Workshops and Classes

The company offers a wide range of classes and workshops that serve the professional artistic community as well as the broader urban population for all ages and movement abilities.

Andrea Ariel has been a teacher of dance for children and adults for over 30 years. She holds an MFA in Dance from the University of Illinois. Her teaching credits include Austin Community College, University of Texas, Texas State University, Texas Commission on the Arts/Touring Roster, University of California, and the University of Illinois.

If you are interested in hosting a class, workshop, or private/small group sessions please contact Andrea Ariel here.

Saturday Creative Camp  
For youth ages 5-10
Saturday Creative Camp is a joyful way for children to explore movement while developing physical skills, channeling energy, stimulating imagination, and promoting creativity. The class brings together creative movement and theater games, problem solving exercises, and improvisation to explore the basic dance elements of space, time, energy and body awareness. Inspiration will be drawn from a variety of music, stories, dances and other studies of our world and cultures.

Active Aging – Move to the Music! 
Geared for ages 50+ of all levels, but all ages welcome!
Move to the Music! is geared for ages 50 and up and brings together creative movement with a variety of music for a fun way to develop physical well-being through dance. The class uses simple and safe, non-impact creative movement activities and dance steps that explore the basic dance elements of space, rhythm, energy and body awareness. All movement can be adapted for participation with any level of physical ability.

Teen Choreography Workshop
For Teens Ages 13-18
Teen Choreography Workshop is geared towards middle and high school students who want to create their own dances as well as perform in other participant’s choreography. Students will learn and practice approaches to crafting a choreographic work, developing movement material, and working with music. Further inspiration and knowledge will be gained through an exploration of the work and cultural influences of choreographers from history through current times. A portion of the class will function as a rehearsal that is structured to lead students through a creative development process with a focus on professional demeanor and expectation. Students will enjoy a haven to create the pieces they have always imagined. All forms of dance are welcome and celebrated. The class will culminate with a performance featuring students’ choreography.

Contemporary Modern Technique – All levels
This class focuses on investigating our unique body structure and resources toward furthering our individual expression and experience of our dancing. We will prepare our bodies with exercises that bring attention to our breath, senses, spine, skeletal and joint functionality, and the muscles of deep postural support using a combination of somatic approaches, imagery, and improvisation including release, stretch, placement and floorwork. We will apply these explorations into center technique work and short phrases across the floor.  The class culminates with choreographed phrase work providing an opportunity to move dynamically with awareness of initiation, directing energy and weight with momentum, changes in balance from a controlled center, incorporating athleticism, musicality, and attention to detail to find clarity, strength, ease and the artistry of active choices.

Dancing from the Bones – All levels
This class is designed to prepare the moving body through awareness and increased functional knowledge of our skeletal structure and the alignment of our bones using the muscles of deep postural support.  Combining anatomical and experiential realities will be used as a springboard for deep explorations toward facilitating the full use of our body as an integral whole and maximizing each individual’s unique movement potential. The class brings together a combination of Andrea’s training influences with principles from Klein Technique, Alexander Release Technique, Laban/Bartenieff Fundamentals, Skinner Releasing Technique, and Yoga.

Modern Dance for Everyone – All levels
This class is designed to create a fun and learning atmosphere that supports individual expression and the investigation of one’s unique body structure. Class will begin with a warm-up that brings attention to the breath, spine, skeletal/joint functionality and mobility, weight and body articulation and alignment. Phrase material explores changes in balance from a controlled center, incorporating dynamics, initiation, movement qualities, musicality, and attention to detail. Students are encouraged to develop their own personal style and creative expression.

Dance Composition – All levels
This class explores various approaches in the creation and devising of choreography, experimenting with the elements of dance using creative impulse and craft.  Attention will be given to form and content, time/rhythm, space, movement qualities, gesture, phrase building and dynamics through an investigation and development of one’s own ideas, resources, and instincts. The class provides structures to develop material and evaluative processes toward the creation of a performance work.

Creative Movement and Improvisation – All ages and levels
Aesthetic concepts of dance are introduced and explored in structured movement improvisations and investigations that further our skills in making spontaneous, creative decisions.  Through improvisational experiences we will explore the elements of creative dance including time, rhythm, space, shape, phrasing, dynamics and movement qualities.  Further inspirations are drawn from responding to each other, sounds, music, words, imagery, environments, and more.

Stretch/Placement/Injury Prevention – Athletes of all ages
Focused on developing awareness of our anatomy and alignment, this class strengthens areas of support that are conventionally neglected in sports training.  We will explore methods of assisting the body to be more supple, and discover a greater range of motion and understanding through a combination of exercises that stretch, strengthen, and release to discover ease in our active choices.

Movement for Actors – Youth or Adults
We will focus on expanding and developing our kinesthetic awareness, connection to our core, and increasing the flexibility, articulation, and strength in movement that makes ensemble playing really possible. We will experiment with improvisation to experience the elements of movement – through the muscles and bones, the senses, voice, and breath while playing with time, rhythm, space, shape, phrasing, dynamics and movement qualities.  Further inspirations are drawn from responding to each other, sounds, music, words, imagery, environments, relationships and more.  This class brings together influences in Andrea Ariel’s training in dance, devised physical theater, Laban/Bartenieff Fundamentals, Viewpoints, and Lecoq.