GRAHAM; 9AM - 1PM

BIO:

Lili Tewes is originally from Hamburg, Germany, and graduated from the Martha Graham School under the artistic direction of Janet Eilber, where she danced principal roles in several of Graham's ballets, including "Woman in White" in Diversion of Angels and "Pioneer Woman" in Appalachian Spring. She danced for RIOULT Dance NY, Sensedance, CES Danceworks, CRDance Company, has performed works by Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Pascal Rioult, Jacqulyn Buglisi, Virginie Mécène, Henning Rübsam, Caterina Rago, and collaborated on projects with Alastair Macaulay, New York Theatre Ballet, and the Buglisi Dance Theatre. Lili was the director of the modern dance department at TANZWERK School for Ballet and Movement, served as the rehearsal director for Sensedance, Finleigh Zack Dance, and CES Danceworks, and was awarded a residency at K3 Center for Choreography at Kampnagel. Her work as a choreographer was featured at Tanztheater Wuppertal create and presented at the Martha Graham Studio Theater. In the USA, Lili taught at Peridance, 92Y Harkness Dance Center, New York Theatre Ballet School, Western Connecticut State University, and was a teaching artist with the DanceREACH program. From the age of ten, Lili studied Hula under Kumu Hula Kalei'ulaokala Makekau to later join her company in Hawai'i and toured Europe and the USA.

CLASS DESCRIPTION:

Based on the principles of Martha Graham’s dance technique, with expressive, dynamic movement material to build strength, balance, stamina, focus, and work on technique, movement skills, and self-awareness as a performer. With a strong emphasis on movement from the core, connecting physicality and emotionality, allowing dancers to explore and own their individual voice, take chances, and work on exposing the depths of human emotion through movement.

JAZZ FUSION; 11A - 1PM

BIO:

Samantha Chapa is a Mexican American artist based in New York City. She received her BFA in dance from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts where she studied ballet, contemporary, composition, improvisation, Filming the Moving Body, Live Video Performance Art, and pedagogy. Her interest in dance + technology led her to NYU Tisch Shanghai’s Interactive Media Arts program where she earned her Master of Arts, to cultivate a career in dance + technology, choreography, and multimedia storytelling. She is currently Gibney Digital Media Initiative’s Associate, where her job entails being the videographer and video editor for all of Gibney’s departments, including Gibney Company.

BIO:

Alex is a native Texan, alumna of Booker T. Washington HSPVA under Lily Weiss, and went on to receive my BFA at The Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College (SUNY) in New York. For the past three years, they have been living and based in Tel Aviv, working between both Israel and Europe as a dancer and choreographer/teacher. They’ve worked with choreographers such as Damien Jalet, Andrea Martini, Emilie Leriche, Shawn Fitzgerald Ahern, Troy Ogilvie, Doug Varone, and more. And recently was on tour with Norwegian choreographer Alan Lucien Øyen and his company WinterGuests.

As a choreographer and teacher, they’ve had the pleasure of working both internationally and within the States with professional companies and programs including Dallas Black Dance Theatre, The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance (Israel), Dance Arts Faculty (Italy), Dance Italia (Italy), Booker T. Washington HSPVA, and more.

CLASS DESCRIPTION:

Class consists of habit breaking - offering improvisational tasks to discover new ways of movement and applying those discoveries to phrase work and choreography

GRAHAM; 9AM - 1PM

BIO:

Gillian Bowen is a modern and contemporary dancer based in NYC. She studied with the Martha Graham School and is a certified teacher of the Graham technique. Having experienced many facets of the dance world since starting her training at the age of five, Gillian is looking to expand its current structures and transcend its limitations.

CLASS DESCRIPTION:

Dancers will start with a traditional Graham warm-up, setting a strong foundation for the session. Following this, we will go into short exercises designed to help you harness the power of your body, enhancing your emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and non-verbal communication. We will delve into explorations of power, looking at the way dancers embody power, how thinking bodies create structures and systems anchored in power, and how we are emotionally provoked by power.

MUSICAL THEATER JAZZ; 11AM - 1PM

BIO:

James Kinney is a World Choreography Award-winning director, choreographer and creative producer whose celebrated artistic vision has established him as a respected voice in the world of dance entertainment across all mediums.

Most recently, Kinney has conceived, directed, and choreographed five short films currently garnering acclaim around the globe. With over 30 official selections including Cannes Indie Shorts Awards, San Francisco Dance Film Festival, New York International Film Festival, and Los Angeles Dance Shorts, his films “Lady be Good”, “Melancholy Man” and “Anyone” have won Best Dance Film, Best Direction, Best Performance, and Best Cinematography, respectively.

James’ work has bridged the worlds of dance and fashion, having directed and choreographed innovative live events for Hermès of Paris and MARLI New York.

Having begun his career as a dancer and actor on Broadway in iconic shows such as Fosse and Sweet Charity, and with his choreographic roots in theatre and concert dance, Kinney has been named BroadwayWorld's Best Choreographer for several theatrical works, created celebrated pieces for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, choreographed over 40 major musicals (including such favorites as Chicago, Disney’s Newsies, Kinky Boots, and The Addams Family), and created world-premier pieces for Fire Island Dance Festival and Hudson Valley Dance Festival, as well as several ballets in repertoire with New Jersey Ballet. Kinney's choreography has been seen on such iconic stages as The Hollywood Bowl, Lincoln Center, The Old Globe, The Kimmel Center and The Marquis and Minskoff Theatres on Broadway.

CLASS DESCRIPTION:

Kinney puts a contemporary spin on classical theater jazz. Technical warm up followed by challenging and actor driving based choreography.

CONTEMPORARY; 1PM - 3PM

BIO:

Joshua Leon Eguia is a performer, choreographer and teacher based in New York City. He has collaborated in the creation of original roles including with Vladimir Varnava for the International Touring Production of Natalia Osipova’s Isadora. He has danced and created with notable choreographers and companies including Karole Armitage, The Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Alison Clancy, Mayte Natalio, Christopher and Lauren Grant, Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre, Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center, Bill T. Jones, Marc Jacobs, VRSNL, and Arthur Aviles Typical Dance Theatre. Joshua Leon Eguia is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive.

CLASS DESCRIPTION:

Dancers can expect to have a class that combines ballet and contemporary forms with a focus on performance qualities.

MLDT REP; 3PM - 5PM

BIO:

Mason Lee is the proud Executive Artistic Director of Mason Lee Dance Theater. In addition to this, he’s a bicoastal interdisciplinary based choreographer, dancer, and writer. He has studied at dance institutions such as Center of Creative Arts (COCA), The Ailey School, and Professional Performing Arts High School. He graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts with a Major in Dance and Minor in Pre-law in 2021 and since then has been taking on various choreographic endeavors including participating in Greenspace’s Digging in Group (D.I.G.), New York Theatre Barn’s Open Lab, Dance Lab New York’s Broadway Choreographic Intensive, and COCA’s Inaugural Choreographic Lab.

Mason has presented work nationally including venues such as Stomping Ground LA, Hollywood Majestic Theater, COCA’s Catherine B. Berges Theater, and NYU’s Jack Crystal Theater to name a few. Additionally, Mason has showcased his love for both dance and filmmaking in several short films, including his Studio Sessions series, which has become his playground for learning and pushing the boundaries of the two art forms. Mason has also fulfilled roles that help support choreographic teams. This includes serving as the Assistant Choreographer for Rodney Chrome’s AFROPUNK! set in 2022.

CLASS DESCRIPTION:

Mason will be teaching a section of “Untitled 44: Take Five!” from the company’s rep.