o p t o o n e s h o m e t e a c h in g e n v iro n m e n t . He re Ca d e n c e Wh it t ie r, A s s o c ia t e Pro f e s s o r o f Da n c e a t Ho b a rt a n d Willia m S m it h Co lle g e s , CLMA , a n d c o - d ire c t o r o f t h e In t e g ra t e d Mo v e m e n t S t u d ie s Pro g ra m , p ro v id e s a p p lic a t io n s f o r LMA We ig h t Ef f o rt e x p lo ra t io n s .
LMA WEIGHT EFFORT AND DANCE TECHNIQUE1

Weight in the context of Effort does not refer to how much a dancer weighs or how strong or weak a dancer is, but instead to the quality of how the dancer engages his or her bodys mass while dancing. It is therefore possible for a petite dancer to convey a fierce and foreboding (Strong Weight) onstage personality in one scene and a gentle and demure (Light Weight) attitude in the very next scene. Strong and Light Weight facilitate the mobility of the body through space and stability of the body during balances. In order to experience this in your body, take a moment to embody Strong and Light Weight in the T e ac h e r Ex p lo rat io n examples below. Notice how Strong and Light Weight travel from the center of your body and outward to the limbs. Ho w d o e s t h is f ac ilit at e b o t h t h e m o b ilit y an d s t ab ilit y o f y o u r b o d y d u rin g d an c e t e c h n iq u e s t e p s ?
Teacher Exploration: Embodying Strong and Light Weight 1. Explore Light Weight Effort. Allow your whole body to lift and float upward with Light buoyancy. Imagine your body is a helium balloon hovering above the ground. As your vertebrae, chest cavity, and organs fill with helium, your body transcends gravitys pull. Feel this quality travel from your torso to your limbs as you embody the Light Weight words listed below: Delicate Gently Billowing Misty Buoyant Airy Tenderly Sprinkle Tip-toe Softly Whisper Wispy
Next, perform a few movements from your dance technique combinations as you embody each of the words: a wispy gliding tendu, a billowing port de bras, a tiptoeing piqu, a sprinkling pas de boure, or a buoyant relev, a wispy leg swing, for example. 2. Explore Strong Weight Effort. Allow your lower body to descend causing your hip, knee, and ankle joints to crease and flex slightly. As you do so, establish the connection between the ground and your feet; drive your legs into the ground like the roots of a tree and enliven your center of gravity with a powerful and firm intensity. Feel how this quality travels from your lower to upper body; adopt a commanding posture in the ribs and shoulder girdle and let this energy travel outward to your arms and head. Maintain these qualities in your whole body as you embody the Strong Weight words below: Resolute Powerful Mighty Firm Explode Thunderous Herculean Booming Roaring Forceful Vigorously
Next, perform a few movements from your dance technique combinations feeling the strength and power in your upper body as well as in your lower body: a vigorous leg swing, a resolute port de bras, a powerful turn, or a booming pas de bourre, for example
Now that you have had the opportunity to embody Weight Effort on your own, think about how you would use Strong and Light Weight in a combination from one of your dance technique classes. !
10

Applied Pedagogy cont.
JUNE 2013
1. Recall a movement sequence you used in class recently. 2. Include Light and Strong Weighted qualities into the movement sequence as you rehearse it. Any step can be performed with Light or Strong Weight; incorporate at least three moments of Lightness and three moments of Strength in the sequence. 3. Think about how you would describe your Weight Effort choices to your students. Use your own imagery and the words from the T e ac h e r Ex p lo rat io n table. For example, expand the names of the movements/steps to include their dynamic quality: a rm ro n d d e jam b e , t h u n d e ro u s le ap , w h is p e rin g p as d e b o u rr e , or g e n t le s p iral. Also, consider how you use the intensity of your voice to emphasize the Weight Effort qualities needed in the movement sequence. For example, use a soft or faint voice when the steps you are describing should be performed with Light Weight, or use a firm or booming voice when they should be performed with Strong Weight. 4. After your students have had the opportunity to perform the sequence, ask them to create their own Weight Effort words, images, and sounds. Inviting the students to make evocative language and sounding choices encourages dynamic variation and personal ownership of the material. 5. Notice how Light and Strong Weight enhance the technique of your students upper and lower bodies. Imagining the upper body floating upward and outward like glistening mist, for example, may help your students achieve a lengthened and lifted posture with greater ease. Similarly, moving the upper body firmly with the resolute power of a lion may help them broaden their torsos and arms and achieve grounded upper body postures. Ho w d id Lig h t an d S t ro n g W e ig h t e n h an c e t h e ir uppe r body t e c h n iq u e in y our m ove m e nt se que nce ? Imagining the lower body as voluminous clouds propelled by delicate puffs of air, for example, will help your students achieve greater buoyancy during lower body weight shifts and gestures. This is useful when they need to convey the illusion of defying gravity or when moving lightly and quickly, a quality often required in fast J u d e footwork. Similarly, imagining the booming sounds of a timpani drum propelling the lower body through space will help them perform jumps, travelling phrases, and balances with greater power, a quality that often appears in across-the-floor sequences. Ho w d id Lig h t an d S t ro n g W e ig h t e n h an c e t h e ir lo w e r b o d y t e c h n iq u e in y o u r m ove m e nt se que nce ? ! 11
BILL EVANS DANCE TEACHERS INTENSIVE ! Th e Lo n g V ie w :
JUNE 2013
In this section Cynthia Williams interviews people who have been company members and Evans Dance Technique certied teachers for many years, beginning with Debra Knapp. Debra was a member of the Bill Evans Dance Company from 1986-2001 and has taught in Williams certication workshops regularly since 2004. Debra Knapp is an Associate Professor and Director of Dance at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces where she teaches courses including modern dance and jazz technique, dance pedagogy, improvisation, choreography, dance history and senior seminar. Here she responds to questions posed by Williams.
Developing a personal pedagogy philosophy has been a goal in Williams certification program. Over the past 10 years, working with William, Don, and everyone who has gone through the cert. program, I have developed a on going ever expanding teaching philosophy. Here are a few key points: That learning is an inner education and that dance is a philosophy. That I need to strengthen our students power of self-belief, feeling of self-efficacy, and the belief that they can accomplish what they set forth to do. That I need to encourage my students to rely on their inner resources, to use their intuition and the ability to extemporize and innovate in the face of uncertainty and ambiguity. That I need to build deep trust and respect among us, and help us get beyond the devaluing prejudices that we all hold. That I need to put us in situations that will cause us to reach deeply into ourselves so that we will evoke our higher nature and have us experience that we are all connected. That I need to allow us to learn from the entire experience; how to be flexible and adapt quickly to change and new environments. That I need to recognize the possibilities in my students and to honor their individual talents. And that I need to honor process above all else.
What have you learned in your bones and in your heart from dancing in William's company? Dancing in Williams company strengthened my ability to develop my inner language; both the artistic and physical language I use on stage. The knowledge of shape flow support, breath support, effort, texture, pull counter pull, shrinking and growing, space h a r m o n y, a n d spatial intent has helped me bring my whole self to the artistic experience. I was inspired by his dances because of the depth and breadth of his work and this brought so much personal satisfaction. I learned that my artistic approach was valued and necessary to the success of the dance. He honored me and that made me work very hard to give his choreographic vision life. I also learned to love to dance with others (how could you not love dancing with William, Don, Linda, Rip, Shirley, and Deborah?). I learned to enjoy the cleaning process as much as the creative process. I learned to see and feel and sense the big picture and my place within it. I also learned to be a better teacher, coach, and choreographer. I learned to see through the lens of an artist. What does the Bill Evans pedagogical approach bring to your teaching?
12

The Long View cont.
JUNE 2013
I have also adopted this approach in my pedagogy than what was physically happening in the classes. My students are asked to develop their own classroom. By having them comment on their peers personal belief statements and from their statements writing, they began to become mentors for each other they are then asked to develop their philosophy of by encouraging and offering suggestions through dance education. Goals, objectives, and strategies difficult times. I also saw a change in the classroom are built from their philosophy. Many of these in that they became more involved in each others students confuse teaching with giving a class. All learning. my students are amazed at what it means to use best practices, national dance standards, multiple How has your long association with William intelligence theory, and Ericksons stages of human changed you as a dancer/teacher/person? developmental in planning their scope and sequence of their curriculum. Where once they thought they William saw more in me than I saw in myself. His could enter a class, without a lesson plan, and teach trust in me has made me want to be the best dancer, someone to dance, they leave equipped with teacher and person I can be. I want to be worthy of knowledge that will guide their journey to becoming that trust. Don, plays a big role in this, too. Dons a well-planned and inspiring teacher. They leave positive approach to life has always lifted me up and knowing that teaching is an art form and that has helped me see the best in others. They both have teaching is a vocation. One of my students wept as supported my growth and have given me the she read her statement of belief. I asked her why it encouragement to share my journey with others. was so emotional for her. She replied, No one has ever asked me what I believe. Ive always been told When I was teaching in China, they were with me. what to After teaching a class at Shanghai Normal University, believe. So, using the Evans teaching approach, I wrote the as a member of following reflection: the certification team, I have What will I take away from this experience? learned how to That dance is a universal language and that guide future when you move together barriers dissolve. That d a n c e having an open heart opens hearts. That educators to everyone wants to do meaningful work. That become more touch and laughter heals. That kindness lls vested in the me up. That I love teaching. That there is process of the beauty and hope and honesty in people. That art of teaching. dance has been one of my greatest teachers. And that at age 59 I still have something to In addition, this give. approach has made me more self-reflective What recommendations do you have for a n d I h a v e certification students as they try to assimilate c h a n g e d m y William's concepts and approach into their own classroom to be a place of reflection. It has taken me teaching style, so that they honor his pedagogy and over 10 years to develop ways to engage my students continue to develop as individuals? in meaningful reflection. In the beginning, they used I found it important to teach the material that reflection as a way to whine, complain, or blame resonated with me. I also recommend not trying to others for their struggles and challenges. They rarely teach too much as you integrate this material into affirmed what they were accomplishing and most your teaching practice. Small chunks helps you could not self-assess their growth. I changed the practice the language and concepts in many areas of format in which they wrote by having them reflect your class. I also suggest that you take a concept that on-line. All entries were public, giving everyone an you struggle with and tackle it in your class. You opportunity to read and respond to the thought of will embody it faster. others. I improved my prompts by asking them to share their insights on their growth that were broader
13
JUNE 2013
A Ba g e l Wa lks Int o a Ba r: Wha t a re y o ur f a v o rit e jo ke s f ro m BEDTI? He re a re a f e w o f o urs !
How do you make an e g g roll? You push it!
What do you call a che e se t hat s not yours? ! Nacho che e se !
What do you call a cow wit h no le g s? ! ! Ground be e f !
What t ime is it whe n 1 0 e le phant s are chasing you? 1 0 af t e r 1 :0 0 !
What did one e ye say t o t he ot he r e ye ? Be t we e n you and me , some t hing sme lls!
14
JUNE 2013
William Tells: Here William responds to questions about using improvisation in technique classes.
Send new question(s) for William, c/o Cynthia Williams, Williams@hws.edu by August 15.
Why Im now offering more opportunities for improvisation in dance technique classes
I am currently in Winnipeg for my annual residency at the School of Contemporary Dancers. Each morning, Im teaching a somatics lab for the students in the Professional Program (BFA equivalent) followed by an advanced technique class for professional dancers from different companies and third and fourth year students in the Professional Program. At the end of yesterdays class, I asked the dancers to begin modifying the across-the-oor pattern I had just shared with them, playing with the sequence, the rhythms and the effort life, as they danced from one corner to its opposite two at a time. I then asked them to interweave with my pattern anything else we had investigated in that class; the only restriction was that they must continue to move across the oor. I asked our musician to play whatever he liked. I gave this process about 15 minutes to unfold, and was increasingly delighted by what I witnessed. Each student selected a wide variety of movements from throughout the class, ingeniously nding ways of making stationary patterns travel and enjoying surprising transitions (and continuity) from pattern to pattern. They became more and more vibrant, as they engaged individual creativity in this problem-solving process and found ways of bringing their unique movement signatures, preferences and skills into the experience. This experience served as a form of assessment. I could see what they had retained, what interested them, how they interpreted what I had shared with them and how much variety I had included in the class. As we came to our closing circle, there was a sense of genuine exhilaration among the whole groupeven the normally quiet musician was enlivened by the experience. They were still learning technique, of course, because they were revisiting not only the patterns I had included in the class but also the underlying concepts I had emphasized and which they had embodied. They were also bringing themselves more into the process, including the decision-making function of the psyche as well as the sensing, feeling and thinking functions I had encouraged them to engage throughout the class. Those who were ready to jump emphasized airborne moments from the class; those wanting to explore their groundedness emphasized sliding, rolling propulsions at the low level. Some emphasized explorations of time and rhythm, others dynamics. Each revealed aspects of her/himself that may have not been brought out in this class otherwise. Over the past few years, I have increasingly included improvisational explorations of movement concepts within my technique classes. I usually begin by introducing a formal exploration of these concepts, within a structured sequence with set phrasing. I then invite
15

William Tells cont.
JUNE 2013
students to modify my sequence, emphasizing what holds the most aliveness for them today and following their own breath rhythms. I sometimes invite them to select two portions of a pattern, one that felt one most satisfying and one that was the most challenging, and suggest they build their exploration around those two segments. Such an exploration is often followed with a chance to reect upon, wrap words around and describe their experience with a peer or even with the whole class. When teaching new students in a master class, such improvisations allow dancers to move vigorously and fully for portions of the class, rather than having to spend the whole class learning the counts and sequences of unfamiliar patterns. When teaching a semester-long course, I shift the improvisational explorations through different portions of the class throughout a three or four-week period. I sometimes open with an improvisational exploration of the B.F. concepts still resonating with them from our previous class. By witnessing their work, I can see what they have retained, what interested them and what still needs clarication. I nd improvisation explorations particularly useful in the big dancey phrase that usually constitutes the heart of a class. Some students struggle with counts, others with remembering sequences, some with my dynamics. When they struggle exceedingly, part of them shuts down and frustration can overwhelm them. By asking them to do the dance as I structured it and then continue to explore my dance in their own rhythms, dynamics and sequences, those struggles diminish and they are able to draw on their personal strengths and gifts to investigate the concepts I initially emphasized in ways that I would not have imagined. By separating underlying concepts, themes and principles from my par ticular choreographic forms and style, students are better able to transfer the knowledge they
generate in my classes to the technique classes they take from other faculty in our department, and to their work in repertory, improvisation and composition courses and in their own choreography. The technique class improvisational process demands that students take personal responsibility for their level of engagement in my classes. When they realize that their personal choices are important and can help them dance in compelling ways, they feel more empowered and condent and understand that technique concepts, principles and themes transcend dance styles. There are possible pitfalls, of course, especially the tendency of some students to use improvisation as a time to check out and fall back into comfortable personal clichs. I have created a strategy that helps with this problem: When I rst introduce improvisation in a semester-long technique course, it is in t r a n s i t i o n d a n c e s u s u a l ly o f e i g h t measuresthat happen as one group of dancers replaces another. Each dancer witnesses a partner as she/he investigates a movement pattern and then they replace other in space while investigating aspects of the pattern improvisationally. I request that each student keep dancing for the entire transition dance and that they stay engaged in investigation. If I see that they are just wafting around (falling back into personal clichs), I stop them and ask them to repeat the process. I encourage them to be interested in what they are doing and potentially interesting to anyone observing them. Sometimes, I have them repeat the transition dance process while their partner observes and then gives feedback. Some questions are, Did you perceive that your p a r t n e r w a s ge n u i n e ly i n v e s t i g a t i n g something about this dance? If so, what? Was your partner engaged? Was she/he engaging? By emphasizing that learning is active and that improvisation can be an enjoyable
16

William Tells cont.
JUNE 2013
problem-solving experience and a chance for each student to bring her/his unique voice into the process, I nd that most students understand pretty quickly how much they have to gain by fully engaging in these opportunities for exploration. Once I perceive that they have bought into the process, I begin to use improvisational technique explorations gradually throughout the whole class. I sometimes allow the students to guide themselves in these improvisational technique explorations. Other times, I will offer verbal guidance, emphasizing the concepts we are prioritizing in that days class and/or guiding them toward more internal awareness or a greater range of dynamicswhatever my intuition tells me will help make these explorations more relevant to and useful for them. If you havent yet tried including improvisation in technique classes, I encourage you to do so. Start in a small way and build on your successes. One unanticipated benet for busy teachers is that you will need to prepare fewer movement phrases for your classes. It has become my goal in recent years to never work harder than my students, not because Im lazy, but because it is through their engagement and problem-solving that they grow. If I can structure their engaged learning and then step back and give only the guidance I perceive they need, we all benet.
J u d e
J u d e
In the Next Issue:

Seeking submissions for a Fall 2013 Bill Evans Dance Teachers Intensive Newsletter! Have some insight for our Applied Pedagogy section, a tip to share for Whats In My Pocket? A question about Bartenieff Fundamentals or Laban Theory youd like to pose, or write about? If youd like to contribute to any of the current sections, propose a new column, or start a new conversation, please contact Cynthia Williams at Williams@hws.edu. Wed love photographs from the Somatics Conference, the Brockport or St. Marys College BETI workshops, or any BETI-related activity.
17
JUNE 2013
International Conference: Teaching Somatics-Based Dance Technique begins June 20th!

Jo in us at t he Co lle g e at Bro c kpo rt f o r a t hre e -day c o nf e re nc e f e at uring re no w ne d d a nc e e d uc a t o rs , p e rf o rm e rs , and s o m a t ic prac t it io ne rs f ro m ac ro ss t he Unit e d St at e s, Canada, Euro pe and Me xic o . On t he sc he dule are over 25 pre se nt at io ns and w o rksho ps re pre se nt ing a v arie t y o f so m at ic m o dalit ie s: A le xande r T e c hniq ue , Bart e nie f f Fundam e nt als, Bo dy -Mind Ce nt e ring , Brain Gy m , East -W e st So m at ic s, Int e g rat e d Mo v e m e nt St udie s, Lab an A naly sis and o t he rs; ke y no t e addre sse s b y Dr. Mart ha Eddy , W illiam Ev ans and Do n Halq uist , and t w o danc e c o nc e rt s w it h so lo ist s and e nse m b le pe rf o rm e rs f ro m ac ro ss t he c o unt ry . A s a t ast e f o r w hat s in st o re , he re s an e xc e rpt f ro m Mart ha Eddy s art ic le : A Brie f Hist o ry o f So m at ic Prac t ic e s and Danc e : hist o ric al de v e lo pm e nt s o f t he e ld o f so m at ic e duc at io n and it s re lat io nship t o danc e , pub lishe d in t he Jo urnal o f Danc e and So m at ic Prac t ic e s , V o lum e 1 Num b e r 1 2 0 0 9 . Pe rhap s t he m o st st riking f e at ure o f t he hist o ric al e m e rg e nc e o f e ac h o f t he se so m at ic m o v e m e nt disc ip line s is t hat t he y de ne d, and no w share , a t he m e t hat t he re are m any p o ssib ilit ie s, no o ne t rut h, and always t he o p t io n t o m ake c ho ic e s if o ne c ho o se s t o t ake re sp o nsib ilit y f o r o ne s b o dy and liv ing p ro c e ss. ( 19) T he so m at ic p aradig m sup p o rt s a hyp o t he sis t hat awake ning t he b o dy e xp ands t he m ind and b e c ko ns so m at ic danc e p ro f e ssio nals to b e c o m e st ro ng b o t h o f b o dy and m ind. W it hin t he c o nt e xt s o f t he ac ade m y, m o re so m at ic re se arc h c an b e shap e d wit h t his f o rt it ude T he m arriag e o f danc e e duc at io n and so m at ic e duc at io n has se e n num e ro us b e ne t s t ip s fo r lo ng e v it y and t he ho ning o f o ur liv ing inst rum e nt , inro ads t o c re at iv e p ro c e ss e m p o we rm e nt t hro ug h s e lf - au t h o r it y an d in c r e as in g c o m m unic at io n W he n inue nc e d b y so m at ic inq uiry, c ho re o g rap hy and danc e sho uld we ll bec o m e of inc re asing int e re st to ac ade m ic inq uiry, e sp e c ially as it s im p ac t o n m o de rn c ult ure bec o m es m o re kno wn. ( 2 3 ) Danc e and So m at ic Educ at io n share t he g aunt le t : ho w t o st udy, awake n, and e v e n c ano niz e t he e lusiv e o b v io us, [ Mo she Fe lde nkrais] and b ring f o rt h t he de p t h o f kno wle dg e t hat e m e rg e s f ro m e ac h e ld, se p arat e ly and t o g e t he r, o ut o f t he ranks o f e e t ing m o m e nt s and int o t he ranks of Csiksz e nt m ihalyis Cre at iv e , wit h a c ap it al C. ( 2 3 -2 4 ) -- Mart ha Eddy
J u d e
18
JUNE 2013
Ne w s , Wo rks h o p s , a n d Tra n s it io n s : S t a y u p t o d a t e o n Willia m s t e a c h in g a n d p e rf o rm in g s c h e d u le , d e a d lin e s f o r w o rks h o p a p p lic a t io n s a n d c o n f e re n c e p ro p o s a l s u b m is s io n s . S u m m e r 2 0 1 3 o p p o rt u n it ie s in c lu d e :

37th Annual Bill Evans Summer Institute of Dance The College at Brockport Brockport, New York June 23 - 29, 2013 Session I: Teachers Intensive (for professional dance educators, dance graduate students and undergraduate students in dance education) Faculty: William Evans, Don Halquist and Cadence Whittier Courses: Bartenieff Fundamentals, Evans LabanBased Modern Dance Technique, Laban-Based Improvisation and Composition, Laban-Based Ballet, Pedagogy Seminar Saint Marys College Moraga, CA July 1-6, 2013 Session II: Teachers Intensive (for professional dance educators, dance graduate students and undergraduate students in dance education), Faculty: William Evans, Don Halquist, Debra Knapp and Suzie Lundgren Courses: Bartenieff Fundamentals, Evans LabanBased Modern Dance Technique, Laban-Based Improvisation and Composition, Pedagogy Seminar, Special Evening Events. William Returns as Fulbright Program Specialist Guatemala City, Guatemala July 8 - 20, 2013 Evans will conduct a follow-up workshop in Developing a Personal Pedagogy of Dance Technique for El Centro de Danza e Investigacin del Movimiento-Center for Dance and Movement Research, Artes Landvar, Universidad Rafael Landvar in Guatemala City, Guatemala. During his time in Guatemala, Evans plans additional activties. For more information: agaravito@url.edu.gt William at Kinections Dance/Movement Therapy Rochester, New York July 22 - 30, 2013 Seven-day workshop in the Bill Evans Approach to Laban Movement Analysis 718 University Avenue, Rochester, NY (585) 473-5050 / kinectionsinfo@kinections.com Mr. Evans will introduce basic concepts and practices of the LMA areas of knowledge: Body, Effort, Shape and Space, as he has found them transformative in his life and work. Students will be mostly participants in the Dance Movement Therapy program led by renowned dance movement therapist Danielle Fraenkel. (No classes on Sunday.) William and Don at the Dance Life Teacher Conference Scottsdale, Arizona August 1 - 4, 2013 William and Don return for the third time to this international conference to share their work in Modern Dance, Dance Pedagogy and Fundamentals of Movement For more information: www.dancestudiolive.com/dltc/ Bill Evans Dance Company performs at Jacob's Pillow, Inside/Out Stage Beckett, Massachusetts August 22, 2013, 6:15 - 7:00 p.m For the second consecutive year, BEDCO will appear in the historic Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. Choreography by Bill Evans will be: Impressions of Willow Bay, Los Ritmos Calientes, and Tres Tangos. Performers will be: Kathy Diehl, William Evans, Leah Fox, Don Halquist, Cheryl Johnson, Leanne Rinelli and Adrian Safar.
Transitions:
Congratulations to Falon
Baltzel
and for her new position at the Hathaway Brown Shaker Heights, Ohio and to Courtney School in
(MFA 2013) on her graduation,
World
University of the South in Swanee, Georgia. Well miss you
on her new position at the
in the Brockport area!
19

Bill Evans Dance Teachers Intensive Newsletter 2

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Bill Evans Dance Teachers Intensive Newsletter 2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

BILL EVANS DANCE TEACHERS INTENSIVE !

Certied Teachers Prole