Event Details

Ballet Espressivo Presents:

2014 SUMMER WORKSHOP IN LATE BAROQUE & EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY DANCE

This is an intensive three-day workshop focusing on the dance technique of the serious and demi-caractère styles of early ballet circa 1680-1790. The material presented is based on very extensive but as yet largely unpublished scholarly research into early ballet technique. This workshop then is a unique opportunity for dance-students, musicians of early music, or simply curious lovers of ballet to be introduced to a more historically accurate reconstruction of the theatrical dance from the age of Bach, Rameau, and Mozart.

Date:

4-6 July 2014 (Friday to Sunday)

Daily Timetable:

10:00-10:30:
Warmup
10:30-12:00:
Technique Class in the Serious Style
12:00-14:00:
Lunch
14:00-14:30:
Warm-up
14:30-16:00:
Technique Class in the Demi-Caractère Style
16:30-17:15:
Lecture: the development of theatrical dance styles 1660-1800 (Friday); Beauchamps-Feuillet dance notation (Saturday); the development of eighteenth-century pantomime ballet (Sunday)
17:15-19:15:
Supper
19:15-20:45:
Open-Studio: students desiring unstructured class-time for further individual practice of material covered in the morning and afternoon classes will have access to studio and instructors Friday and Saturday evenings.

The technique classes introduce some of the basic steps, ports de bras, head and torso movements, principles of orientation, as well as the formation and use of stage-poses. The amount of material covered is dependent upon the speed of student progress. The workshop may also be audited.

Requirements:

The workshop is open to all, but some previous experience in classical ballet will stand the student in good stead. Students may be split up into separate groups to accommodate differing levels of skill. For students with very limited or no dance experience, easier ballroom executions may be substituted. Ballet- slippers/jazz-shoes and tightfitting knitwear are strongly recommended for participants.

Instructors:

The workshop is taught jointly by Donna Greenberg and Edmund Fairfax.

Donna Greenberg

has a rich background in the arts. She has studied a variety of dance styles: modern dance, dance improvisation, and choreography under Til Thiele at the Centre of Movement and York University, Toronto; classical ballet at the National Ballet School, Toronto; Baroque dance under Elaine Biagi-Turner; and eighteenth-century ballet under Edmund Fairfax. Related studies include dance pedagogy, French mime and acting, training in classical music (voice, harmony, counterpoint, and music history) through Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto; and English literature at University of Toronto (BA).

She is a gifted teacher with over twenty-five years of pedagogical experience in various fields. In addition to the dance and floor barre classes she offers through the Ballet Espressivo School, she has also taught Baroque dance, music and movement for children, ear training, and period movement (Sheridan College, Toronto, and Humber College, Toronto).

Her theatrical experience includes solo and corps performances in Baroque dance with such ensembles as Tafelmusik and Associates of the Toronto Symphony, as well as in modern dance at such venues as Series 8:08. She has created many works for both stage and screen. As artistic director of Ballet Espressivo, her own ballet company, she has seen a number of her dance works performed at numerous festivals throughout Toronto, such as Dance Ontario’s Dance Weekend at Harbourfront; Ashkenaz Festival; Eros, Thanatos and the Avant-Garde. Her dance film I Can’t Go On was included in the Malta International TV Short Film Festival in 2009. She has also been active as a jazz singer and songwriter. She starred in Burnt…and Toasted!, her one-woman show featuring her own songs and choreography, performed at the Toronto Fringe Festival in 2013. She has also produced four CDs, three devoted to her own original music, tracks of which have been aired on radio internationally.

Donna thus brings a vast knowledge of dance, music, and theatrical performance to her classes.

Edmund Fairfax

is an independent Eighteenth-Century Ballet Historian and Consultant, who is overturning current thinking about early ballet history and bringing to light the long-forgotten rich variety and virtuosity of that period. Based on nearly a decade of extensive research, his comprehensive and encyclopedic study on the history of eighteenth-century ballet is in the process of being written. The first volume, entitled The Styles of Eighteenth-Century Ballet, appeared in 2003 (Scarecrow Press). In 2005, he was appointed Adjunct Professor of Dance at York University, Toronto in recognition of his groundbreaking research into early ballet. He has given lectures and workshops at various dance conferences in Canada and United States.

The School:

The Ballet Espressivo School is located downtown Toronto, housed in one of the University of Toronto residence buildings, only steps to the subway and an array of food-services. The school’s newly renovated dance studio is fully equipped with mirrors, barres, dance-floor, and air-conditioning. Visit the school’s website for further details.

Location:

The Ballet Espressivo Dance School The Charles Promenade 730 Yonge Street Suite 228 (corner of Yonge & Charles Streets) Directions: When you enter the mall from Yonge St., there is an elevator and stairwell to the right of the elevator and the entrance to Dollarama. Take either to the second floor and turn left. We are the first door past the Electrical Room. The studio door will be left unlocked during opening hours, so just enter, no need to knock or ring the bell. My cell is 647.294.0784 in case of emergency or problem. There is paid public parking in the basement of the building (entrance on Charles Street).

Fee:

A maximum of 15 students will be accepted for the workshop. The cost is $150.00 (CAD) for active participants, and $75.00 (CAD) for auditors. Applicants enrolled in classes at the Ballet Espressivo School are entitled to a 20% discount in fees.

For further information, contact Donna at 647.294.0784 or email info[at]balletespressivo[dot]com and for info on the Ballet Espressivo School visit www.balletespressivo.com.

Early registration is highly recommended.