Master Classes - Saturdays 5:00- 6:30 PM

June 19-Sept 4, 2004 at Broadway Dance Center

The class begins with a full body warm up that includes techniques from many different genres of classical and folk dance. Emphasis is based on isolation giving dancers a better awareness of their bodies and different ways of moving body parts. The energetic warm –up may also include techniques from Pilates and Gyrotonic™ based movement. Gyrotonic™ is a system of circular movement that Katy rehabbed with after her knee surgery five years ago. With this knowledge the class approach is always with the safety of the dancer’s body in mind. The next element of the class is to warm up the brain. We use our voice, hands and feet to combine rhythms from different cultural dance forms. The complex rhythmic structure of music from India may be difficult to entirely grasp in the first class, but when one element is removed i.e. the basic footwork pattern (Tatkar) of Kathak (northern Indian dance) is a simple step of RLRL LRLR it is easy enough for the dancer to digest. Then on top of this the dancers clap a Son Clave (Cuban) pattern. Once the hands and feet are in place they add the element of voice by reciting the previously learned bols (abstract syllables that correspond with the tabla drum traditionally played for Indian dance) that go with Tatkar. The music’s most frequently used are from Cuba, India, and Spain (Flamenco). This exercise gives the dancers the ability to interpret music in several different ways.