Graham Masterclass & Lecture
with William Charles Crowley
January 18 | 12:00-2:30pm
Cori Terry Theatre | Epic Center
359 S. Kalamazoo Mall Ste. 204 Kalamazoo, MI 49007
Ages 15+, previous experience required
Lecture Martha Graham: Beyond the Labyrinth 12:00-1:00pm
Masterclass 1:00-2:30pm
Observer passes available.*
*We ask that students and observers refrain from videography.
Students will gain an awareness of the human body and its potential with special focus given to centering, coordination and flexibility. Students begin seated on the floor, utilizing their lower abdominal muscles and corresponding lower back muscles in a series of exercises (called 'contraction and release') to strengthen their core. Once this is established, students then begin to incorporate the entire length of the spine to manipulate the back muscles by lengthening and 'spiraling' the torso. The same principles are applied in a series of exercises lying flat on the floor working in an isometric manner, eventually arriving to a standing position continuing through a series of exercises at the center and traveling to find your body's proper alignment, placement, and balance. A short phrase of original choreography will also be taught in order to demonstrate how all of these principles can be applied in a practical and useful manner.
Masterclass & Lecture: $35
Masterclass & Lecture w/ valid student ID*: $20
Observer Pass: $10
Please specify in “comments” section on your registration if you will be providing a student ID onsite or would only like an Observer Pass.
William Charles Crowley
William Charles Crowley received his MFA in Dance from The University of Michigan. He received additional dance training while on scholarship at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance in New York City. William has danced with Aerial Dance Theater, Ann Arbor Dance Works, Dansplateau (Belgium), David Taylor Dance Theatre, and Dance Gallery/Peter Sparling & Co., in which he performed the title role in Martha Graham’s masterwork, El Penitente. Dance Magazine wrote, “That… Crowley seems to share [his] magic with us makes this universe ultimately reassuring.” In April 2000, he moved to Miami, FL where he accepted a three-year teaching position at the prestigious New World School of the Arts. William then served as adjunct faculty at Miami-Dade College (2002-04), Part Time Lecturer at Barry University (2006-09), and Lecturer of Dance at the University of Miami (2006-11). In March 2004, William became Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Next Step Dance, a modern dance company in Fort Lauderdale, FL. In April 2004, the company held its premiere performance in a studio space at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. The Miami Art Exchange wrote, “William Charles Crowley… [an] accomplished dance maker.” In August 2004, William became Artistic Director of Next Step Dance (DBA Still Point Productions), and relocated the company to its current home in Bay Harbor Islands, FL. Starting in 2012, he has been invited to teach annual summer Graham Technique Intensives at the Centre de Danse du Marais in Paris, France, as well as intensives/stages in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. In December 2016, William had the distinct honor of being one of the first Americans ever to teach dance in Cuba since 1959 at the Danza Contemporanea de Cuba in Havana.
