Clinard Dance Theatre

Organization Type
Company
Studio/Instructor
Overview

Founded in 1999, under the Artistic Direction of choreographer Wendy Clinard, the company’s works integrate her passionate love for flamenco and her urgent need to create theatrically compelling works that address personal and global concerns and, also, tantalize the imagination. Working through a practical process involving movement, rhythms, drawing, sculpture, video and precise observation of real phenomena are fundamental to the research, development and rehearsal cycles. Clinard Dance Theatre productions are the result of often years of work and have been described as physically bold poetic excursions with a fierce intelligence.

Dance Classes

Learn FLAMENCO with Clinard Dance Theatre...

Clinard Dance Theatre has taught Flamenco dance classes from beginner through professional levels for 12 years. The intimate studio environment and small class sizes support a personalized learning experience. Founder and Artistic Director Wendy Clinard has been performing and teaching the art of Flamenco for the past 15 years. Clinard has spent years researching the roots of flamenco. Her classes offer a comprehensive flamenco foundation.

FLAMENCO classes....

Classes are formatted according to a student's dance experience as well as a specific flamenco "palo"/form. The beginner beginner series is geared towards students with no prior flamenco studies. There are many areas to dedicate instruction so that the students begins or builds a comprehensive understanding of flamenco. The Conditioning and Palmas class focuses on building a student's abdominal regions and establishing good "compas"/rhythm cycle of the form they are studying. Technique classes concentrate on drills for feet, turns and arms. In the last class we will study the structure and choreography of the given "palo"; there will be live singing and guitar accompaniment for some of these classes.

Contact us to discuss level placement and to set up your first FREE class!

The Fall Session starts the week of September 7th and runs through December 11th, 2015.

This 14-week session is designed to challenge and expand on current studies at Clinard Dance as well as welcome and encourage new students. The session will be taught by Clinard, Andrea Peterson Estaban and Marisela Tapia. 

Classes culminate Friday, December 11th with a performance in conjunction with Chicago Arts District Second Friday Open Studio Series. This is a great opportunity to perform with live musicians and share your studies with friends and family.

*Please note there is a $30 performance fee to offset costs for guest musicians.

Participants may pay for classes on the first day of class by purchasing a punch card. Punch Cards allow for the most flexibility, working in half hour increments at $8 per punch. Students may purchase as many punches as they like. PUNCH CARDS for the Fall Session expire Friday, December 11th, 2015.

Drop-in rates are as follows:

$18/1 hr  ~  $26/1.5 hr  ~  $34/1.45 hr

To sign up for classes, contact the Clinard Dance Studio at 312.399-1984 or emailinfo@clinardance.org

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BEGINNER TECHNIQUE—Performance Workshop

~Tangos~

Tuesdays: 6:30-8:00pm

Saturdays: 12:00-1:30pm

September 8-December 8

 

This class will emphasize core-strengthening warm-ups, upper body development through arm and hand exercises; common floor patterns; explanation and practice with TANGOS rhythm, simple footwork and hand-clapping techniques,as well as some basic choreography and improvisation opportunities.

                 

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INTERMEDIATE—Performance Workshop

~ALEGRIAS~

Wednesdays: 6:30-8:00pm

September 9-December 9

Alegrías is the best known form in a family of lively, vibrant songs known as Cantiñas. Cantiñas developed during the Peninsular War in the early 19th Century when Spanish partisans gathered on the Atlantic coast near Cádiz to launch the first attacks against Napoleon. The music of Cádiz blended with jotas from Aragón, and the Cantiñas and its variations were born:Cantiñas, Alegrías, Mirabrás, Caracoles and Romeras. The Alegrías has emerged as the most popular version of the song.

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INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED—Performance Workshop

~FARRUCA~

Saturdays: 10:00-11:45am

September 12-December 5

The Farruca is a dramatic, dance-centric form characterized by sombre virtuosity, aggressive footwork, and dramatic shifts in tempo. “Farruco/a” is a slang term used in Andalucía and Latin America to refer to someone from the Spanish provinces of Galicia or Asturias who is far from home. The flamenco form Farruca has little to do with the music of northern Spain, though some of the melodic themes associated with the farruca are reminiscent of tunes from Galicia.

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CHILDREN’S Performance Workshop

~Ages 6–12~

Saturdays: 1:30-2:30pm

September 12-December 5

 

Students will learn to count different time signatures, play rhythm games, do palmas (hand-clapping) and basic flamenco dance techniques. Basic flamenco dance techniques include braceo (arm movements), floreo (finger movements) and zapateado (footwork). The children will also learn a short flamenco choreography to enhance their overall coordination.

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Advanced Drills

Tuesdays 8-9:00pm 

Fridays 12:15-1:15pm

September 11-December 11

This class is designed for advanced students who want to focus on repetition to improve overall flamenco technique, posture, stamina and muscle memory.

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YOGA-BASED FLOOR BARRE

~This class is open to students of dance and/or students interested in yoga~

Tuesdays and Fridays: 9-10:15am 

September 8-December 11

Improve your balance, posture, coordination, strength and flexibility. Inspired by Clinard’s yoga studies at The Iyengar Institute in Pune, India, this class uses various “props”, including the floor, to harness key areas that are essential for good placement focusing on strengthening while stretching abs, glutes, low back, hips and thighs.

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TECHNIQUE

~All levels welcome~

Tuesdays 10:30-noon 

September 8-December 8

 

Clinard studied at Amor De Dios in Madrid with Ciro. He would dedicate each class to one aspect of flamenco dance i.e ARMS, TURNS and FEET. These classes are modeled after Ciro’s approach to examining each part separately so that the student gains a more intimate understanding of flamenco dancing as a whole not as a series of disconnected “steps.”  

**All levels welcome. Students are welcome to drop in throughout the session because they are not choreography centered.

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*NEW CLASS*

REPERTORY AND CHOREOGRAPHIC EXPLORATION

Fridays 10:30-12:00pm

Instructor: Wendy Clinard

These classes are influenced by Clinard’s choreographic explorations that she uses when building their signature original works. A series of games, devised by Clinard, will be taught as well as pieces from the company’s recent works From the Arctic To The Middle East and Chicago’s Watershed: A 156-Mile Choreography. Clinard’s “games” generate instinctive movement from dancers. The games are highly instinctual, they support self-awareness, they encourages each participant to actively explore the instructions, and they connect the body to imagination.

These classes are open to people ages 16+, regardless of their background in dance or movement.

No previous dance experience is needed.

Participants should wear comfortable clothes, be prepared to dance barefoot or in socks and or flamenco shoes.

 

 

Which level are you?

BEGINNER 
no previous flamenco dance experience

INTERMEDIATE 
1 to 3 years flamenco dance experience

ADVANCED

3 to 5 years flamenco dance experience

 

 

Location

Clinard Dance Theatre

1747 S. Halsted (rear)
Chicago, IL 60608
(312) 399-1984

Past Events