WEEKLY CLASSES:
We are thrilled to announce our weekly BodyStories: Teresa Fellion Dance Company Class for pre-professional and professional dancers. Want to train in the BodyStories curriculum and learn our company repertory in a professional environment? Join us for our weekly pre-professional and professional virtual classes, ongoing until May 28, 2021. This Spring series will provide us the opportunity to brush up on our foundations, while challenging our minds and bodies to approach movement from a unique and sometimes unfamiliar lens. Dancers will explore and rediscover joy in their movement in a comprehensive class transitioning from a yoga-flow like warm up, into modern and contemporary technique, and ending in extensive phrase work. Classes will also help build composition and improvisation skills by partnering movement, music, and text, while investigating the relationship between dance and social justice. The class schedule is as follows.
Technique:
Wednesdays 6-7:30pm EST * sign up via email 24rhs in advance for Wed.
Thursdays 12:30-2pm EST
Composition & Improvisation:
Fridays 1:30-3:30pm EST
(Bi-weekly)
Additional times available for both classes! Please inquire.
Weekly youth virtual dance classes are also ongoing until May 28, 2021. Our youth classes include movement from BodyStories’ dance curriculum, incorporating different styles and techniques such as contemporary, modern, jazz, ballet, hip-hop, choreography, improvisation, tap, Central and West African, salsa, swing, and more. We have classes designed for all junior dance levels from beginner through pre-professional. Age ranges include 3-5, 6-9, 10-13, and 14-17 years old. The class schedule is as follows
6-9 Year Olds:
Thursdays 5:30-6:30 pm EST
10-13 Year Olds:
Fridays 3:30-5:00pm EST
with additional times and levels available!
We have classes for all levels of youth dancers ages 3-5, 6-9, 10-13, and 14-17. We have classes for all genders, and also offer boys only classes!
IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO SIGN UP! Students may sign up for the entire weekly series, one month, or a single drop-in class! If signing up for the whole series, participants may be eligible to receive 20% off the total cost. Please do not hesitate to reach out for any financial assistance or scholarship needed. We are completely open to all participants where they are financially during this time.
Thank you to everyone who has come to class this month! We have enjoyed distance dancing with you and we are always excited to see your faces each week. It is so cool to be in class with and moving with people from all over the country. What a fun plus of Zoom!
FOR MORE INFO CONTACT: education@bodystoriesfellion.org
WINTER INTENSIVE VIDEO RELEASE:
A huge thank you to everyone who followed our Virtual Winter Intensive video release countdown! We are so proud of everyone who attended our intensive week in January and we were very excited to share the video documentation of all of your hard work. We released the 2021 Winter Intensive Technique Class Performance Video at noon on Friday February 12th and celebrated with a Facebook live viewing party. Thank you to all who tuned in to watch!
Click this LINK to watch the video now!
The video is available for viewing on our Facebook and Instagram pages as well as on our YouTube page.
ARTS ALIVE PERFORMANCE:
BodyStories participated in an in-person performance opportunity in NYC with Arts On Site as part of their ARTS ALIVE series on Feb 26 & 27 at St. Mark’s Place. We premiered together/apart a duet with dancers Serena Chang & Ashley Zimmerman as part of our Healing Currently Downloading process.
together/apart uses framing and imposed restrictions on performers’ movements to shape how audience members can view these movements to completion. By using specific focus, gestures, and creative angles in the staging and filming of the piece, together/apart challenges audience members to construct their own experience of the work by making decisions about which focal points to prioritize–allowing them to develop their own understanding of the relationship between the performers and their movements in the different frames. This work also challenges audience members to reframe their own perspectives on dance and the human form by highlighting the movements of isolated body parts such as the eyes and hands. Instead of presenting an entire work of full-body movement, together/apart explores the distant meeting of bodies, focus, and felt understanding. The thoughts expressed in this piece come from challenges faced in the pandemic of how to cope and belong to a world.
together/apart has been developed safely during the Covid-19 pandemic. Virtual rehearsals were held to ensure safety during the creative process. The dancers, choreographer, and audience members wore masks and maintained social distance as in accordance with State and National COVID-19 guidelines. Each performance was located in a large open studio with proper ventilation with a maximum of 16 guests per performance to allow for social distancing.
Although dance films and virtual performances have allowed for new creativity and access to larger audiences, these two nights of performances reminded every audience member of how special live performances are. Simple things such as the dimming of the lights, the breathing of the dancers, and being able to hear the applause of others brought a certain magic to the room. Although no longer shoulder to shoulder with other audience members, the space was still intimate and enabled the audience to be immersed in the world of the dances. Despite the masks, the dancers were able to be expressive and radiate an energy everyone in the room could feel.
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES + WORKSHOPS:
BodyStories is excited to announce that we have been chosen to participate in the Essence of Embodiment Teaching Workshop and Film Festival. The events will take place in Jersey City and online, and will highlight emerging and established movement practitioners, directors, and dance artists. Through dance and film, the festival will be examining techniques to release fear & trauma, re-align the body with the mind while bringing together a group of multi-generational, multi-racial, dancers, artists, & writers through conversations about lessons they’ve learned throughout their careers – ultimately exploring the theme of Somatic Awareness, Authority, and Ownership of the Body.
Essence of Embodiment Teaching Workshop: Teresa Fellion, Moving Your Story
This workshop incorporates guided movement, improvisation, composition to process the current social climate, and to reflect on lived-experience of fear or trauma, in order to re-shape and move through. With each new exercise participants will build communities, reflect via movement over past lived experiences, and stimulate a process of healing
Date: March 21
Time: 4:30pm – 5:30pm EST
Essence of Embodiment Film Festival:
Healing Currently Downloading acts as a sequel to a previous work reeling → healing created in 2019. While reeling sought to capture the frustration of today’s world and the present societal tumult, Healing Currently Downloading explores outlets for processing these emotions through purposeful motion and action. The emotional qualities of the work are enhanced by dramatic shifts in attitude and form as well as artful video editing. Though viewers may question whether the film’s open-ended conclusion permits a complete resolution to the frustration, this work embodies an ongoing process of healing. Original music by John Yannelli contributes to the film’s sense of urgency and call for community–working in tandem with the choreography to immerse viewers in a fully formed, tumultuous, but, in the end, hopeful world. Created by a queer artist, Healing Currently Downloading reflects both internal and external struggle and the need to frequently reassess emotion and response throughout conflict.
Date: March 18
Talkback Session: March 19 @ 7pm EST
Click HERE for more information
Mark DeGarmo Dance Virtual International Arts Festival
BodyStories is excited to share that we will be performing in Mark DeGarmo Dance’s Virtual International (VIA) Festival. The VIA for Social Change highlights the works and inspirations of Mark DeGarmo Dance’s global artists and scholar colleagues. The international festival creates a space for artists, scholars, and audiences to share, respond, and reflect beyond traditional performance spaces. In three evenings from March 16- March 18, 2021, the festival presents 138 artists and scholars from 18 countries and 12 time zones.
In mid March we are excited to announce that we will be performing a new duet with company dancers Serena Chang & Ashley Zimmeran at the VIA Festival. This duet, entitled together/apart, challenges audience members to reframe their own perspectives on dance and the human form by highlighting the movements of isolated body parts such as the eyes and hands. Instead of presenting an entire work of full-body movement, together/apart explores the distant meeting of bodies, focus, and felt understanding. The thoughts expressed in this piece come from challenges faced in the pandemic of how to cope and belong to a world.
Date: March 18
Time: 7pm EST on Zoom
Tickets are on sale by donation here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/141165410543
Facebook event is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/886155658876895
Movement Research Open-Performance
At the end of March, BodyStories is participating in the Movement Research Open Performance. The Open Performance is a program for showing work-in-process and is designed to support experimentation for artists in all stages of their development. After recent performances at Arts on Site and the Mark DeGarmo VIA Festival, and being in the midst of developing this work, we are so excited to share this work in progress entitled together/apart to other artists, art enthusiasts, musicians, mentors and colleagues. We look forward to hearing feedback during, and connecting with fellow artists over zoom.
Date March 23rd
Time: 7:00pm-8:30pm EST
Click HERE for more information.
The virtual performance is a non-public format to explore this new work, and further develop upon its themes of personal experience and the experience of varied communities surrounding COVID-19. If you are interested in attending, we welcome you to join us! Please email info@bodystoriesfellion.org to reserve your “virtual seat”.