ADF EVENT REGISTRATION FORM: ADF Event Registration

DANCE INSTRUCTORS & CLASS DESCRIPTIONS: Teacher Bios & Class Info

Title: Arizona Dance Festival Classes
Location: Al Moro Studio, 806 E. Camelback Road Phoenix AZ 85014
Description: OCTOBER 14th (11:30am-12:30pm) at Al Moro Studio
Ava Fleming’s dynamic performances captivate audiences worldwide, while her talent and skill in both the academic and performance arenas have made her a regular guest presenter in 5 continents. Ava has been a traveling professional for over 15 years where she has grown and evolved the traditional “belly dance” into a fusion art that melds Western dance and stage theory with Eastern concepts. In addition to her active traveling career Ava Fleming currently teaches accredited Raqs Sharqi courses at Arizona State University and the Silk Road Studios. Ava has also taught at Paradise Valley Community College, University of California Riverside, Scottsdale Community College and numerous local primary and secondary schools. Ava offers a variety of education and performance programs.
Introduction to Belly Dance
This introduction to Belly Dance, explores some of the fundamental movements that make this dance form unique from any other! Most of the movements in belly dancing involve isolating different parts of the body (hips, shoulders, chest, stomach, etc.). Correct posture and muscle control is as important in belly dance as it is in other fields of dance.

OCTOBER 14th (12:40pm-1:40pm) at Al Moro Studio
Nancy Happel, a Jacob Javits Fellow, holds an MFA in Dance from Arizona State University with a focus on technology in performance and curriculum development. She has served on the faculty at Arizona State University and Paradise Valley Community College, and as Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She currently is on faculty at The School of Ballet Arizona and Arizona School for the Arts. She has had the good fortune of studying with master teachers in both modern and ballet. As a professional dancer, Nancy has been a member of numerous dance companies, including ZviDance and Anna Sokolow’s Players Project in New York City, and with Nova Dance Theatre in Canada.

Modern Dance/Limon Based Technique
Strongly influenced by Limon and Muller techniques and by her work with Zvi Gotheiner, Ms. Happel’s classes combine qualitative and technical demands to create a class that moves from a balanced warm-up to lush, full movements that rely on technique, breath and line.

José Arcadio Limón (January 12, 1908 – December 2, 1972) was a pioneer in the field of modern dance and choreography. Jose Limon was a great admirer of Doris Humphrey and his technique reflects clearly the teaching of Humphrey. Like Doris, his main goal was to express his personal relationship with the outside world through his movements in an organic manner. His technique utilizes the “quality of body’s weight” which was represented with the fall and rebound, influenced by the “vocabulary of suspension and succession.” His technique is not codified, because he believed that a structured technique would limit creativity which was vital for his technique. His technique helped his students to find their own movement and personal uniqueness.

OCTOBER 14th (1:50pm-2:50pm) at Al Moro Studio
Preethi Sundaram’s love for dance began in India at the age of seven, when she started her training for Bharatanatyam under Dr.Yamini Krishnamurthy. She was later meticulously trained in Kalakshetra style of Bharatanatyam under the eminent world famous Guru Padmasri Adyar K Lakshmanan, from the “Bharatha Choodamani” School for about 15 years. Under his tutelage, she was also trained in Classical Dance theory and Nattuvangam (The rhythmic pattern of cymbals). She has performed in the professional dance productions, competitions and has given solo performances in various cultural organizations and Television broadcasting in India. She is also a member of ABHAI – ASSOCIATION of Bharatanatyam Artists of India and has performed through the organization. Preethi has also won many accolades for her choreography in dance competitions. Preethi honed her dance skills further under Smt. Nita Mallya in Phoenix, where she learnt various aspects of Bhava (facial expressions in Bharatanatyam). She is currently learning Kathak (Classical Indian dance of North) under Smt. Anjali Desai in Phoenix. She has been actively performing many styles of Indian Dance in the Phoenix Valley.

Deepa Anil Sankar has learned various Indian classical dance forms such as Bharathanatyam, Mohiniyattam and Kuchipudi that emphasize on the dimension of Bhava Abhinaya(expressions of emotions among characters in a story) as well as folk dance forms from gurus in Dubai such as Smt. Girija Rajendran and Sri Sukhu Anthikad(disciple of Kalamandalam Kshemavati) for 14 years. Deepa has performed in and won several competitions in the Middle East and India for dance as well as choreography. She is currently learning the classical North Indian dance form of Kathak in Phoenix under the tutelage of Smt Anjali Desai. She pursues her passion for dance and performs at competitions, professional dance productions, charity events and other cultural events and gatherings in the Valley.

Classical Indian Dances and Bollywood
The goal of the master class is to give a good overview of 2 different classical dances of India – Bharatanatyam (Classical Dance of the south) and Kathak (Classical dance of the North) and create a 2-minute Bollywood composition. We will be working on the Rhythm (Tala) and the expression (Abhinaya) in the Classical dance forms.
Bharatanatyam – “Adavus” are the building blocks of Bharatanatyam, they are like alphabets that when stringed together form words and sentences. And we would be doing just that! We will be learning some basic steps and then join them together to form a simple “Jathi”. The class will also go over the art of Facial expression (Abhinaya) and the “9 Expressions” or “Nava Rasa”.
Kathak – Participants will be introduced to the ABC’s of Kathak.
• Tatkaar – Basic footwork of Kathak, syllables created from stomping, demonstrated in 3 speeds.
• Chakris or Spins – A very interesting or dynamic form of the dance and we will go over 5step, 3step and single step spins.
• Toda – Rhythmic syllables strung together to create a short dance composition.
Bollywood Dance – A 2-minute dance composition of “Rangeelo Maro Dholna” which is based from the state of Rajasthan in India. Groove to the fast paced beats of Bollywood!

OCTOBER 14th (3:00pm-4:00pm) at Al Moro Studio
Yumi “la Rosa” left her established accounting career and decided to follow her passion in flamenco dance. After studying Flamenco through well-known Flamenco artists in Spain, she started to teach the art form in the valley. Over the last 10 years, Yumi has taught locally at Paradise Valley Community College, Coconino Community College, Arizona Ballet School, Arizona School of Classical Ballet, Yen-Li Chen Ballet School, Silk Road dance studio, and the Yumi la Rosa Dance studio. Yumi teamed up with another artist and produced her own show, “Mujeres” in 2009. The show was successful, and she has made “Mujeres” into an annual show coordinating with other talented artists to enhance and expand the show. Yumi enjoys collaborating with other artists to explore new creation in her performance art.

Flamenco Dance/Sevillanas
The Sevillanas is an old folk dance from Southern Spain. It is danced by couples of all ages and both sexes. This folk dance is performed during the fairs and festivals on the street. In class, we will be covering the steps, hand clapping, and arm movements to enhance the dance. We will be practicing in pairs, but there is no need to bring a partner. Please bring closed toe dance or street shoes.

OCTOBER 14th (4:10pm-5:10pm) at Al Moro Studio
Step Raptis received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Choreography & Performance from Mary Grove College in 1976. He also trained and/or performed in New York and Canada with National Ballet of Canada, Le Groupe de la Place Royale, Toronto Dance Theatre, Danny Grossman, Louis Falco, Jennifer Muller and Christopher Hyde. He was a co-founder of Adzido-West African Folkloric Drum and Dance Company under the direction of master drummer, Uncle C. K. Ganyo from Ghana. Step is the founder and director of Step’s Junk Funk, a movement and percussion performance group that utilizes nontraditional, recycled and found objects to create tonal orchestrations. As a part of Desert Dance Theatre, Step has composed several music compositions and contributes as a choreographer. He is the co-founder/co-director of Crossroads Performance Group. He is highly recognized for his outreach residency programs for at-risk student populations, and was honored with the Chairman’s Circle Arts Award in 2000 for Artists/Educators of the Year from the Scottsdale Cultural Council.

Junk Funk/Movement and Percussion
This class will focus on rhythmical patterns using ordinary objects as percussive instruments, and experimenting with choreographic movements using space, time and quality. Students will learn choreography from current repertory using Samsonite suitcases, 50 gallon drums, etc.

Arizona Dance Festival Classes & Schedule

October 8 at 6:30pm-7:30pm (Dance Theater West)
Modern Dance/Duncan Dance with Janaea Rose Lyn

October 9 at 6:00pm-7:30pm (Dance Theater West)
Modern Dance/Graham Based with Frances Cohen

October 10 at 6:00pm-7:00pm (Dance Theater West)
Intuitive Dance Technique with Anandha Ray

October 11 at 6:00pm-7:30pm (Phoenix Center for the Arts)
Modern Dance/Contemporary with Candy Jimenez

October 12 at 7:30pm (Tempe Center for the Arts)
ARIZONA DANCE FESTIVAL SHOWCASE 2012

October 13 at 7:30pm (Tempe Center for the Arts)
ARIZONA DANCE FESTIVAL SHOWCASE 2012

October 14 at 11:30am-12:30pm (Al Moro Studio)
Belly Dance with Ava Fleming

Ocober 14 at 12:40pm-1:40pm (Al Moro Studio)
Modern Dance/Limon Based with Nancy Happel

October 14 at 1:50pm-2:50pm (Al Moro Studio)
Indian Classical Dance/Bollywood with Preethi & Deepa

October 14 at 3:00pm-4:00pm (Al Moro Studio)
Flamenco Dance/Sevillanas with Yumi La Rosa

October 14 at 4:10pm-5:10pm (Al Moro Studio)
Junk Funk/Movement & Percussion with Step Raptis

Go to www.DesertDanceTheatre.org to register online or download registration form. For more information contact gro.ertaehTecnaDtreseDnull@asiL or call 480-962-4584.
Date: 2012-10-14