Master Class Series

Cloud Gate 2 • Last Touch First • Alonzo King's LINES Ballet • Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet • KEIGWIN + COMPANY

Cloud Gate 2

This master class, led by Taiwanese choreographer Bulareyaung Pagarlava, features Bulareyaung’s own unique style of choreography, which combines elements from his own tribal ethnic roots and Eastern influences from his training with Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan. Striking in its use of martial arts and Qi Gong (an ancient breathing exercise), Bulareyaung’s movement style also features Western contemporary dance techniques, similar to those of Martha Graham, José Limón, and Merce Cunningham. Class participants will have the opportunity to experience the fusion of these dance techniques and to rehearse a short phrase from Bulareyaung’s work.

A native of the Paiwan tribe of Taiwan, Bulareyaung started his training at the age of 15 and began choreographing when he was a student at Taipei National University of the Arts. He is a former soloist with Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan who received a Performing Arts Fellowship from the Asian Cultural Council in 1998 to study in the USA. He was also a resident artist at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in 2007 and at the American Dance Festival (ADF) in 2008. Bulareyaung was commissioned by the Martha Graham Dance Company to create Lamentation Variation in 2009 and Chasing in 2011.

photo: Liu Chen-hsiang

Last Touch First

This class begins with a short warm-up that focuses on blood and air circulation, as well as stamina and general awareness and coordination of ones body. Participants will focus on Jiri Kylian’s philosophy and work, along with phrases from a work by Last Touch First dancer Václav Kunes. Physicality, musicality, coordination, and technique all play an important part in this class. Each participant will be encouraged to explore his or her own natural and unique style as it relates to the given material and his or her own body language and abilities.

Václav Kunes has set Mr. Kylian’s works on companies around the world. As a dancer and choreographer, he has worked with many renowned choreographers and companies, including NDT 2, Laterna Magika Theater in Prague, Copenhagen Int. Ballet, Korzo Theater in Den Haag and Station Zuid in Tilburg. In 2010, he created a work for the Ballet de l’Opera National de Bordeaux entitled Temporary Condition and staged his own work, Small Hour, for the Dominic Walsh Dance Theater in Houston, Texas. Later that year, he created REEN, a new work for 420PEOPLE.

photo: Robert Benschop

Alonzo King LINES Ballet

Arturo Fernandez, LINES Ballet Master, teaches a contemporary ballet class with a foundation in classical ballet. The class will focus on ideas, energy, transitions, and point of view. The goal of the class is to challenge the dancer, rather than offering known material. Dancers should be prepared to move and think, in addition to exploring with their own creativity.

Fernandez, a native of Oakland, CA, began dance training at the School of Performing Arts of USIU in San Diego. After only two years of intensive study, he joined San Diego Ballet in 1976. Other companies he’s performed with include California Ballet, Arizona Ballet, New Jersey Ballet, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, and Pittsburgh Ballet Theater. After moving back to California, he joined Oakland Ballet and ODC/San Francisco and served as the assistant to the choreographers from 1988 until spring of 1991. Arturo has choreographed for the James Sewell Ballet, Inland Pacific Ballet, and Alonzo King LINES. Since 1992, he has been the Ballet Master for Alonzo King LINES Ballet, assisting Alonzo King in the creation of new work.

photo: RJ Muna

Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet

Taught by Artistic Director Benoit-Swan Pouffer and Ballet Mistress Alexandra Damiani, Cedar Lake's class is designed to give dancers a well-rounded overview of contemporary ballet and Cedar Lake's repertoire. The class begins with a warm-up and continues on to a section that incorporates the principles and techniques of choreographers whose work will be presented at The Joyce. The class culminates in phrases from Benoit-Swan Pouffer's own work, which relates to the techniques that inspire him. The goal of this class is to give students the opportunity to dance company repertory and to work with the artistic staff in a rehearsal-like process.

photo: Erez Sabag

KEIGWIN + COMPANY

Material for this class is shaped by Larry Keigwin's distinctive vocabulary, which combines physicality and theatricality with a contemporary, pop perspective. Highlighting the athleticism and virtuosity of Keigwin's work, the class is guided by a gradual, yet strong flow. Participants begin with a walking mediation and continue on with exercises that utilize articulation and sequencing through limbs to warm up the body. Next, they will move through space with phrase work while investigating the use of weight and speed. Through a sense of playfulness, the class will encourage students to discover authentic movement.

Larry Keigwin founded KEIGWIN + COMPANY (K+C) in 2003 and, as Artistic Director, has led the company in performances at theaters and dance festivals throughout New York City and across the country. In addition to his work with K+C, Keigwin’s recent commissions include Works & Process at the Guggenheim, The Juilliard School, The New York City Ballet's Choreographic Institute, and The Martha Graham Dance Company, among many others. In 2011, Keigwin choreographed the new musical Tales of the City, at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, as well as the new off-Broadway production of RENT, now running at New World Stages.

photo: Matt Murphy

Please check back often for the most up-to-date information. And, visit our calendar to see when these exciting companies will perform at The Joyce!

Schedule is subject to change. These are open level classes. $15/person/class

Please contact Tiffany LaPearl at tlapearl@joyce.org to register or if you have any questions.