NCCAkron and DTAA Announce The Third Year Of 21st Century Dance Practices

The National Center for Choreography at The University of Akron (NCCAkron) and The University of Akron School of Dance, Theatre, and Arts Administration (DTAA) have announced the third year of 21st Century Dance Practices, a capsule series of classes guest taught by today's working dance artists. The six choreographers and companies include: Rosie Herrera (Miami, FL), Kate Wallich (Seattle, WA), Christopher K. Morgan & Artists (Portland, OR/Washington, D.C.), Dance Heginbotham (New York, NY), Helanius J. Wilkins (Boulder, CO), and Ashwini Ramaswamy (Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN).

21st Century Dance Practices is a capsule series that represents genres, geographies, cultural and social contexts outside of the traditional binary of modern dance and ballet in a conservatory setting. This year's lineup includes artists with experience as wide-ranging as Broadway, bharatanatyam, and dance on camera. Students will be challenged to stretch past the basic curriculum in a series that goes beyond the typical one-off master class.

"As a research and development hub for dance, NCCAkron seeks to build a bridge from the traditional dance narratives of 20th century thinking to make room for what we have termed 21st century dance practices, visibilizing the greater breadth of dance making," says NCCAkron Executive/Artistic Director Christy Bolingbroke. "In collaboration with our founding partner, The University of Akron, we're inviting students to really get to know and learn from nationally-recognized dance artists working today."

In addition to guest teaching technique classes at UA, 21st Century Dance Practice artists will participate in a Inside the Dancer's Studio, an ongoing series of interviews free and open to the public. This series of lunchtime talks explore creativity, the craft of choreography, and navigating an artistic career. All talks will take place on Fridays at 12:30 PM ET in Guzzetta Hall on The University of Akron's campus. Visit nccakron.org/insidethedancersstudio for a full listing of public events.

The capsule series is the annual spring phase of Ideas in Motion, a larger initiative launched in 2020 and supported by NCCAkron, The University of Akron, The University of Akron Foundation, and the Mary Schiller Myers Lecture Series in the Arts.

"By partnering with NCCAkron on Ideas in Motion, The University of Akron DTAA can responsively augment the curriculum in a way that we wouldn't be able to do alone. We look forward to the continuation of this initiative and our collaboration to strengthen and diversify The University of Akron's dance program," says Dr. Marc Reed, Director of The University of Akron's School of Music and School of Dance, Theatre and Arts Administration.

21st Century Dance Practices will be placed in DTAA's Modern V-VIII for 6 weeks of the 15-week semester in Spring 2022. Assistant Lecturer of Dance and University of Akron Dance program alumnus, Christine Howe, expressed excitement heading into the third year of this program: "This connection to different artists making their own careers in dance is crucial to students' understanding of what dance can be and what is possible with a degree from The University of Akron. As an instructor, I have been inspired by our students' openness and adaptability. It is thrilling to witness them engaging fully with different pedagogical styles and for the guest artists to be fully immersed in our community."

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