Residency Activities

The workshops in technique, improvisation and choreography offered by ChameckiLerner reach out to dancers and choreographers in local communities who are typically inspired by the Company's distinct style of moving and staging. These are the classes/workshops offered:

WORKSHOPS
Composition/Improvisation
In this class we will explore choreographic ideas through improvisation. These improvisations are based on task oriented physical structures. By suggesting these structures where the body is busy in resolving its tasks, we aim to reach directness and clarity. The ultimate goal becomes to strip the movement to its essence, thereby creating a tangible image.
Class will begin with a slow and thorough warm-up that will focus on release-based technique, extensive floor exercises, manipulation and isolation of different parts of the body, to prepare the body for improvisation. The teacher will suggest the initial structures. On a later stage, the dancers will be encouraged to create their own structures. Eventually they will
transform the improvisation into set material and polish this material.

Partnering Improvisation
In this class, we will use structures of improvisation specifically for partnering work. The focus will be to generate new tools to help create complex manipulations and awareness in partnering.

Technique
Class will begin with a slow and thorough warm-up that will focus on establishing connections through our skeletal structure and into the floor. By establishing these connections we may begin to identify and release superficial muscles to find a deeper support from within. We will encourage our bodies to work with clarity so that movement may be executed fully and with little effort. After that, students will learn sections of the company repertory. Some sections will be reworked with the students' input, following the same improvisation structures used to create the original movements of that section. From here we can further investigate timing, focus and more subtle nuances in movement.

Repertory
Students learn sections of repertory or whole dances, if there is enough time. Some sections can be reworked with the students' input, following the same improvisation structures used to create the original movements of that section.

LECTURE/DEMONSTRATION
Company Lecture: A one-hour lecture/demonstration to familiarize the audience with the creative process generally used by the choreographers. The company shows excerpts of its repertory and explains the structures that helped generate that specific section. Following, the members will show a basic phrase and how it develops into the piece. Finally, the company conducts a 15-minute question and answer session. The lecture/demonstration can be adjusted to suit any age group and any level of dance knowledge.