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Event Spotlight: Summer Dance Classes at Le Mondo




Let's dance! This summer, Le Mondo presents a month of drop-in dance classes on Monday nights from July 11 - August 1. Each week will embody a different dance technique and be led by Baltimore-local dance professionals. We're sad to see such an ongoing lack of space for these type of classes in Baltimore and happy to bring this summer program to you!


Class descriptions and sign-up links are below. Classes are $15 per session.



 


July 11th, 7-8:30pm | Jazz with Katie Vaught



ABOUT THE CLASS

Level: Pre-professional/Professional

This jazz class will include a warm-up, isolations, stretching along with turns, kicks, and leaps. The majority of the time will be spent on choreography. Expect something fun and spicy.






ABOUT YOUR TEACHER


Katie Vaught, Artistic Director of Vaught Contemporary Ballet, has taught in the DMV area for over a decade. Her work has been shown at Baltimore Theatre Project, Joe's Movement Emporium, The Chrysalis, The Jack Giudone Theater, Atlas Performing Arts Center, and Dance Place. She has performed with Mich-Mash Productions and Deviated Theatre and received the Marc Ryder Choreography Grant in 2017. Photo Credit: Pat Galluzzo








 


July 18th, 7-8:30pm | Modern with Cait McAfee




ABOUT THE CLASS

Level: Pre-professional / Professional Modern Cait's classes have been described as starting fast, going fast in the middle, and then finishing with something fast. Working in a creepy, post-modern aesthetic, Cait is a big fan of floor work, coordination, and precision performed with gusto. If everyone's up for it, there will also be an improvisational component. Then, we'll explore what it's like to embody a protective mother wolf, as part of choreography for a work-in-progress.






ABOUT YOUR TEACHER

Caitlin McAfee, Artistic Director of Baltimore dance company BlueShift Dance, received her M.F.A. in Creative Practice in Dance from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London, England. While in London, Caitlin trained in a new practice called Excavation, then presented her research in D.C. and Toronto. She earned her B.F.A. in Dance Performance and Education from Towson University, then taught for almost four years in Anne Arundel County Public Schools. She recently worked as an adjunct faculty member at Bowie State University, Towson University, and Howard Community College. Caitlin has performed modern dance professionally for 15 years.





 


July 25th, 7-8:30pm | Countertechnique with Kelly Hirina




ABOUT THE CLASS

Level: Pre-professional/Professional Countertechnique

Countertechnique, created by Anouk van Dijk, provides tools for body and mind to deal with the deman­ding dance practice of the 21st century. It is a movement system to help the dancer think about the dancing body, focusing on the process of incorporating information into action. Within a clear structure of exercises, the Countertechnique class thoroughly prepares the body for rehearsal and performance, enabling dancers to move bigger, more fluidly and more spatially, while becoming stronger and more flexible.





ABOUT YOUR TEACHER

Kelly Hirina, originally from Michigan, moved to the Netherlands as a Fulbright scholar and continued to live and work there as a professional dancer for twenty years. While there, Hirina worked with many different choreographers such as; Emio Greco & Pieter C. Scholten (EG|PC), Krisztina de Chatel, Suzy Blok, Nicole Beutler, Liat Waysbort and Dylan Newcomb in companies such as ICKamsterdam and Dansgroep Amsterdam. Hirina also worked in mime/theater onstage with Jakop Ahlbom and Compagnietheater (Theu Boermans) and in films with directors such as Arno Dierickx and Noud Heerkens. Alongside her dance career she studied acting at the Atlantic Theatre School in New York City.

Hirina is a certified teacher of both Countertechnique, created by Anouk van Dijk and Double Skin/Double Mind, created by Emio Greco and Pieter C. Scholten. She has been teaching these methods at the Lucia Marthas Institute for Performing Arts (Amsterdam) and in her role as the artistic coordinator of ICKamsterdam’s academy. These methods offer healthy approaches to the dancing body while stimulating their personal creativity. Hirina also incorporates methods from ICKamsterdam, the Sensorium Toolkit and Pre-choreographics, in choreographic development.

She acquired her M.F.A. in Dance from the University of Michigan with research based upon the link between mind and body in dance training, rehearsal and performance. Her specific interest is in pedagogical methods that enhance intrinsic motivation, appreciation for learning (a process-oriented approach) and goal setting.

Beyond dance, Hirina is also a fully certified Pilates and Vinyasa Yoga instructor. She enjoys creating an extremely physical experience for her students while also encouraging them to take the practice deeper beyond the physical, a training that is both concentrated and joyous. Hirina incorporates her interest in education and psychology while working with clients and students to achieve goals while working in a positively charged environment. Photo Credit: Jubal Battisti





 

August 1st, 7-8:15pm | Hip-Hop with Noelle Tolbert




ABOUT THE CLASS

Level: Pre-professional/Professional Hip Hop

In this class students will engage in heavy rhythms, full body warmup, strength training, and performative street style choreography. Hip Hop class is designed to accentuate your natural essence of how you embody movement, learning fundamentals of footwork, isolations, and using your groundedness puts your body in a space to find freedom.





ABOUT YOUR TEACHER

Noelle Tolbert is a Baltimore-based performance artist and engineer of movement that is inspired by feminine power, ancestral guidance, and intuition. Her practice has been developed through a ongoing deep connection to her community and the diverse audiences she engages with through choreography, performance art, teaching, and interdisciplinary collaborations.


As a teaching artist, Tolbert has been responsible for building the youth dance program at Chesapeake Arts Center in Brooklyn Park which serviced over 300 students and providing mentorship to PVA students through professional development training and choreography at Brooklyn Park Middle School. Most recently, Tolbert has joined The Moving Company as a hip-hop choreographer and Le Mondo as a resident dance artist, creating programming and performance opportunities for local artists in the Baltimore region. Noelle continues to seek opportunities that are both intellectually and artistically challenging as she works to connect with Baltimore to bring dance and the arts to areas that need healing.




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