Old School Class

The 20th century marked the emergence of modern, postmodern, and contemporary dance practices, each reflecting the cultural and social contexts of its time. A century later, contemporary dance continues to evolve in response to that canon-driven lineage, now emphasizing norm-breaking and inclusiveness. Yet to truly challenge a norm, one must first understand how deeply it is rooted, and whether it still persists, perhaps camouflaged beneath new aesthetics.

To locate what is truly radical, we must become familiar with the norms that have been established, and with the ruptures and explosions that have produced genuine paradigm shifts.

In designing this class, I have looked into the foundational exercises that have shaped the history of Western contemporary dance. No technique arises from nothing. Each is born from a lineage, a dialogue, a continuity that both nourishes and reflects upon what came before.

Starting from a base of set movement exercises, I guide you into moments of structured improvisation, allowing older techniques to inform the newer ones. From old school to today, from Graham’s contractions to Paxton’s undulations, from Cunningham’s back extensions to Laban’s spatial harmony, inspired by Dunhams isolations and  Matt Mattox’s coordination work, through to the refined awareness of muscular tone in release techniques, we explore how history, form, and corporeal ideologies meet within the moving body.

Together, we re-enact past paradigm shifts to help us perceive which norms persist. Together, in movement,  we reflect on what must still be done to break them.