Foundations
Starting March 2019!
Do you want to get your body moving, but don’t know where to begin? Are you intimidated by typical dance classes because you feel like you don’t fit in? Body Shift has a solution to bring out the dancer in us all! We offer you Foundations - an improvisational dance class for ALL people - especially designed to be accessible to those with little to no dance/movement experience. Each class we will explore ideas like developing body awareness, non-verbal communication, understanding of time/rhythm and choice making to support students in the discovery of their own movement language. Students will have the opportunity to awaken their creativity, notice habitual movement patterns in order to expand movement possibilities, and have a lot of fun in the process. We will learn how to allow our bodies to breath and move in ways that feel good to each person in the room without judgement. People of all unique mental and physical characteristics are invited to participate. Our goal is to offer a class where there are no wrong choices so everyone in the room feels empowered and successful to come and be as they are. Material in this class will be strongly based on the DanceAbility method, an approach to dance for people with and without disabilities. No movement experience necessary to join. Drop in occasionally or join us every month; open ended attendance.
The Foundations class takes place at McBeth Recreation Center (2401 Columbus Dr, Austin, TX 78746) every 3rd Monday of the month from 7:00-8:30pm. Sliding scale/donation based - $5-$20. Adults age 18 and up.
Elements
Art Spark Dance has been offering dance classes that are welcoming and accessible for all for over a decade. In our Elements class we guide you through exercises that support your individual creative expression and for you to move in new and unique ways in a fun environment. Elements class takes place every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month. You can find more details under the calendar tab or at artsparktx.org under the events tab. At Art Spark Dance we are interested in providing and cultivating a dance world that ignites lifelong love towards dance as an art form for all.
Workshops
Each year, Body Shift hosts at least one weekend long intensive or week long residency with a guest artist from outside the Austin community. Our hope is to expand the skill level of the long time participants to include a variety of dance improvisation techniques as well as open up the larger dance community to strategies for inclusive dance in performance. Guest artists we have hosted in the past include, Karen Nelson, Alito Alessi, Gerda Konig, Heidi Latsky, Stephan Koplowitz, and Nina Martin.
Axis Dance Company Teacher Training in Physically Integrated Dance