Students will be guided through imagery-based improvisational concepts that eventually build into structured phrasework. They will access a variety of textures and dynamics, exploring how improvisation can be used as a tool for navigating and designing space. Class will prioritize play, curiosity, and open-mindedness while de-emphasizing judgment of choices that emerge. Open to all levels and abilities!
About the Artist:
Hannah Marcus is a Chicago-based dance artist and maker interested in supporting and deconstructing the materiality of the body. Her research finds form in collaborative performance and video work, often exploring the nexus between movement and visual design, sound, technology, and language. Hannah’s choreography has been presented by Jello Performance Series, Lumber Studios, MOMENTA Dance Company, Expand Community Arts Alliance, The Place (London), the Betty Pease Studio Theater, and Dovetail’s 3for3 Creative Residency. Alongside creating, she’s performed in works by Shannon Gillen, Rosie Herrera, Ohad Naharin, Shay Kuebler, Russell Lepley, and Meredith Monk among others. Hannah holds a BFA in dance with a minor in Performing Arts Management & Entrepreneurship from the University of Michigan, graduating as a recipient of the Earl V. Moore Award in 2020. Upon moving back to Chicago, she started working with House of DOV and Hedwig Dances, the latter of which brought her to Dessau, Germany for Bauhaus Fest 2022. As a teacher, she focuses primarily on contemporary movement forms, emphasizing bold shifts of weight, intricate phrase material, and improvisation in her classes.