UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS, PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONALLY SITUATED DANCE MFA

INSTITUTE FOR DANCE STUDIES

Knowledge in Motion: Anatomies - Articulating, Strengthening, and Integrating the Body

MARCH 9, 2019 at University of Toronto

This class has been developed and expanded from the series of exercises that comprise the first half hour of Christine’s technique class. Christine started developing these exercises to address issues she saw in class that were too specific to address in the complex setting of a regular class, lumbar instability for instance. This class can vary, concentrating on different issues and different areas of the body. This general Fundamentals class is geared toward both dancers and non dancers.

Christine Wright has been a prominent figure in the New York dance scene for four decades. She toured internationally as a leading dancer with the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company from 1976 – 1987. She was also a guest artist with the Elisa Monte Dance Company, worked with Blondell Cummings on a solo in conjunction with Music From Japan, and with Ohad Naharin who created a solo on her under the auspices of the Asia Society. Ms. Wright has also worked with her good friend Zvi Gotheiner. She retired from dancing in 1987. Since then she taught a professional level ballet class in New York City for 27 years and guest taught for 16 years for both Toronto Dance Theatre and The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. In 2014 she relocated to Toronto where she teaches for Peggy Baker Dance Projects at the National Ballet School. These classes are open to the community at large. There is a Wednesday Fundamentals class and a Thursday Technique class. Both are from 10-12. She also has extensive study and expertise in functional anatomy, kinesiology and fine motor control and maintains a private clientele practice where she works with both the dance and non-dance population. Ms. Wright is a member of the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science.

Knowledge in Motion — Performance Research & the University

A workshop with internationally-renowned dance artist, educator, choreographer and researcher, Jill Johnson in creation-generating strategies for movement-based artistic research.

When: Saturday, February 10 at 11 AM - 1 PM Where: LCR, Morrison Hall at University of Toronto (75 St George Street, Basement)

Embodied Knowledge — Performance Research & the University

Jill Johnson is a 30-year veteran of the dance field, has appeared in over 50 tours and taught for dance companies and colleges on five continents. An honors graduate of the National Ballet School, she was a soloist with The National Ballet of Canada and principal dancer and researcher with Ballet Frankfurt. She is the Dance Director and Senior Lecturer at TDM at Harvard University and the artistic director of Harvard Dance Project.

Jill Johnson opens a rich conversation with the new Institute for Dance Studies, University of Toronto, and the Centre for Drama, Theatre, and Performance Studies, addressing embodied knowledge and the scope dance brings to the academy and interdisciplinary research. This interdisciplinary talk is free and open to the public. The event opens with a welcome and reception.

When: Friday, February 9 at 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM Where: Robert Gill Theatre at University of Toronto (214 College Street, 3rd Floor)