The next stop on my summer tour was Generation IV Dance!
This was my third year attending this intensive, hosted by The Hackworth School of Performing Arts in Southampton, MA. It is Teddy Forance's Family workshop and I couldn't have been more excited to reunite with my bestie JQ!
We stayed in the dorms at Smith College...Jacqueline and Payton Johnson were my roomies. We had so much fun hanging out together and even had a sleepover at Jacquelines' after the final show at the end of the week! I had so much fun with the girls and Scott...even mealtimes were hilarious.
The Gen IV Faculty was amazing as were the classes and the two shows held at the Academy of Music. I performed in Noel Bajanda's piece called "Latch" and Randi Kemper's piece called "Ain't Too Proud To Beg". New to Faculty this year was Kaitlyn Kinney, Cindy Salgado and Al Blackstone. Some of the faculty was absent the last day for the photo shoot but suffice it to say there were classes offered in hip hop, contemporary, modern, musical theatre, ballet, tap and jazz!
It was great to see some fellow Canadians at the workshop...shout out to the dancers from Vlad's Dance Studio in Toronto and Emma Portner who is an amazing choreographer for our generation. I hope more Canadian dancers can come to this event in the future!
A huge Thank you to Alison Forance, Lisa Anthony and their army of family and friends who put this event on each year. There were 300 students and 65+ classes in the course of a week. No small feat. And of course thank you to the Faculty, some of whom have become great friends. Thank you for your constant inspiration!
*********************************************************************************
SOUL ESCAPE
Next was my trip to Frisco, Texas for Soul Escape, The Intensive, hosted by Adrenaline Dance.
This was my second time attending Soul Escape, my last visit was in 2011 in Los Angeles. The concept of this intensive is to take classes taught by Company members and Guest Faculty during the day, then learn choreography from the Company show and perform the same show cast of dancers from the intensive. We viewed the Company performance the first day of the intensive. This years show was based on the book "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein and interpreted by Justin Giles.
If you don't know Justin Giles, he is one of the most soft-spoken, kindest individuals I have met on my dance journey. He encourages an environment of complete respect for all dancers and the level of support attendees give to each other is genuine and rare. Each member of the company knows you by name, they are positive and inspiring when they teach and have no problem sharing their role in the show with the next generation of dancers. It is a week of genuine sharing in contemporary dance and Justin is a role model educator. He never ceases to make you feel special and encourage everyones' special gifts. I performed in "Old Pine", one of ten performances that made up the show.
Soul Escape cast members are Maddi Burg, Joe Chantry, Emily Crouch, Will Johnston, Haley Kostas, Matt Luck, Deanna Mondello, Jen Pendleton, Maggie Wade and Rose Yager.
Thank you to the Cast and my friends for a great week!
*********************************************************************************
The last stop on my whirlwind summer tour was MONSTERS OF HIP HOP held August 16-18th in Burbank, California.
"Shadows: A Journey from Darkness into Light" was created and directed by Napoleon and Tabitha Dumo. It featured choreography by Tony Testa, Kevin Maher, Laura Edwards, JaQuel Knight, Nappytabs, Luther Brown, Parris Goebel, Andye J, Luam, Sean Bankhead, Nick DeMoura, Erik Saradpon, Joey Cruz, Hannah Wintrode, Nika Klujn and Tucker Barkley!
The show was held at a warehouse in Los Angeles and we were taken into the building in small groups. We were given LED finger lights to wear as we passed through pathways lined with cast members that were clad in black, motionless. Once inside the "theatre", the cast members were like statues, not moving, smiling or making eye contact until, all of a sudden; they would move in random patterns on the catwalks, or on the floor mingling with the crowd. They would sometimes stare you down, never speaking a word, get right up in your face or ignore you completely. When the dancing began, they used a square shaped runway with a platform in the middle and they constantly moved about the space. It was a really interesting show...it blew my mind.
I loved watching my big brother Jordan Ward as a Monster cast member...and Robert Green and Derek Robinson (Go Canada!) too. Big congratulations go to the whole cast and to Nappytabs for a creative show.
There were two levels at the Intensive, Intermediate and Advanced. The advanced room had class with Kevin Maher, Nick DeMoura, Luther Brown, Laura Edwards, JaQuel Knight, Leslie Scott, an Agency Seminar, Sean Bankhead, Hannah Wintrode, Tony Testa and Nappytabs.
It was a fun weekend of dance and I loved seeing my dance friends. Thank you MOHH for a great weekend. Check out www.monstersofhiphop.com for news on their 2013-2014 tour.
*********************************************************************************
Last but not least, I want to share exciting news about the future...Rock The House Dance Convention!
On August 23, RTH launched a new trailer called "The Takeover" to announce to the world a new and improved convention. Check out the short film below created and directed by The Metafzikal!
Rock The House will take place December 27-30th, 2013 in Park Ridge, New Jersey. Park Ridge, is located about an hour north of Manhattan. The hotel is in a quiet commercial park and the food is delicious! I attended the workshop last year and had a great time with friends Laura and Lexi. Check out my post from December 2012 about the workshop. The event has a very intimate feel and the Faculty has special events planned for both parents and dancers to enjoy themselves.
Registration is already filling up and is limited to 200 dancers. Please visit www.rockthehousedance.com for more information.
Faculty includes: Jeff Lapes, Chaz Buzan, Comfort Fedoke, Talia Favia, Cheslsie Hightower, Sasha Mallory, Zakk Manzella, the Metafizikal (William B. Wingfield and Monique Borromeo), Taja Riley, Noel Bajandas and Dha'Sean "Skillz" Serrano.
Attending the workshop will be a great way to spend your Christmas holiday. I really hope to see you there! I am honored to be one of the tour assistants along with Hayden Hopkins and BoyBoi Tena! Check out instagram, facebook, twitter and youtube for updates on RTH as the date gets closer!
*********************************************************************************
It was an amazing summer and the months ahead are sure to be as exciting. I hope you have a great season of dance and that our paths cross in the dance world soon!
