Master Classes
The goal of the PYDF Master Classes is to expose the students to genres of dance that they might not experience in their
normal studio setting. This will further enhance their knowledge and appreciation of dance culture. PYDF hires Philadelphia based teachers, building a relationship with the younger generation of dancers. All of the teachers are connected with a Professional Company and /or University exposing the young dancers to the professional world of Philadelphia Dance. This, in turn, creates support on a professional level and builds a younger generation of audience members for the dance community.
normal studio setting. This will further enhance their knowledge and appreciation of dance culture. PYDF hires Philadelphia based teachers, building a relationship with the younger generation of dancers. All of the teachers are connected with a Professional Company and /or University exposing the young dancers to the professional world of Philadelphia Dance. This, in turn, creates support on a professional level and builds a younger generation of audience members for the dance community.
2018 Guest Teachers
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Scholarship Class- Marie Brown
Marie Brown, originally from Jacksonville, Florida, moved to Philadelphia in 2005 after graduating from Radford University with a BFA in Dance. While in Philadelphia, she had the honor to work with a variety of companies and independent artists such as Scrap Performance Group, Group Motion Dance Company, MacArthur Dance Project, StoneDepotDance Lab, Chisena Danza, Beau Hancock, Jodi Obeid, and Olive Prince Dance. She has recently returned to Philadelphia after graduating with an MFA in Dance Performance from The University of Iowa and is most recently working with Chisena Danza and Megan Bridge. She is currently an adjunct professor at Temple University and has taught at Bryn Mawr College, Montgomery County Community College, and Philadelphia Dance Theater. She is Pilates Certified and teaches at various places in Center City Philadelphia.
Contact Improvisation- Curt Haworth
Curt Haworth has been practicing contact improvisation since his days in Santa Cruz CA in the 1980s, and enjoys creating dance works, improvising and teaching. He lived in New York City for twenty years before moving to Philadelphia in 2009, and taught CI regularly at Movement Research. He has an eclectic movement background ranging from athletics to modern dance and post-modern techniques, to yoga, contact improvisation and ballet. Curt performed with the collaborative improv group ‘Vitamin C’ in NYC and toured internationally with David Dorfman Dance from 1990 to 2002, that included an evening of Improvisation entitled ‘Bare Bones.’ He has taught and set work as a guest artist throughout the United States, South America, Asia and Europe and is currently a Professor at UARTs.
Class description: This is a class that focuses on perception and dancing in contact with another person or the environment using shared weight, momentum and gravity. From warm-up to open movement we will explore partnering, dancing closely, touching, supporting and lifting. We may delve into such skills as rolling, falling, and sharing weight through easy compression and counter balance and/or break down and explore the techniques of sloughing, rolling points, bodysurfing and posts. Expect to use the whole body as a surface for encounters with the floor, another human, and the world around you. The Class will dedicate ample time to open movement improvisations and explorations.
Class description: This is a class that focuses on perception and dancing in contact with another person or the environment using shared weight, momentum and gravity. From warm-up to open movement we will explore partnering, dancing closely, touching, supporting and lifting. We may delve into such skills as rolling, falling, and sharing weight through easy compression and counter balance and/or break down and explore the techniques of sloughing, rolling points, bodysurfing and posts. Expect to use the whole body as a surface for encounters with the floor, another human, and the world around you. The Class will dedicate ample time to open movement improvisations and explorations.
'The Essence of Umfundalai' (Contemporary African) - Shaness Kemp
Kemp is a native of Nassau, Bahamas and holds both a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and a Master’s of Fine Arts degree from Temple University. She is a certified Umfundalai teacher and has taught at various institutions, festivals and intensives. She has trained with several notable and professional dance companies, including Philadanco, Eleone Dance Theatre, Urban Bush Women, Kariamu & Company:Traditions, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Rennie Harris Puremovement, The Katherine Dunham Seminar and The American Dance Festival. She was the 2015-2016 recipient of the Ellen Forman Memorial Award and her work has been presented nationally and internationally. Shaness was an original member of the Clothesline Muse Theatre production and performed at its premiere at the Painted Bride in Philadelphia in 2014. She is a freelance dancer and choreographer and most recently has performed with Deeply Rooted Dance Theater and Kun-Yang/Lin Dancers.
'The Essence of Umfundalai' (Contemporary African) Umfundalai, which means “essence” or essential” in Kiswahili is a pan-African dance technique that explores the traditional aspects of African dance in a contemporary setting. Umfundalai stands on the shoulders of the Dunham and Primus techniques and was developed in 1970 by Dr. Kariamu Welsh. This high energy class incorporates stories, songs and rhythms that support the dancers as they explore how physicality, strength, nuances and musicality is used within the technique.
'The Essence of Umfundalai' (Contemporary African) Umfundalai, which means “essence” or essential” in Kiswahili is a pan-African dance technique that explores the traditional aspects of African dance in a contemporary setting. Umfundalai stands on the shoulders of the Dunham and Primus techniques and was developed in 1970 by Dr. Kariamu Welsh. This high energy class incorporates stories, songs and rhythms that support the dancers as they explore how physicality, strength, nuances and musicality is used within the technique.
Contemporary Technique- Tara Madsen-Robbins
Tara Madsen Robbins earned her MFA in Performance & Choreography from Smith College, and her BA from Slippery Rock University. As a freelance choreographer, Tara has presented her original choreography internationally throughout Spain, Guatemala, Italy, Greece, and Scotland where her work received critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Tara has been invited as a guest artist to colleges, universities, performing arts high schools, conventions, dance camps, conferences, festivals, conservatories, as well as many private studios along the east coast. She taught at DeSales University from 2006-2016. Tara is currently on faculty at Cab Calloway School of the Arts in Wilmington, Delaware.
Contemporary Technique- Megan Mazarick
Megan Mazarick is from Raleigh, NC and started dancing at age five. She received both her BFA and MFA in dance (University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Temple University), concentrating on choreography and performance work. As a choreographer, she makes work that is humorous, serious, theatrical, and personal, often including a stop motion physicality and love of fantasy. Her choreography has been presented most frequently in Philadelphia (Live Arts Festival, nEW Festival, Philadelphia Dance Projects, PARD, etc.) and New York City (Movement Research at Judson Church, Triskelion Arts, Dance New Amsterdam). She has toured internationally and throughout the USA (San Francisco, Minneapolis, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and West Virginia) as part of various dance festivals and events. Most recently, she was invited to Budapest to participate in residency through Workshop Foundation and Philadelphia Dance Projects. She has also shown work in Bulgaria (BlackBox Theater and Dance Festival 2016), Singapore Fringe Festival (Singapore), Zawirowania International Choreography Competition (Warsaw, Poland), Zielony Jazdow Festival (Warsaw, Poland), By Chance Festival (Cairo, Egypt), and Contemporary Dance Night (Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt). As a performer she has worked with Susan Rethorst, Keith Thompson, Marianela Boan, Merian Soto, Anonymous Bodies, and members of Lower Left. She currently teaches at Georgian Court and Temple University. Megan has taught master classes and been a visiting guest artist at several universities (Duke University, Bryn Mawr University, Rowan University, University of the Arts, Drexel University, West Chester University, etc.) and taught outreach at several elementary and middle schools in the Philadelphia area and in North Carolina.
Classical Indian Dance- Anwesha Dutta
Anwesha Dutta was trained in Bharatnatyam and Navanritya at Dancers’ Guild, in the vibrant and culturally rich city of Kolkata, India under the tutelage of Sangeet Natak Academy Award winners late Gurus Drs. Manjushri Chaki-Sircar and Ranjabati Sircar. At dancers’ guild she trained with Ms. Sangeeta Dey and other gurus. She has performed extensively and organized many shows both in India and the US and has received accolades for her creativity in productions and event management. Anwesha has performed extensively in India and US both as a dancer and as a singer and ran her own Indian association and 30-member dance troupe at Drexel. Her unique experience not only encompasses classical dance & Navanritya, but also includes a variety of Indian folk dances (East, North, and Western Indian folk dance styles) and Rabindrik-style (Nobel Laureate Gurudev Rabindanath Tagore’s). She continues to refresh her artistic knowledge by attending celebrity dancers’ workshops and lectures demonstrations. She extends her thanks to Mr. Sanjib Bhattacharya, a senior dancer originally from Dancers’ Guild for coming to the US to help teach Anwesha’s students Chhau (martial arts) and Manipuri (Eastern Classical Dance). Anwesha is highly trained in Classical Music and has a Sangeet Visharad Degree in Hindusthani (North Indian) Classical Music. She was an All Indian Radio singer since the age of 6. She continues to sing and compose music for her students’ dance recitals. Dance is a passionate hobby – Anwesha’s professional career is that of an executive in the corporate world. She is the Practice Director/Chief of Staff for PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers)’ US Technology Consulting Practice, which is the largest professional service firms in the world. Her background is in healthcare consulting for hospitals and health systems’ senior executive teams. For her professional, dance and charitable accomplishments, Anwesha was recently awarded the “Rising star” award in the Philadelphia Business Journal Minority Business Leader category.
Pilates- Jennifer Morley
Jennifer Morley is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Drexel University Dance program and the Creator/Director of both the Drexel Pilates Studio and the 450-hour Drexel Pilates training program. Her foundational background in somatic practices also include both a yoga certification and Pilates certifications from Romana Kryzanowska (Romana’s Pilates) and Karen Carlson (Pineland Pilates). Jennifer has received multiple choreographic commissions, including setting work on the CitiArts Youth Dance Ensemble (Connecticut), the Community Dance Project in Lansing (Michigan). Her former dance company, the Figments Dance Ensemble, was commissioned by the YMCA of greater New York to develop school based dance programs and performances for public elementary and middle schools. She spent two years teaching and performing the Figments work in New York and Connecticut. Jennifer has been presenting her work independently since 2006 with performances in Philadelphia at the Painted Bride, The Community Education Center, the Adrienne Theatre, and the Conwell Dance Theatre, in New York at the Brooklyn Lyceum, the Evolving Arts Theatre (Dance New Amsterdam), St. Marks Church, Peridance Center, and throughout the country at venues including the Charter Oak Cultural Center in Hartford, and Happendance in Michigan. She has recently completed a two year artist residency at Philadelphia’s Community Education Center and been the recipient of multiple New Stages for Dance grants through Dance USA Philadelphia and the Pew Center for Arts and Culture.
Jennifer’s performance background includes work with Keith Thompson/ danceTactics, Olive Prince Dance, and Deborah Goffe’s Scapegoat Garden. Through danceTactics, Jennifer taught master classes at Duke University and at the American Dance Festival in North Carolina. Since Drexel Pilates officially opened in 2011, the studio has been highlighted in Dance Magazine, Pilates Style Magazine, and Drexel Quarterly. Interviews with Jennifer have been published on DanceAdvantage.net and the Gratz Industries International newsletter. Her research agenda is focused on the utilization of somatic modalities for deeper connectivity and self-awareness. She authored the materials for each of the three modules of the Drexel Pilates Training program. In 2015, she was on the team that conducted “Movement in Mind: Perception of Motor Skill and Aesthetics in the Minds of Experts”, a project that was funded by Drexel’s ExCITe Center.
Jennifer has an BA in dance from Hofstra University, an MFA in dance from Temple University, and a diploma in dance from Laban Center London.
Jennifer’s performance background includes work with Keith Thompson/ danceTactics, Olive Prince Dance, and Deborah Goffe’s Scapegoat Garden. Through danceTactics, Jennifer taught master classes at Duke University and at the American Dance Festival in North Carolina. Since Drexel Pilates officially opened in 2011, the studio has been highlighted in Dance Magazine, Pilates Style Magazine, and Drexel Quarterly. Interviews with Jennifer have been published on DanceAdvantage.net and the Gratz Industries International newsletter. Her research agenda is focused on the utilization of somatic modalities for deeper connectivity and self-awareness. She authored the materials for each of the three modules of the Drexel Pilates Training program. In 2015, she was on the team that conducted “Movement in Mind: Perception of Motor Skill and Aesthetics in the Minds of Experts”, a project that was funded by Drexel’s ExCITe Center.
Jennifer has an BA in dance from Hofstra University, an MFA in dance from Temple University, and a diploma in dance from Laban Center London.
