Katie Aggen

Katie Aggen attended the University of California, Santa Cruz where she received her BA in Community Studies with College Honors and Phi Beta Kappa. Katie studied jazz, tap, ballet and hip hop before she came to modern dance. Katie danced in Los Angeles with Carol Solomon Dance Company, and in San Francisco with Company Chaddick, Strong Current, EmSpace, Dance Elixir, Printz Dance Project and Dance Continuum SF. In New York, she has had the pleasure of dancing for Darcy Naganuma, Dixon Mena, Chris Ferris, Randy James and Sheri Celentano. In 2006, Katie performed Eye Candy with Maria Colaco Dance at the NYC Fringe Festival. Recently, Katie appeared as a guest artist for Shen Wei Dance Arts, and she has toured to Amsterdam and France with Jana Hicks and Marijke Eliasberg’s The Next Stage Project. Currently, Katie dances with Isabel Gotzkowsky & Friends, TNSP, VaBang and KDNY. Katie’s teaching credits include: San Francisco Dance Center, SF School of the Arts and Rutgers University.

Class Description
Class begins on the floor with Pilates mat exercises to warm the joints and core muscles, then progresses to exploring the floor space with various leg swings, arches and curls and some yoga postures. Standing center work builds out of the floor material and focuses on technical alignment and using core muscles to facilitate movement. Short exercises incorporate footwork, weight change, momentum and release, as well as phrase work that travels side to side, to the floor and upside down. The class concludes with longer phrase work to encourage and challenge physicality, musicality, technique and artistry.

Carter Turrell Celente

Carter Celente began studying the Simonson Technique at Barnard College/Columbia University in 1994 and continued her training under Lynn Simonson and Katiti King at Dance Space Center/Dance New Amsterdam. She has performed her own work as well as choreography by Katiti King.

Class Description
Carter Celente has been a teacher of Contemporary Jazz Simonson Technique since 2006. Simonson Technique, developed by Lynn Simonson, is a comprehensive and anatomically based technique that prepares the body to dance with awareness and safety. Carter’s class focuses on the fundamentals of the Simonson Technique, with an emphasis on organic movement and musicality. Her warm-up and choreography help students develop not only their technical skills and flexibility but also their sense of rhythm and body connectedness.

Ed Rice

Edward Rice, originally from the suburbs of Chicago, holds a B.S. and an M.F.A in Dance Performance from Illinois State University and the University of Iowa, respectively. His choreography has received honors at ACDFA Conferences and has been performed throughout the Mid-West. In New York, his work has been presented at Dixon Place and as part of Synethisia by Electric Pear Productions. He has performed with Jennifer Kayle + Company, The Brian Brooks Moving Company, Stone Depot Dance Lab, Jody Oberfelder Dance Projects, Amber Sloan, and Elizabeth Dishman. He currently dances with Alexandra Beller/Dances, Laura Peterson Choreography and Ephemerui(Benjamin Rasmussen). He has taught Technique and Improvisation throughout the Mid-West and at the New School (substitute for A. Beller), The International Dance Festival in Bytom, Poland and The Open Look Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia. In his other life he is the Production Coordinator at Dance New Amsterdam.

Class Description
In this class we will use the studio as our laboratory. Through improvisational experiments we will work to learn about the dynamics and mechanics of our bodies and incorporate that knowledge into performing set material. Dancers need to develop many abilities, such as: endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance, accuracy, creativity, musicality, presence, and subtlety (to name a few). All of these things are available for us to work on daily, but giving them equal attention is challenging. In class we will choose a few of these things to focus on while keeping all of them within arms reach.

Jenny Rocha

Rocha is a teacher, performer and director of Rocha Dance Theater. She?s been a member of Heidi Latsky Dance since 2004 and recently worked with Sean Curran Company and Kelli Wicke Davis. Jenny’s been a guest artist at ACDFA/Connecticut College, West Virginia University and a revisiting artist at Roger. Her choreography has been presented by Danspace Project, Joyce Soho, Y and more. Currently, Jenny is an artist-in-residence at Galapagos Art Space. She graduated with a BA in dance from Roger Williams University.

Class Description
During a thorough and active warm-up, students will focus on alignment and breath in an effort to be grounded and working at full potential. Center phrasing will be athletic, quirky movement that emphasizes floor work and moving horizontally through space. Students will investigate the physical intent of the movement by exploring imagery, dynamic direction and specified rhythms. The class will be full of purposeful motion!

Julia Burrer

Julia Burrer hails from Austin, Texas and graduated from SUNY Purchase with a BFA in Dance. She studied abroad at Rotterdamse Dansacademie in the Netherlands, as well as performed at the Hong Kong International Dance Festival in the summer of 2006. She has had the pleasure of dancing with and for the following lovely folks - Daniel Charon, Adriane Fang, Bill Young and Colleen Thomas, Teri and Oliver Steele, Gwen Welliver, Chimaera Physical Theater, and pocket engine, directed by Nora Petroliunas and Sarah Oppenheim. Julia has been a member of Doug Varone and Dancers since 2007.

Class Description
In this class we will begin with a thorough, easy-to-follow warm up using a variety of Yoga and Pilates exercises. This will be loosely based on Oliver Steele’s Advanced Modern warm up. The class will build through various shorter exercises addressing momentum and gravity and figuring out how these forces can be used to our advantage. Class will end with a hefty-sized phrase in which we will focus on finding the play between muscularly energized movements and skeletally guided joint articulations.

Marjani Forte

Marjani Forte is a performer, instructor and choreographer. She is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University with B.A. in Marketing and a second major in Dance. Her early training has been with Los Angeles master instructors Karen McDonald, Stephen Semien, Ka-Ron Brown-Lehman, ballet-master Don Hewitt, modern dance pioneer Rudy Perez, and later the Alvin Ailey School Summer Intensives 2000-2003. As a performer, Marjani has worked with several artists and companies including Earl Mosely’s Diversity of Dance, Garth Fagan and is in her 4th year with Urban Bush Women. She has premiered works by acclaimed choreographers Blondell Cummings, Camille Brown, and Nia Love. She can be seen as an original cast member in the historical collaboration between Jawole Zollar and Germaine Acogny (director of Compagnie Jant-Bi) in the acclaimed Scales of Memory. Marjani has performed and taught pre-professional, professional, and non-professional workshops internationally- including Germany, England, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and beyond. Marjani has commenced development on her solo work titled Moments In Prayer, centered on the dynamics of spirituality in collaboration with poet and musician Everett Saunders.

Class Description
For the Student/Training professional, Marjani’s classes and workshops explore elements of performing and developing artistry in addition to technique that fosters agility, abandon, and athletic virtuosity. While investigating- Subtlety and the Overt, the Use of Breath, Speaking and Listening through movement, and Dynamic Shifts, students will dive into this organic and richly diverse style that finds strength and power through opposition, lengthening, momentum, and rhythmic play. This class asks for the student to execute tasks in the body then explore their unique voice as a performer. It encourages the artist in the student and an exchange in the room.

Alessandro Pellicani

Alessandro is best known for his work on Italian national television R.A.I. as a principal dancer, and Studio 54 The Musical where he was assistant choreographer. He was then asked to dance a tribute for Pope John Paul II. Recognized for his work internationally, most recently Alessandro choreographed a Florida production of Cy Colemans“The Life”and just completed a commercial with Dita Von Teese for Cointreau Liquors. He’s know choreographing various project around New York City, Including the benefit OceanSpirit, for the preservation of our oceans.!

Class Description:
Alessandro combines strength, technique, and style throughout every part of his class. His warm-up will start by using floor barre and Qi Qong (breathing technique) to activate the core; allowing students to find their own body’s balance in a safe, controlled environment. Giving each student more confidence with their movement Alessandro uses the ‘three selves’ (body, mind, and soul) to aid their technique and phrase work during class. His style focuses on transitions and change of directions using musicality and strength to attain a higher quality of performance. Throughout the class, an emphasis will be put on injury prevention.

Claire Tunkel

Claire Tunkel, originally from Virginia, graduated from Hollins University with a bachelor’s degree in dance and studio art. She is currently a Teaching Artist for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Manhattan New Music Project and Dance New Amsterdam. She has taught dance for organizations that include the Hudson Repertory Dance Theater, Ballet Tech, and Kinderdance. Since moving to New York she has danced for the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, Nathan Trice/Rituals, Ellis Wood dance, Colleen Thomas, Theresa Ling, Elizabeth Hazelwood, Gina Kohler, ShaLeigh Dance Works and Ayo Jackson.

Class Description
This beginning modern class will start with a warm up, bringing attention to alignment, physical strength, flexibility and momentum. We will explore the full range of motion in the body and use movement phrases as a vehicle for students to develop their practice of dancing mindfully and with attention to detail.

Donnell Oakley

Donnell Turner Oakley grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina and spent 15 influential years dancing under Lemma and Glenda Mackie at Arts Together. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography in 2001 and attended the American Dance Festival in the summers of 1999 and 2001. Since moving to New York in 2002, Donnell has had her work produced by The Joyce Soho, Triskelion Arts, Movement Research, and Dance New Amsterdam. Donnell feels fortunate to have had 6 extraordinary years with her collaborative company, everything smaller. She currently adores collaborating and dancing with Chavasse Dance and Performance, SteeleDance, and Doug Elkins and Friends.

I am interested in offering a class that fulfills the dancers need to abandon what he or she thinks their boundaries are with movement. I want to play and investigate various techniques with the dancers. I want to create an authenticity to approaching movement in a class atmosphere where my plan may veer depending on how well they are absorbing the material. I think that teaching holds a certain responsibility to keep questioning your approach and is a constant experiment to find a better explanation.

Class Description
Technique class will begin by pouring weight into the floor while finding simultaneous support through space. The dancer’s self investigation will continue through improvisation, partnering, and/or across the floor work. We will be preparing both mind and body to find a genuine awareness from moment to moment as well as permission to play within the given structure. This class will culminate with a movement phrase carving through space with momentum, inversions, slicing, bracing, counter-rotation, and gathering in to explode again.

Akiko Tomikawa

Akiko Tomikawa is a native of Japan, and a dancer ,choreographer, dance instructor and music editor. Currently she is in residency at Center for Remembering and Sharing. She had worked for Sadamatsu-Hamada Ballet Company in Japan for 10 years ,where she had danced various classical repertories and contemporary works. She moved to NYC in 2004, and was involved in the visa program at DNA till 2009. During the program, she built her carrier as a contemporary/modern dancer , working with Jana Hicks, Diane McCarthy, Marijke Eliasberg, Heather McArdle, Oliver Steele, Laurie De Vito, and many others. She has been a company member of The Next Stage Project (by Jana & Marijke) since 2005 and she toured to The Netherlands, France, and Sweden with the company as a choreographer. Her first solo piece was selected by New Steps Choreography Series 2009 at Chen Dance Center in NYC. She has teaching experience in classical ballet and modern technique at Sadamatsu-Hamada Ballet School & Jr. Ballet Company in Japan, and Steps on Broadway in NYC, Arts in Long Island City and CRS. She was certificated Simonson Teacher Training at DNA in 2006

Class Description
This class will focus on each person’s expression, passion, musicality & sense of space and integrating those into the physical techniques. During the warm-up I aim to find neutral posture, core strength & the maximum possibility of each body.

Stephanie Landouer

Native of France, Stéphanie trained in Jazz dance and Ballet.  After graduating from the Cefedem de Loire Atlantique, where she worked with artists such as Geraldine Armstrong, Wayne Barbaste, Dominique Petit, she started to teach Jazz and Contemporary dance. Stéphanie danced with  Jazz Companies Style and Feeling, and LAinsidanse, for which she was both assistant and choreographer. In 2007, Stéphanie came to New York and has since performed with companies such as Labyrinth Dance Theater, Ko-Ryo Dance Theater, and The Next Stage Project. She has also had the privilege to work with the British-German artist Tino Sehgal, performing “Instead of allowing some things to rise up to your face, dancing bruce and dan and other things”. Stéphanie currently dances with Isabel Gotzkowsky and Friends, and Diane McCarthy. She currently teaches children at the Amarilys Academy of Dance Arts (NJ), and at Art Plaza, in Brooklyn. Other teaching credits include Peridance Center and Danse Elite in Westchester.

Class Description
Stéphanie’s idea in approaching the warm-up is to treat it as a movement phrase. Although the exercises are focusing on proper alignment and inner strength, they always involve the body as a whole in motion. The movement phrases, punctuated by dancing transitions and big movement sequences, are made to allow the students to let go and to reveal their artistic sensibility while practicing their basic technique. Stéphanie’s choreography often includes tension/release, momentum, spirals and off center challenges. The goal is to explore how the movement can lead the dancer to feel emotions and mutually use these emotions to deepen and nourish the movement itself - all in an encouraging, relaxed and fun environment.