2021 - WORKSHOPS | THE MOVEMENT KITCHEN

ARTWORK: HGNTRUNG

Holding Common Ground: Pathways to Cultural Exchange in Vietnam will offer 25 workshops in a hybrid format over a live stream platform on ZOOM and in person at Soul Music & Performing Arts Academy in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam from April 12 - 16, 2021.

Free admission to all workshops
Workshops are open to ages 16+
All workshops are taught in English
We welcome all levels and all bodies from around the world
You must register to attend

***In the event that Ho Chi Minh City goes into a lockdown due to COVID-19, in person workshops will be cancelled and will move entirely to a live stream platform. We will update you with any changes.

WORKSHOP SCHEDULE (INDOCHINA TIME)

REGISTRATION FORM

APRIL 12, 2021

Contemporary Movement

In this movement workshop, we will engage in kinesthetic exploration through improvisation and learned movement phrases. We will focus on spatial and body awareness as well as momentum and weight.

Rachel Lambright is a movement artist whose vision possesses a yearning to understand the human experience. She is a graduate of the University of South Florida, earning a BFA in Dance Performance with a Modern Dance concentration in 2017. Residing in Sarasota, FL, she has been a performer and teaching artist with Sarasota Contemporary Dance, developing her artistry and versatility. Her movement practice embodies ways that challenge presence in the moment, sensing the dance that occurs in breath and the expansion of the lungs, the shifting of weight, and how directional changes can transform intention. Rachel has taught as a guest teaching artist for dance at the New College of Florida, focusing on jazz technique and dance improvisation. She enjoys sharing her curiosities and discoveries in movement and longs to spread the joy and healing that movement can inspire.

Constant Collaboration // Fleeting Creation: Composing in the Moment

We will utilize various tools to begin a practice of crafting composition into our improvisations: expanding awareness, defining relationships, and more. We will practice various ways to listen and make choices as engaged participants, using simple prompts rather than a score. The focus is to allow for structure and form to emerge within the improvisation.

STäD is a movement improvisation collective with Suzy Grant, Angela Gronroos, Tina Peterzell, and Donnell Williams. Between 2002 -- 2005, our training overlapped while we were all students at the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago. Since that time, we have worked together in various iterations or groupings, but never as this quartet. During the summer in 2019, we met for lunch and were discussing our desires around dance and performance...from there STäD was born. We began sharing and exploring our individual training in improvisation while also cultivating a shared practice which pushes the risk and edge, informed by our collective knowledge and distinct lineages. We are four improvisors with different vocabularies of and relationships to dance and improvisation. Collectively, we are interested in the lines, boundaries, and spaces between forms that reflect our very personal experiences in life—often identifying across many boundaries and hyphenates, yet always existing in the places between. Part and parcel to our practice is a root in exploring sexuality and spectrums of masculinity while leaning into influential, disparate disciplines. We facilitate experiences that make room for improvised movement to reveal, explore, and, yes, compose. Audiences are exposed to a space in which we—as artist and audience together—can conceptualize, witness, and consider experiences and ideas previously unfamiliar. There is a tension that manifests as a result of being human and we attempt to balance and investigate our world by working at the fringes of the mundane and the ethereal. This includes organizing a practice around repetition and ritual-driven exercises that ultimately put spirits in the room to connect to the known and unknown. This hybridity—with play, practice, and awareness, too—aims at channeling a connection to temporal existences that underscore intuition. The development of this practice challenges us to negotiate the felt connection of bodies in space and time. With STäD widespread, we endeavor to consider the energy that tethers three of us in and around Chicago to one of us in New York. The process evolves through video conferencing, text messages, short recorded improvisations, shared writings and other impulses. We are interested in how we can expand our practice and process in this moment of isolation, developing a shared practice around the obstacle of proximity and how this will inform our connection to the concept of audience/witness/participant. STäD performed at the Never Before Never Again Festival in Brooklyn, New York (January 2020), Jello Dance in Chicago, IL (March 2020) and is honored to be part of the Chicago Moving Company’s STAIR program.

Responding Sensationally

This class explores and dives into the senses, focusing on deep listening and body awareness. Dancers will be guided through a series of improvisational prompts in which the duration will increase in over time. Please make sure that you have enough room and are in a safe environment for this class--you will be asked to move with your eyes closed. This class will fluctuate between movement and discussion.

Alexander Jones is a graduate of the University of South Florida's Dance Department with a BFA in Dance Performance and a recent MFA graduate Hollins University. Prior to his collegiate training at USF, Jones received training from the LINES Ballet BFA Program under direction of Marina Hotchkiss. He has had the opportunity to work with Alonzo King, Bill T. Jones in Serenade/The Proposition, and Doug Varone in The Rite of Spring. He has performed in Tunisia, Africa with the University of South Florida on behalf of the American Embassy and the Tunisian Dance Federation. He had a 13 year career as a performer and equity dancer at Walt Disney World, performing in stage shows such as Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular, A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas, and Dream Along with Mickey. He is an alumnus of ArchCore40 in NYC and works closely with choreographer Jennifer Archibald as her choreographer assistant in the Florida Dance Festival. In 2012, he choreographed and directed his first evening length work entitled First You, Then The Rest at the Studio@620 in St. Petersburg, FL. In the Spring of 2013, Jones joined Yow Dance Company and had the honor of choreographing works for the company for both Spring Into Dance and the Orlando International Fringe Festival. Later that Fall, he returned to the Studio@620 to premiere his second evening-length work, Contact. Jones participated in Project GenYes! at the Studio@620 made possible by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation premiering his third evening-length work, Uncovered: Power of the Being at the Studio@620. In 2016, Jones became the Artistic Director of Collective Soles Dance making it his mission to connect the Tampa Bay area through collaboration. The following year Alex was one of the resident choreographers at the Florida Dance Festival where he premiered his latest work behind the Front. Jones is on faculty at the University of Tampa and Florida Southern College teaching techniques classes that help students prepare for both concert and commercial stages. Currently, Jones is the Dance Artist in Residence at the Studio@620 and founder of St. Pete based dance company, projectALCHEMY.

Contemporary with Abigail

In this workshop students will explore energetic extremes through guided improvisational exercises and contemporary choreography. Dance presents the challenge to feel the body negotiate where energy begins, how it’s transferred, and where it resides. The energy that carries movement is often studied in order to become modulated and/or controlled; As this mastery has its benefits, this workshop encourages the body to explore one’s own natural energetic pathways.

Born and raised in Florida, Abigail Hinson has been pursuing Dance since she was twelve. In 2017, Abigail graduated from Florida State College at Jacksonville with her Associates Degree, and a focus in Dance in part of DanceWorks, the college’s repertory company. Abigail transferred to The University of South Florida to continue her studies in Dance, receiving a Bachelors of Fine Arts in 2020. As an undergrad student, Abigail was selected to travel abroad in USF’s Dance in Paris Program, a five month intensive study in France, Germany, and the Netherlands. She was also selected to perform works by Bliss Kholmyer and Jeanne Travers at Beijing Normal University, as part of USF’s China Exchange Program. Abigail has performed works choreographed by Robert Moses, Andee Scott, Michael Foley, Bliss Kohlmyer, Charles Anderson, Jennifer Archibald, and various other artists. She has participated in several intensives and workshops including American Ballet Theatre, Alonzo Lines Discovery Project, Florida Dance Festival, Potsdamer Tanztage, Kavin Grant: The Company Experience, and American College Dance Association. Summer of 2019, Abigail spent in Berlin, Germany to travel and work as an intern with International Festival, Potsdamer Tanztage 2019. Here, she studied under several teachers in Ballet, Contemporary, and floorwork techniques. Her passion for education and people lead her to teach within the community at local studios and schools. Abigail’s primary styles of study include Modern, Contemporary, Hip-hop, and Improvisation. She currently lives in Tampa, FL where she works as a certified yoga instructor, and performs in local live, and film dance work.

ARTIST STATEMENT: For all the work I have, and will produce, I take the most pride in stating that it is composed of the essence of the people and things that surround me. I believe that we, persons, as a whole and individually, are made of influences— physical, emotional, and psychological. I am infatuated with the necessary dependencies that underlie all relationships amongst living beings. In life, and in dance, I have made it my primary focus to emphasize how people quite simply need each other. My work strives to revolve around ideas of coexistence, and how it affects the communities it creates.

The Emotions of the Body

The Emotions of the Body is an Integrative Movement workshop modeled on Gabrielle Roth’s 5 Rhythms. It is aimed to heighten one’s awareness about their emotional states, the places where these feelings live in their body and to release the trapped emotions through movement. This workshop is open to everyone, dancers and non-dancers.

The session is made of 5 stages based on various interventions:
● we will use visual prompts to help participants connect with their emotional state
● a Mindfulness meditation will quiet the mind and help them connect to their senses
● we will go through a movement meditation, following the 5 Rhythms where we will let everything flow
● we will perform a final body scan to have a look at what has shifted
● and we will share and discuss our experience

Ngoc Tran Thien (She/Her) - Life & Mindfulness Coach and Movement meditation facilitator with a purpose to promote wellbeing through the alliance of the Mind, Soul and Body.

Radical Play

Let’s try something.

Let’s experiment.

Let’s fail.

Let’s play.

Through body awareness exercises, partnered activities, and ensemble building we will play. We will get to the root of discovering the pleasure of having a body and being around other bodies - even if you're taking this workshop through ZOOM. With the tools learned during this workshop, we will find new ways to express, explore, and create. All bodies are worthy of an audience. Let’s try. All levels and languages are not only welcome but encouraged.

Ilse Zoerb arrived in Ho Chi Minh in 2017 by way of Philadelphia USA where she freelanced as a performer, writer, and producer. She is a product of that vibrant arts scene having trained with Headlong Dance Theatre and the Pig Iron School of Advanced Performance Training. Her work up til now has been steeped in an ensemble based, physical theatre pedagogy where collaborators create original works from scratch. She has participated in fifteen original works ranging from 20 person ensemble extravaganzas to solo pieces performed in her friend's closet. This is her first time working with a script in five years. Performance is a way for her to attempt to authentically connect to others.With over ten years of experience as a performer in the US her focus shifted to teaching acting, movement, and voice. She's had the privilege to teach at The Movement Kitchen, Cái Tô Nhỏ, Wintercearig, Dragonfly Education, and ACT Academy.

APRIL 13, 2021

Contemporary Modern Dance and Improvisation

Jeanne Travers’ workshop will focus on Contemporary Modern Dance and Improvisation, incorporating the Limon, Cunningham and Bartenieff Techniques and principles of movement. Her eclectic class utilizes a strong, physical, and energetic approach to movement involving dynamics, breath, release work and personal artistic expression.

Jeanne Travers is a Professor within the School of Theatre and Dance at the University of South Florida where she teaches Contemporary Modern Dance, Choreography, and other dance related courses. She received her BA in Dance from the University of California at Santa Cruz and her MFA from the University of Utah where she graduated with honors. Her choreography has been presented in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. She has also been a guest teacher in Australia, Bolivia, China, Ecuador, England, France, Italy, Germany, Korea, Trinidad, Tunisia, and Vietnam. Jeanne is also the Co-founder/Coordinator of the USF/China Dance Exchange Program between USF and Beijing Normal University in China. Her choreography, Visions of Peace was presented at the Theatre Dejazet in Paris, France under the high patronage of the Mayor of Paris. Additionally, her choreography has been presented at the at the International Fragmentos de Juno Festival in Ecuador, the International Celebrazione Festival in Italy, the Ties of Friendship International Dance Festival in La Paz, Bolivia, at the International Creative Dance Festival in Beijing, China, at the Yongin Poeun Art Hall in Seoul, Korea, at the International Choreographer’s Collective Festival in Trinidad, at the prestigious International El Djem Festival in Tunisia, at the International Edinburg Fringe Festival in Scotland, and at the Holding Common Ground: Pathways to Cultural Exchange Seminar in Vietnam. She is the recipient of numerous awards and grants including the USF Kosove Outstanding Teaching and Service Award, the USF Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award, The USF Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, the USF TIP Award for Outstanding Teaching, a USF Woman in Leadership and Philanthropy Research Award, a USF Diversity award, numerous USF Sponsored Research Grants, Cultural Grants through Embassies, Outstanding Choreographic Grants through the State of Florida and International Cultural Grants. Jeanne Travers is also the Co-founder of Holding Common Ground: Pathways to Cultural Exchange in Vietnam.

Contemporary Investigation

Contemporary investigation blends both traditional contemporary class elements with exploration of new avenues of bodily movement. This class works through contemporary technique with added elements of spinal, appendage, and grounding investigations, culminating with phrase work to get the body fully invested physically and mentally while dancing. Music styles vary in order to support the pace of the class sections. Be ready to push through boundaries and release in movement!

Tara Compton Parsan is a professional dancer, educator and choreographer who has worked with the US Department of State as a Cultural Ambassador in Arts and Cultural Diplomacy in over 20 countries worldwide with Company E. As a Co-Founder, Managing and Co-Director of International Programming of Company E, Tara has had the opportunity to travel across the world educating and developing students of all ages through cultural exchange. The Company has led over 30 international projects through the Department of State of which have included performances, workshops, student productions, teacher summits, and local artistic collaborations. Most recently, Tara and her colleagues have executed programming in Kazakhstan, Cuba, Palestine, Israel, and Russia. These programs have helped to foster relations between the United States and various countries and communities on local and national levels, as well as advancing conversation and collaboration on both a governmental and artistic scale. In 2014, Company E was the first cultural diplomacy envoy sent to Cuba by the (then) US Interests Section after the announcement of normalizing relations between the two countries. Her experience as a cultural diplomat allows Tara to consult, curate and execute cultural and public diplomacy programs in the performing arts, visual arts, and capacity building for artistic entrepreneurs in even the most remote areas of the world.

Aside from her extensive performance experience on stages around the world and at home (including The Joyce Theater and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts), Tara continues to create and choreograph for stages and dance film. She has finished creating a dance film entitled “Peel and REPEAL” thanks to the support of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities through the Project, Events and Festivals Grant, and has received a second grant to set a new film/work in 2021 entitled “Home to Me.” She is also the recipient of three consecutive Arts and Humanities Fellowship awards from the Commission recognizing her artistic work in the District of Columbia.

Tara’s work in the professional dance world led her to study and translate the benefits of movement in the classroom to school districts both nationwide and internationally, most including curating movement curriculum in the Washington, DC Public Schools. Through the understanding of body discipline and movement as a tool for education, self awareness, and creativity, she co-founded the organization UP!, partnering with VirtualEduca and Hewlett-Packard (HP) Education to help youth strive to reach their fullest potential on a global scale.

Finding Momentum

Improvisation and Collective Choreography is a big part of how Visionary Dance Theatre creates work. We will be exploring how movement works on your specific body and how you can make movement your own. For this workshop we will be playing with momentum and initiation as our improvisation score within the context and structure of traditional modern dance.

Tanya Lewis is currently the Assistant Artistic Director of Visionary Dance Theatre and has been with the company for the last eight years. She has performed work for local, national, and international choreographers such as Erika Moore, Eric Geiger, Patricia Rincon, Monica Bill Barnes, Trixi Agiao, Jean Travers, Emily Navarra, and Spencer Powell. As a choreographer herself her Independent theater projects include You’re Late, You’re Late II, Prism and Ebb &. Her film projects include Between Two Ends featured in the international film festival, 40North; and Becoming. Her choreography for the short film Song of Birds and Bees won her the Silver Award for best choreography from International Film Awards. She is a University of California San Diego graduate with a BA in dance and a theater minor and was awarded the Stewart Prize in Choreography.

Pose | Punk | Revive

An Introduction to the American classic gay urban dance form Punking

Christopher Scott Caldwell founder of Ovations Global Network has been an active dance artist, educator and choreographer for over two decades. His clients include Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Winners, So You Think You Can Dance, Major Fitness Brands, Las Vegas Shows, internationally accredited dance pioneers, and Ted X Speakers, just to name a few.

Christopher is a certified practitioner of the Simonson method of teacher training specializing in jazz, modern, and contemporary. He is also board-certified in 12 dances via Fred Astaire International. You can find his self created Hip Hop Cardio workout, newly partnered by WONDERCISE available worldwide on their app. His choreography has showcased across the US, Japan, Jamaica, and on major TV networks. He has worked with dance and entertainment royalty including: Bill T Jones, Lynn Simonson, Mia Michael’s, Viktor Manoel, Tyrone “The Bone” Proctor, The Whispers, The Ojay’s and more.

Christopher is the founder of Florida's first and only international gay urban dance festival What The Punk Fest and its year-round LGBTQ+ Safe Space Initiatives. His nonprofit is also responsible for the South Florida Dance and Drum Folklore Series so far offering FREE attendance options for workshops led by dance and drum masters of Mali, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Abidjan, Haiti, and Cuba.

As a guest artist Christopher has been invited to many dance institutions including Florida Atlantic University, Shenandoah University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Patel Conservatory, Indian River State College, Saint Andrews School and The Pulse On Tour. Christopher is also a performance coach for DMS Entertainment International working with emerging pop artists signed to their label.

Most recently, Christopher announced the formation of his dance company House Of Ovations. His official space to entertain, explore, educate, and evoke. Be sure to tune in for his performances and weekly classes virtually and in person.

Nắng đêm

This workshop focuses on musicality and choreography for Vietnamese music. Music is an indispensable friend to each dancer and it helps dancers convey their stories through their movements. The beauty of Vietnamese music will be explored where participants will share their own story of movement through the lyrics and beauty of the song “Nắng đêm”.

Trần Hà Hoàng Uyên has been a member of The LYRICIST dance company at Soul Music and Performing Arts Academy since 2018. She has participated in the international dance training programs – ISTD. Uyên’s achievements with The LYRICIST include 1st place in the Urban Dance Fest sponsored by Hennessy, Top 5 at Super 24 Singapore in 2018, Top 16 at Arena Singapore in 2019, and 1st place at Super 24 Singapore in 2019.

APRIL 14, 2021

Improvisation influenced by Skinner Releasing TechniqueTM

Movement inspired through a process of discovery, with improvisations that facilitate ways of letting go of holding patterns, letting go our breath and experiencing multi-directional alignment. We will explore suppleness and its relationship to strength and readiness. The class invites something new to happen, embodying new movement pathways and igniting the power of imagination.

Skinner Releasing TechniqueTM (SRT) is a pioneering approach to dancing that has evolved from the simple principle that when we are letting go of habitual tension patterns we can move more freely, articulately and powerfully. Joan Skinner, a choreographer, dance improvisation pioneer and former dancer with the Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham companies, developed the technique in the early 1970’s.Today, Skinner Releasing Technique is a comprehensive training system that has become a considerable influence on leading artists across the world.

Cindy Hennessy swam, walked, and then danced, in that order. She is one of the 1997 founders of Moving Current Dance Collective, which to date has, produced over 75 concerts, presenting local and national choreographers, dancers, musicians, poets, actors, and visual artists. Annually with Moving Current she choreographs and oversees residencies. Her dances have been seen regularly throughout Florida, as a part of the Visions of Peace Project in Paris, France, and in Lisbon Portugal. Cindy earned a BFA in Dance at FSU and the last 14 years has focused on teaching Skinner Releasing Technique and improvisation, earning her Skinner Releasing Teacher Certification. Honors include: Hillsborough County Individual Artist Grant, State Artist Fellowship and Tampa Bay Treasured Artist of the Year. Her greatest award has been the privilege of working with many dedicated teachers, students, professional dancers and artists, who have given many hours of their talent to her creative endeavors.

Critical Improvisation

This workshop is solely based on learning a new perspective on the technique of Improvisation.

Robert S. Kelley II, received his Associates of Arts in Dance Performance from Valencia College and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance with a concentration in Modern Dance from the University of South Florida. Mr. Kelley has had the opportunity to perform the works of renowned artist including Robert Moses, Ohad Naharin, Alonzo King, Xiao Xiangrong and, Jacques Heim. His international performances include dancing in Trinidad and Tobago in 2014 and 2016, China in 2015, South Korea in 2017 and, United Kingdom in 2018. One of Mr. Kelley’s recent performances was part of the first annual conference, HOLDING COMMON GROUND: Pathways to Cultural Exchange in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in April 2019. Robert has presented his choreography at various venues including Valencia College, The University of South Florida and, St. Petersburg College. Most recent works include the premiere of Formulated Freeverse as part of, Holding Common Ground. This was a collaboration with Florida-based artist, Katrina Soricelli. Robert is currently pursuing his Master of Fine Arts at The California Institute of The Arts.

Contemporary

An improv inspired/based structured warm up leading into a free flow with dynamics contemporary combo. Wanting to focus on all parts of the body & using all parts of the body.

Caitlyn Elie is a graduate of The University of South Florida, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance Performance and Choreography with a Modern Concentration in 2017. Originally from Miami, Florida she attended New World School of the Arts and furthered her training in modern dance styles such as Horton, Graham, Limon, Cunningham, and Ballet. Caitlyn performed in works by Peter London, Gerard Ebitz, Lara Murphy, Dale Andree, and Tina Santos. While she attended USF, she had the honor of presenting original choreography and performed works by Ohad Naharin, Robert Moses, Andee Scott, Erin Cardinal, Bliss Kohlmyer, and Jeanne Travers. At the age of 20, she was able to travel to Paris, France during the summer of 2016 to study abroad under the dance program at USF. While in Paris she was able to work with other well known artists/choreographers such as Julien Desplantez, Catherine Dénécy, Clint Lutes, and Kevin Quinao. July of 2017, Caitlyn had joined Collective Soles Arts Group with Artistic Director Alex Jones as an apprentice and became a company member in January 2018. With the company she performed in Orlando, the Tampa Bay Area, St. Petersburg, LA and San Diego. Currently, Caitlyn is a local dance teacher in the Tampa Bay Area and a freelance dance artist. She is a Project-based dancer with Moving Current Dance Collective and Jeanne Travers and Dancers, which are both based in Tampa, FL. She's performed in GASP Fringe Festival, IDance Orlando, NewGrounds, St. Pete Fest and in Liverpool where she was able to attend their Leap Festival in November 2018. To continue, she is focusing on developing her movement vocabulary and working towards choreographing her own works and performing. She choreographed her first solo work after graduating titled "Appear - See" and premiered it at "Talking Bodies: Choreographers Fest". As she progresses in the dance field, she hopes to attend graduate school in the near future and continue choreographing new works.

Chance Dance

This workshop is centered around the I-Ching and Merce Cunningham's use of chance mechanisms and indeterminacy as choreographic strategies. Participants will explore their own movement phrases by experimenting with chance methods and further develop them to create a small ensemble dance.

You will need a pen/pencil and paper for this workshop.

Emily Navarra is an independent dancer/dancemaker / activist / conflict resolution artist. She holds a B.A. in Dance Studies from the University of South Florida and a Certificate of Completion in Authentic Movement Training from the European Society of Authentic Movement in Munich, Germany. For the past decade, she has worked as a dance movement therapist and authentic movement educator facilitating one on one healing sessions for refugees of The Arab Spring in North Africa and the Middle East. From 2015-2017, Emily designed a reconciliation program for American Veterans involved in the My Lai Massacre as a means to create a time for forgiveness with surviving family members of this massacre in Vietnam. This program was funded by the Public Broadcasting Service.

Emily has worked under various choreographers such as Iñaki Azpillaga and Wim Vandekeybus (Ultima Vez) and Lloyd Newson (DV8 Physical Theatre) as well as presented her work in the United States, Europe, Southeast Asia, North Africa and the United Kingdom. She is the founder of The Melting Pot, an Art, Dance and Music Festival held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam which has served as a platform for the arts, encourages engagement in cultural exchange and has brought greater access to the Arts for the general public of HCMC since 2011. She formed Standpoint Theories in 2012, an international experimental multimedia performance collective. From 2013-2015, it transformed into its next installation – “Legends of Vietnam” which retold six Vietnamese legends through dance, visual art, text and live music featuring singer/songwriter Le Cat Trong Ly. Emily was featured and recognized in the Contemporary Performance Almanac 2015 for Standpoint Theories. In 2015, she created her alias, The Movement Kitchen - where she offers creative community outreach experiences and movement based workshops for the general public by spreading knowledge about movement as a therapy, bringing cultures together and encouraging self-expression. Emily was a TED Talks key note speaker in 2016 speaking on the topic of The Importance of Collaboration in the Arts. Additionally, she is the recipient of three Civil Society grants from the United States Consulate of Ho Chi Minh City. She resided overseas for the past decade in North Africa, Europe and Southeast Asia and after her move back stateside, she co-founded Holding Common Ground: Pathways to Cultural Exchange in Vietnam in 2019.

“Projects led by local artists show a community that they themselves have agency and impact.” ~THE MOVEMENT KITCHEN

Theatre/Broadway Jazz

If you love musicals, you must have seen theatre dance. Linh’s style is a combination of 40,50s MGM musical era, Bob Fosse- inspired jazz lines, and a touch of new style dances (street choreography). We will start with a thorough 30 - 45 minutes warm-up and across the floor exercise and foundation steps in Jazz choreography; followed by a theatre choreography by Linh.

Bring on your fedora/bowler hat, jazz heels or flats and LET’S BROADWAY, BABY!

Linh An - a Theatre Jazz dance artist, Hanoi born, New York trained. Linh first fell in love with dance when she moved to London and was trained in contemporary jazz at Holland Park School ( from 2010-2012) where she was involved in various dance students' performance projects with the English National Ballet at the Royal Albert Hall and Shanghai World Expo (China). Nevertheless, she found her true color in dance when she visited New York in the summer 2017, and met Broadway for the first time. Inspired by the theatrical dance style of musicals and shows such as: Chicago, the Rockettes, Hamilton, Bandstand, Linh started to explore this style of dancing and was first introduced to a branch called "Theatre Jazz Dance". This is when she made a plan to move to NYC for musical-theatre dance training once completing university in Vietnam.

In 2019, Linh completed her one-year intensive dance training course at the Broadway Dance Center in NYC, (concentrating in Theatre Jazz and minoring in Tap), under the guidance of Broadway professionals: Chet Walker, Diane Laurenson, James Kinney, Karla Garcia, Jill Kenney, Michael Mindlin, etc. After her musical adventure in NYC, Linh and her friend - an American actor - Johnson Brock decided to travel to Vietnam in the summer of 2019 to hold a musical theatre dance workshop series called “A Broadway jazz dance experience in Vietnam”, with the participation of over 100 dance lovers in Hanoi. Hoping to continue building a community of musical-theatre dance enthusiasts in Vietnam, Linh and Johnson founded Theatre Dance Vietnam - a dance forum which aims to spread Theatre Jazz art form in Vietnam via workshops, dance performance , and film production.

Theatre Dance Vietnam’s most recent theatrical project with The Tank Theatre in NYC is the virtual dance show called “Dancing Through”, where Broadway meets Vietnam during a global pandemic. The performance explores the last century of theater dance and its prevalence beyond Broadway. "Dancing through…" involved over 70 dance artists, choreographers from Hanoi to Broadway (Hamilton, Newsies, Moulin Rouge, etc.).

(Directed by Elizabeth Troxler; associate director, Logan Pitts. Choreographed by Richard Stafford, Ryan VanDenBoom, Michael Mindlin, Kristyn Pope, Danielle Diniz, Andrea Brodine, Jill Kenney, and James Alonzo White. Filmed under COVID safety guidelines by Tim Fuchs Productions at The Tank, with lighting design by American Ballet Theatre's Brad Fields and Stephen Weeks. "DANCING THROUGH..." premiered virtually October 30th, 2020 at 8pm EST. )

INDIVIDUAL WORKSHOP VISUALS - HCG 2021.p

Choreography

This workshop explores the depth of storytelling. Hopefully through the small details in motion, we can let you slow down a bit and somehow feel more comfortable with creating, and expressing your emotions through movements.

Tran is a choreographer for the Saigon based dance company The LYRCIST. Moon is a member of The LYRICIST. Together, this is their 3rd year joining Holding Common Ground: Pathways to Cultural Exchange in Vietnam.

APRIL 15, 2021

*We are holding two panel discussions in the morning. Join us here!

Modern Move & Flow

This workshop is a culmination of yoga, organic movement, and modern dance technique. We will have live musician accompanist, Tommy Halla, bringing in some funky tribal beats. This class encourages full body awareness, clarity in movement, and precision in transitions. Playing with gestures, changes in direction, and dynamics in relation to speed, we will move and flow to guided movement and end with phrase work material.

Crystal Delgiudice-Williams spent 10 years as a competitive gymnast. She later went on to receive her BFA in Dance performance from the University of South Florida. During her studies, she performed works by choreographers such as, Doug Varone, Jenifer Salk, Maurice Causey, Colleen Thomas, Andrew Carrol, and Andy Scott. In addition, Crystal has performed and studied abroad in the Dance in Paris Program. She was selected to perform in the International Creative Dance Seminar held in Beijing, China. Crystal has danced professionally with companies such as, Staib Dance, Moving Current Dance Collective, and Rogue Dance. She has also performed works by noted choreographers Adele Myers, Doug Gillespie, Bliss Kohlmyer, Jeanne Travers, Kristin O’Neal, Lauren Slone, Paula Kramer, Kyle & Gina Bolas, Victoria Marks, and Loren Davidson. Crystal has taught master classes throughout Florida at Sarasota Contemporary Dance, St. Petersburg College, South Florida Dance Company, and Tree CoLab. She has also taught a master class and performed internationally at the Soul Music & Performance Arts Academy, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Crystal has worked as guest choreographer for places such as, St. Petersburg College, Sarasota Contemporary summer intensive program and Sarasota Dance Contemporary. Most recently, she coproduced and performed solo work to promote artists in all fields in the Agape Project in Stuart, FL. Crystal continues to build her repertoire of work as a freelance dancer, choreographer, and advocate for all art forms.

Choreographic Tools of Expression through Hip Hop & Experimental Dance

This workshop is designed to bring our emotions into movement. Through musicality and lyrics, we will explore more ways we feel the music while we express ourselves.

Nhon Vo’s dance experience is based in Hip Hop, Contemporary, and Experimental movement. He is a company member of The Lyricist in Ho Chi Minh City and is an emerging choreographer in Hip Hop in Vietnam.

Controlled and Uncontrolled

Choreographers and dancers always coexist on the stage. At the choreographer's words, the dancer's body is controlled and made. Here, I want to ask that we find the meaning and concept in the relationship and use it as a method of movement. What would exist between the controlled body and the uncontrolled body? I want to find the relationship through improvisation and movement.

Sun-young Lim (Contemporary Dance Instructor) graduate of SUNHWA Art High School (Seoul), EWHA Womans University (B.A.), and Korea National University of Arts (M.A.). She has kept on walking one way of dance and studied more about the role of choreographer as a leader and the relationship between dancers and choreographers. Sun-young received her PhD through this study about how much influence the choreographer’s leadership can have on the dancers and effectively give them a vision. She always keeps in mind the role of her part for her dancers and students. She aims to never to forget the posture of a deep, dedicated listener and to work as a visionary for those she works with.

Sun-young was selected as an choreographer of excellence by the Korean Culture and Arts Committee in 2006 and has won many dance awards in Korea. She was selected as an artist abroad by the Korea Dance Council and did an artist exchange between Vietnam and Korea in 2018 where she had performances with Arabesque Dance Company and member Vu Minh Thu in Korea. In 2019, she performed a duet at the Krossingover Festival in Vietnam where she worked with UDG Vietnam dancers. She also participated in the Korea Goyang International Dance Festival in 2019 and recently joined Open Stage of Arabesque Dance Company in 2020.

Artist Statement: I love dance and art. I am interested in the dancing body and the “essence” of dance, the movement of “transformation” based on the concepts of approach, sensuous movement of the body, and breathing. To me, dancing is not a simple move but a living history of humans that is revealed as a transparent body through all the thoughts and accumulations of time that have been experienced in life.

APRIL 16, 2021

*We are holding one panel discussion in the morning. Join us here!

Breakin' It Down

Dancers will learn the elements of breakin'/bboying as well as a short routine by putting them all together.

Mary Mar aka BGIRL MAMA is part of Hardcore Detroit & Venus Fly dance crews and the dance duo Mama2. Mary started her journey in the Hip Hop culture when she started breakin’ aka breakdancing in 2001. Since then, she has performed, judged, and competed throughout the United States and Canada. Mary runs a performing arts studio just north of Detroit, MI and hosts a free open session practice spot in Detroit empowering youth and adults of all ages through hip hop dance and culture. In 2016, Mary was selected to be part of the Caravanserai: American Voices Tour in which Muslim American artists shared their cross-cultural stories in unique, contemporary expressions. Mary introduced her solo project, Escape From the Killing Fields. Her solo project is an emotionally driven, theatrical dance piece motivated by her family’s journey to the United States in which they escaped the Khmer Rouge and the war in Cambodia. The music used is a mix from The Killing Fields soundtrack composed by Mike Oldfield released in 1984 and Sni Bong by Dengue Fever. Mary is also a competitive b-girl and won several competitions including 2011 Breakin’ the Law in Madison, Wisconsin; 2011 Grand Rapid’s Slam N Jam; the 2014 Detroit’s Quality All Styles Dance Competition; the 2016 On the Rocks battle. As she continues her journey with Hip Hop and dance, she never loses sight of who she is: a Cambodian Muslimah B-Girl.

Detroit Jit

A brief history of Jit, footwork warmups, combination exercises and a short routine.

Haleem "Stringz" Rasul has taught dance workshops and presented choreography at Columbia College Chicago, Eastern Michigan University, Oakland Community College, Wayne State University, the University of Michigan, California State University, and has also given international workshops in parts of China, Sweden, Windsor and Quebec.

In 2015, the Zimbabwe Cultural Center in Detroit (ZCCD), a collaboration with the Jibilika Dance Trust, sponsored a dance residency in Harare, Zimbabwe, where Haleem conducted research and interviews and led workshops in Mutare and other various towns. In 2016 Haleem attended the Next Level Hip Hop Diplomacy program in Indonesia that promoted cultural exchange and mutual understanding as well as a dance residency in Kurdistan through Yes Academy and American Voices.

Haleem was awarded the Kresge Artist Fellowship in 2010 and was a recipient of the Knights Arts Challenge grant in 2013. In 2018, Haleem served as a King • Chavez • Parks Visiting Professor at The University of Michigan and was presented with The Copperfoot Award for choreography from Wayne State University in 2019.

Composing in Motion

In this class, we will be looking to engage with all of the surfaces that surround the body in motion. Beginning with a full-bodied improvisational warm-up to engage and awaken the senses, we will continue into exploring and expanding on modern dance partnering fundamentals. Then, we will progress through investigations of pathways, levels, and textual dynamics that establish/re-enforce the dancers’ relationship to their surroundings through improvisational and compositional tasks.

Sadie Lehmker is a freelance dancer and choreographer with roots in the Tampa Bay area. Sadie received her MFA in Dance at the University of Michigan and her B.A. in Dance Studies from the University of South Florida. She has performed the work of Charles Gushue/Gushue Moving Arts, Xan Burley + Alex Spring/the Median Movement, Erin Cardinal, Jeanne Travers, Alex Jones, Michael Foley, and Meredith Monk, and performed in the 2010 USF School of Theatre and Dance’s production of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company’s Serenade/The Proposition. She has performed across Florida, in New York City, in Michigan, in California, in Paris, and in Vietnam. Sadie has set her choreography throughout Central Florida at the University of South Florida, Florida Southern College, St. Petersburg College, Moving Current Dance Collective, Florida Dance Arts, America's Ballet School, Florida Dance Festival, and Shoes at the Door Dance. Her choreography has been accepted into several festivals in Florida, and has been showcased in southeast Michigan and in Vietnam. Currently, Sadie is an adjunct professor at the University of South Florida, Florida Southern College, and Eckerd College. Sadie also continues to teach master classes and work her own choreographic projects in the Central Florida area.

Waacking Moves on Music Flow

This workshop shares the foundation and root of waacking technique. It will focus on the following:

Waacking Essence

Attitude
Character
Arms movement
Drill
Line
Posing

Express waacking movement by improving your musicality

Working in groups to tell a story through choreography

Danh Thanh Tran a.k.a. Skarlet is a pioneer of Waacking in Vietnam alongside his creative partner, Black Jack. He’s the leader of Fancy Crew and founder of IHOW Waacking Vietnam. Since 2000, he has been teaching the art of Waacking in HCMC and performing as a drag queen in plays, fashion shows, TMA Idol and Show Off events throughout Vietnam.

He has been featured on television in various showcases on VTV2 and VTV6. In 2016, he was the main actor in the documentary film “Lộng Lẫy – Rise Like a Phoenix” featuring Tyrone Proctor - a documentary about Waacking, Drag Queen’s and Hip Hop in Vietnam. This documentary has been broadcasted in HCMC and Hanoi. Scarlet has also hosted Waacking battles and workshops throughout S.E. Asia since 2013.

Movement Research

This workshop focuses on the impact of sound and music in dance improvisation. We will come to share and learn from each other, where we will discover more materials for moving with the aid of music and sound. Open to all levels and movement styles.

Chi Nguyen is a Vietnamese dance artist who spent years overseas in Germany to study dance. She has recently come back to her home country with the hope of giving inspiration for the Arts community of Vietnam.

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