May 11th-22nd and December 7th-18th
With the goal of empowering more people to take on leadership roles in the disability arts community and abroad, we are excited to announce that we will be hosting world-renowned dancer and choreographer, Alito Alessi, co-founder of DanceAbility, in Austin to present his teacher certification course. This will be the first time in ten years that this course wil
l be offered in the US. In his four-week program Alessi will present an experiential training in the principles and philosophy of DanceAbility. We have chosen to hold the training in two ten-day sections – one is set to take place May 11-22 and the other December 7-18 of 2015 on the University of Texas at Austin campus. DanceAbility is a teaching philosophy with prescribed exercises that can be used to teach dance improvisation and the fundamentals of choreography to people of all ages and abilities. The course will emphasize how to work with mixed-ability groups, how to adapt teaching style to any population, how to work with various sizes of groups, and how to present performance. Participants will learn how to identify the physical possibilities and “common denominators” of each new group they work with to ensure that no one is isolated. They will learn how to lead a sampling of the core set of DanceAbility exercises, which can be done no matter how diverse the group. They will also practice how to introduce improvising in physical contact and may explore any of the following concepts: rolling, using momentum, providing structures for taking weight, and counterbalancing. In addition, we will learn how to adapt lesson plans and teaching styles depending on the characteristics of specific participants. Also, participants will prepare an informal performance piece to be shared as part of a demonstration for the general public about DanceAbility. Please visit the DanceAbility International website for a more detailed breakdown of the teacher certification course programming: www.danceability.com/teacher.php
Contact the Body Shift team for registration and housing information at: [email protected]. The cost of the training is $1800. Registration and deposit of $900 is due by February 10, 2015 (the remainder of the cost will be due by May 1). Housing and transportation are not included in the course fee. The Body Shift team will assist participants in finding housing on or near campus.
