SALT DANCE FEST 2012
Two weeks of dance, collaboration, and art-making. June 4 – June 15, 2012. University of Utah.
With internationally renowned guest artists Vicky Cortés (Costa Rica) // Marina Mascarell (Spain & the Netherlands) // Paul Selwyn Norton (UK & Australia)
OVERVIEW
SaltDanceFest brings together internationally renowned dance artists Vicky Cortés, Marina Mascarell and Paul Selwyn Norton for two weeks of moving, collaborating and dance making, June 4 – 15, 2012. SaltDanceFest is excited to have these significant, cutting edge artists in residence for their international perspectives and the artistic legacies they represent: Cortés (Pina Bausch), Mascarell (Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet and Nederlands Dans Theater I & II), and Norton (Frankfurt Ballet under the direction of William Forsythe, and the Australian dance company Chunky Move).
SaltDanceFest, which highlights and investigates the creative process, is a laboratory that nurtures and supports experimentation, exploration, curiosity, collaboration and the development of innovative choreography. Participants work intimately with esteemed guest artists on developing and exploring ideas in dance and choreography.
Participants may select from three blocks of daily classes, which include: 1) Morning Class – Contemporary Technique (Cortés and Mascarell); 2) Early Afternoon Class – Creative Process/Composition (Mascarell) or Partnering/Composition (Norton); and 3) Late Afternoon Class – Repertory Lab (Cortés or Norton). Specific class requests, identified on the application form, are on a first come first served basis. Further class information follows. The workshop/festival additionally includes lectures and panel discussions with the guest artists, an improvisation jam and social events, and culminates in a performance of works by both participants and the guest artists.
Workshop participants are expected to be mature dancers and young professionals interested in further developing his/her choreographic, creative, performance and movement investigative skills. Participants must be 18 or older, and are expected to dance at least at an intermediate technical level. Enrollment is limited, providing more individual attention for each workshop participant. Housing and meals are available at an additional cost. College credit is available. SDF participants may extend their studies in Utah at Repertory Dance Theatre’s Summerdance 2012 Workshop, an in–depth dance workshop with master teacher and choreographer, Susan Hadley, June 18–29. Info at www.rdtutah.org
WORKSHOPS & CLASSES
Classes June 4 – 15 (M–F).
Morning Class — 9:30–11:30
Contemporary Technique – Cortés & Mascarell
Contemporary technique class serves as physical preparation for the day and a rigorous exploration into movement. SaltDanceFest participants self-select either the intermediate/advanced or advanced/professional level class. Cortés and Mascarell teach in both levels. Morning classes are open to the public on a single class option if space is available.
Early Afternoon Class — 12:30–2:30
A. Creative process/Composition — Mascarell orB. Composition/Partnering — Norton
Mascarell and Norton guide and mentor SaltDanceFest participants in developing their own choreographic investigations. Participants work with the same artists for the entire two-week span in order to maintain continuity. Norton’s class focuses on partnering, while Mascarell looks at improvisation and musicality within the choreographic process.
Late Afternoon Class — 3:00–5:00
Repertory Lab — Cortés and Norton
Cortés and Norton will develop new works on workshop participants who serve as performers and choreographic collaborators. Each artist leads a group for the entire workshop, thereby deeply immersing participants in their unique creative process and aesthetic.
SDF participants do not need to work with the same artist in the early and late afternoon class.
CLASS DESCRIPTIONS
Morning Class
Contemporary Technique – Cortés & Mascarell
Cortés – "This class aims to generate stimuli that are useful in developing physical awareness and consciousness, which allow the dancer to approach the infinite forms of dance with organic precision. We will work on the relationship between tension and relaxation, the constant physical adaptations needed in order to achieve stability and precise organization, movement initiation, trajectories and the flux of movement in space and time. We aspire to develop the ability to react with simplicity."
Mascarell – "I understand class as preparation to approach the requirements imposed in a choreographic process. I emphasize the connection between movement and the imagination. Class will consist of different techniques and aesthetic approaches, and my interpretation of those techniques. Exercises deal with photographic memory, improvisation as a means to develop bodily knowledge, partnering and being able to surprise ourselves."
Early Afternoon Class
A. Creative Process/Composition – Mascarell
Mascarell – "This class focuses on finding ease of movement through the body and investigating how our awareness, intention and imagination can inform us as we shift through set and improvised material. The work will challenge coordination, spatial, architectonic, and kinetic skills, with an emphasis placed on musical sensibility and artistry. It will also incorporate partnering work, playing with the movement and with the connectivity of the limbs between partners. We will explore principles of choreographic composition, to assist the student in optimizing his/her sensitivity with the material. Participants will learn to pay special attention in their qualities and personality."
B. Composition/Partnering – Norton
Norton – "These classes will invite students to investigate some of the choreographic skills Norton applies while in the process of creating. Over the two weeks, a deep analysis of phrasing and composition, coupled with developing partnering skills, will offer SDF participants the chance to really create play within the choreographic territory.” Norton’s choreography has been described as "Stunning, unpredictable, eloquent and quirky"
Later Afternoon Class
Repertory Lab – Cortés and Norton
Cortés – "This repertory workshop will use as a starting point my dance work A la Par del Cuerpo (Next to the Body). By using improvisation based on specific expressive goals (listening, reacting, opening up, and playing out difficulties and wishes), and relating this with the choreographer’s base materials, a new work will evolve that marries the physical with thought and emotion. The dancers will participate in an open process that invites each to contribute their diverse modes of expression and lived experiences, which in turn become the sources for artistic creation."
Norton – "Classes will center around several dances in my repertory, specifically Rite We Are, and from commissioned sources (Batsheva/Koresh/Forsythe). Over two weeks, students will be introduced to my specific movement language and musical interpretation of these works. Choreographic phrases designed by clear movement systems will be played to rhythm or thrown into counterpoint. The essence of learning is clarity in execution coupled with a high caliber of musicality. Class will lead to the presentation of several sections of both the original and reorganized choreographies."
Evening and Free Day Events During the workshop
SaltDanceFest events include:
| June 3 | Workshop welcome and orientation |
| June 7 | Video Viewing of guest artist work and lecture |
| June 9 | Picnic |
| Improvisation Jam | |
| June 10 | (DAY OFF) Optional– SaltDanceFest organized day trips to either the mountains or Great Salt Lake |
| June 12 | Panel discussion with guest artists |
| June 14 & 15 | Performance – Guest artists, rep works by the guest artists performed by SaltDanceFest participants, selected participant works created during the workshop/festival. |
| Party to follow June 15 |
SaltDanceFest participants receive complimentary tickets to all performances and events.
SALTDANCEFEST FEES
Participants are encouraged to take the entire workshop, three classes daily for two weeks. Participants may elect to take only one or two blocks of the class, one/two classes daily for two weeks. It may also be possible to arrange taking only one week, which is the minimum that a participant may enroll in one of the afternoon classes (contact SDF if you wish to request this option). The morning contemporary technique classes are open on a drop-in basis to those not fully participating in SaltDanceFest, space permitting.
Tuition for Full Participation in SaltDanceFest - $660, $600 if registered by April 15
Tuition for a single block of classes, morning, early afternoon or late afternoon – two weeks - $225
Individual morning contemporary technique class - $20. Open to public, space available.
SDF participants may extend their studies in Utah at Repertory Dance Theatre’s Summerdance 2012 Workshop, an in–depth dance workshop with master teacher and choreographer Susan Hadley, June 18–29. Information at www.rdtutah.org.
WORK–STUDY OPPORTUNITIES
SaltDanceFest is able to offer a limited number of work–study scholarships, which would lower tuition costs by half. Work–study scholarships are available only to those taking the full workshop, 3 classes daily for 2 weeks. To be considered for work–study, check the work–study box on the SDF application form. In addition, submit a brief essay (one page) as to why you are applying for work–study and how you see SaltDanceFest supporting your artistic interests. Work–study dancers will perform a variety of jobs during the festival. These responsibilities should not interfere with any classes.
Those wishing to be considered for work–study must submit the SDF application and full tuition by April 15th. Those offered a work–study position will have part of their tuition reimbursed.
LOCATION
SaltDanceFest takes place on the University of Utah campus, Salt Lake City, in the beautiful Marriott Center for Dance, which features six large studios and a 330–seat theater. The campus is situated in the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains overlooking Salt Lake City. The surrounding area offers tremendous recreational activities.
ARRIVAL & ORIENTATION
Salt Lake City is a Delta hub, served by multiple other airlines. Taxis to campus housing are inexpensive. The University is linked to downtown Salt Lake City by light rail.
SaltDanceFest participants should arrive on Sunday, June 3 in order to check in at the orientation meeting, 7pm at the Marriott Center for Dance.
ROOMS & MEALS
Campus housing is available for SaltDanceFest participants. Participants may be housed in University dormitories, typically in single rooms. An on-campus meal plan is available; there are multiple other eating options on or off-campus convenient to the Marriott Center for Dance.
| On campus housing: | $25/night. (Rates subject to change) |
| Meals: | 10 meals @ $82.50 plus tax 25 meals @ $200.00 plus tax 50 meals @ $387.50 plus tax 75 meals @ $562.50 plus tax or 12 meals/week @ $12.84/day 19 meals/week @ $13.96/day (Rates subject to change) |
To arrange housing and meals, please send your request and questions to info@dance.utah.edu or 801/581-7327.
COLLEGE CREDIT
SaltDanceFest participants may receive college credit for the workshop/festival, 1–4 credits at $140/credit. To register for credit contact: info@dance.utah.edu or 801/581-7327. Credit may be arranged during the workshop.
REPERTORY DANCE THEATER’S SUMMERDANCE 2012 WORKSHOP
Repertory Dance Theatre presents Summerdance 2012, an in-depth dance workshop with master teacher and choreographer, Susan Hadley, former principal dancer with Mark Morris, Senta Driver and Meredith Monk, rehearsal director of White Oak Project and currently Professor of Dance at Ohio State University. Workshop Participants will have the opportunity to study Modern Dance Technique and Composition with Ms. Hadley and will learn the work she is setting on RDT side by side with the RDT dancers. Participants will also study Improvisation and learn historical and contemporary repertory selected from RDT’s vast modern dance library. The final workshop showing is on June 29 and all participants will perform alongside the RDT company.
Two week full tuition is $600, half-day tuition is $300 and Technique only is $15 per class. If participants register by April 15 a discount of $50 will apply to the two week full tuition only. If also attending the University of Utah’s Salt Dance Fest, participants can register for both workshops for a discounted price of $1100. University credit is available through the University of Utah’s Continuing Education Program for an additional $40 fee. For more information, please contact RDT at 801-534-1000, www.rdtutah.org, or lynne@rdtutah.org.
GUEST ARTIST BIOS
Vicky Cortés (Costa Rica)
Dancer, choreographer and teacher, Cortés began her professional career in 1986, working with important Costa Rican choreographers and various independent groups. Beginning in 1995 she spent several years in Europe, mostly in Germany and Switzerland, where she worked with important figures such as Pina Bausch at the Wuppertal Tanz Theater (guest dancer), Susanna Linke at the Bremen Tanz Theater (guest dancer), the Folkwang Tanz Studio, among others. Since 1998 she has worked as an independent choreographer and dancer, seeking to develop her own personal expression, working alone or inviting different artists and performers to participate in her creative projects according to their individual characteristics. She also works as an invited performer in specific artistic projects. Throughout her professional career she has performed her own and others’ works in France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Spain, Holland, Denmark, England, the USA, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Dominican Republic and Israel. She has also danced and presented her work in villages, jails, public schools and parks in Costa Rica. Cortés has worked as a teacher in Costa Rica, Spain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Brazil, Mexico Nicaragua, and Argentina. Her own training includes classical ballet, Laban Methodology, Joss-Leder, Graham technique, Limon technique, Contact Improvisation, Release, New Dance, Quinomichi, Bartenieff, Rhasa Boxes, physical theater, theater direction, dramatic forms, Somatics, Feldenkrais, and folklore. Since 2004 she has been a professor at the Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica, where she teaches contemporary dance technique, methodology and composition, both in the Bachelor's Degree Program and in the Master’s Degree Program. In 2011 she became the director of the school’s Chamber Dance Company. She continues to work independently.
Marina Mascarell (Spain and the Netherlands)
Marina was born in Valencia Province, Spain. She studied Pedagogy applied to Dance at the Rey Juan Carlos University. Later she would acquire her Master’s Degree in Performing Arts in the same institution. She combined her studies with her performing career at a junior company in Madrid. She has been part of Nederlands Dans Theater II, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet and Nederlands Dans Theater I. Currently she is freelance choreographer, involved in several projects in and out of Europe. During these years in different companies she had the pleasure of working in pieces of Jiri Kylian, Ohad Naharin, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Stijn Celis, Didy Veldman, Gustavo Ramírez, Medhi Walerski, Jo Stromgen, Iván Pérez, Luka Veggetti, Jill Johnson, Hans Van Manen, Alexander Ekman, and Benoit-Swan Pouffer, among others. She has won various awards throughout her career including the Outstanding Dancer in the XIX Choreographic Competition of Madrid and with it a scholarship to the American Dance Festival in North Carolina and Movement Research in New York. During her time in The United States she created her first piece Discovering Secrets, which received the third prize, Audience Award and Scholarship for DanceWeb Europe in the XX Choreographic Competition of Madrid. She has created several choreographic works for different companies like Nederlands Dans Theatre I (UpComing Choreographers), Scapino Ballet Rotterdam (Twools), Dance Forum Taipei, and several independent projects with the support of Korzo Theater in The Hague, Netherlands. More info at http://marinamascarell.com
Paul Selwyn Norton (UK and Australia)
An autodidact, Paul was born and raised in Africa and the West Indies and has been a professional Dancer, Choreographer and Teacher for the last 23 years. As a rather wild and untamed thing, he hunted and gathered all the way up to his eventual position in William Forsythe’s prestigious Ballet Frankfurt. As a choreographer, he initially worked under the auspices of Dance House Korzo and after a series of successful productions, set up his own foundation ‘no apology’ in 2003. His works have toured extensively in most of the major global dance festivals, receiving many national and international prizes. Commissions include Batsheva Dance Company, Frankfurt Ballet, Pretty/Ugly Dance Company, Galili Dance, Chunky Move and Stalker Theatre. Paul’s work with Duda Paiva Company has also seen a radical addition to his practice with a combination of puppetry, dance and live media. While residing in Australia, Paul will be the acting Pacific region programmer and curator for Korzo Theatre in The Hague, Holland. His most recent 2011 Australian commissions include: Stalker Theatre “Encoded”, Expressions Dance “My Sweetest Choice” and Link “Moon/Hammer/Cycle”. More info at www.paulselwynnorton.com
APPLICATION INFO
Registration
To register for SaltDanceFest, full tuition is due with the application.
Cancellation & Refund Policy
SaltDanceFest fees will be fully refunded (less $50 administrative fee) only if written notice of cancellation is received on or before June 1. Room and board fees may also be refunded (less $50 administrative fee) if cancelled on or before June 1.
Application Instructions
Submit SaltDanceFest applications early to insure placement with artists of choice. Enrollment is limited. Placement with artists in the afternoon classes is limited to 16 per class in order to offer an intimate working environment and is on a first-come first-served basis. Once a class is filled, SaltDanceFest participants will be placed in their second choice of class. Application materials must be complete in order to be registered. To apply, complete the attached application form and mail to SaltDanceFest along with full tuition payment. Send to:
SaltDanceFestDepartment of Modern Dance
Marriott Center for Dance
330 S. 1500 E., Room #106
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0280
Payment may be made by check or money order payable to the University of Utah, Department of Modern Dance.
CONTACT
For Questions and Further Information: (801) 581-7327 or info@dance.utah.edu
