CURRICULUM

Ballet classes emphasize a functional and clear architectural base  for the body. Exercises introduce lines and the basic classical positions of the arms, legs and head, and prioritize mechanics, movement pathways, transitions and their coordination, and consider speed, musicality and differentiation of movement qualities (attack). Exercises are constructed simply to promote receptive attention, an energetic play against gravity, sensorial availability and deep physicality throughout the class. For students with extensive previous ballet training, the class provides an opportunity to divest the material of stylistic associations.

The Graham technique is derived from the work of American modern dance pioneer, Martha Graham. These classes provide dancers with an understanding and an experience of the use of the basic movement principles of contraction/release and spiral, beginning in the body’s centre and radiating into its extremities. The contraction, an elongated curve of the back, begins with an impulse from the centre of the body related to the exhalation of breath; the release, a lengthening out of the curve of the contraction, relates to the breath inhalation; in the spiral, the torso coils around the central axis of the spine. With variations in falls and turns, the body sculpts the space in three-dimensional curves. One of the most dramatic of modern dance techniques, the Graham movement vocabulary has tremendous power and expressive potential. Each class begins with breath-related exercises seated on the floor, and it progresses through codified floorwork to standing work and complex movement phrases travelling through space

Movement improvisation is an essential creative tool and critical component of choreographic composition. Teachers will approach the course through the lens of their own practice, and students will encounter a variety of different physical and intellectual improvisational prompts. Exercises focus on ways of modifying existing movement, generating new material and developing tactics to disrupt habitual movement patterns. Small group improvisations connecting external factors (space, time and others) and internal sensations are introduced so that students develop a facility with the dual and mutually informed activity of shaping and reading actions. Solo and group assignments will be given throughout the semester to contextualize learning. At its most basic level, composition is about creating contexts for one’s work.

Students will also have the opportunity to study Contact Improvisation, a technique in which dancers support and utilize each other’s body weight while in motion. Developed by dance artist Steve Paxton in The 1970s, Contact improvisation is traditionally performed as a duet, with emphasis on touching, falling, lifting, leaning, sliding, counter-balancing, and supporting the weight of another Person. The technique is a valuable tool for dancers approaching partnering work in Choreography

Each term and throughout the three-year program, students will collaborate on the creation of new works with seasoned choreographers and local up-and-coming artists. The choreographers will lead the students through a creative process that requires them to achieve specificity while generating new movement addressing a specific concept or theme. The course is practice oriented, and introduces students to studio processes, interpretation and collaboration. The course culminates in twice-yearly mainstage performances. Additionally, the third year class has their own mainstage show, providing them an opportunity to perform in smaller groups, and to work more intensively with a choreographer.

Composition and interdisciplinary creative process classes across the three-year program culminate in the creation and showing of original student works. Students make written proposals for their projects, and practice documenting their process as a means of identifying creative and perceptual patterns. Peer critical analysis is given at regular intervals during the development of the work. When the work is shown publicly, students are required to introduce and contextualize it in a brief, oral presentation. Understanding what we are communicating to an audience is an essential step in defining an artistic path.

Accessing one’s voice is foundational to an empowered practice. This course is centred around the connection of movement to sound, providing students with an experiential learning of vibration, rhythm, attuning, sounding and listening. The basics of sounding are introduced: humming, tone, pitch, shaping sound, breath control and intention. Students develop an understanding of the functional anatomy of the throat, mouth, face and torso as it relates to making sounds healthfully. The course promotes subtle attunement to one’s interiority and affirms its relationship to the outside world. This course is a wonderful icebreaker for first year students getting to know each other; it is playful in nature and requires presence and a commitment to the room.

Second year dancers acquire and sharpen musicianship skills in order to develop a fuller appreciation of music’s relationship to dance. The main areas of focus are: the elements of music, and discussions surrounding the evolution of art music up to contemporary work, and learning to recognize, read, and respond to different musical metres.

This course explores the basic film technique and aesthetics required for dance film making and includes hands-on practical experience in shooting and screening short films. With the increased prevalence of digital presentation, students learn a critical skill in filming for dance to equip them for this reality. Dance film-making is an essential skill for both online self-promotion and for choreographers interested in interdisciplinary creation and mixed media production.

Students are provided with an overview of these fundamental stage elements and technical definitions of theatrical terminology. Students become familiar with the job descriptions from different production positions, including stage management, sound design, production management, and lighting design. General theatrical safety principles are addressed, and students are assigned to actual productions in various capacities.

Bouffon is a physical theatre style exploring elements of burlesque, commedia dell’arte, farce, and satire, and at its heart is mockery pushed to the point of parody. Performance of this work is developed through the exploration of four families: the dwarves, the big bums and bellies, the hunchbacks, and the heretic priest. The physical approach to bouffon forces students to break through their boundaries of self-consciousness and to empower them with a sense of boldness in performance presence.

Workshops, master classes, movement clinics and seminars are given by guest artists and thinkers. Topics have ranged from health and wellness, art theory, career planning, movement clinics, and artist talks. Field trips to a gallery or a studio visit with a local choreographer are also scheduled.

In support of students and graduates effectively entering the field, we actively seek out additional, extra-curricular performance opportunities, exchanges with other institutions and internships. Past initiatives include exchanges with École de danse contemporaine de Montréal , performances at the Canada Dance Festival (CDF), in Paul-André Fortier’s October Sky at Nuit Blanche in Toronto, and most recently in Toes for Dance’s inaugural Common Ground Festival at Lee Lifeson Park (October 2021). Through The Winchester Prize and a collaboration with SummerWorks, selected graduates have the opportunity to present work professionally for the first time. Future graduating classes will have the opportunity to continue this tradition, in these or other festivals.