Summer School
Photo: Julie Artacho | Dancer: Marie-Maxime Ross
Summer School is compulsory for all students enrolled in the three-year DEC program. Certain technical classes and performance workshops are also open to professional dancers.
The Summer School is organized around two poles: technical classes and workshops.
Technique classes
Contemporary dance technique classes provide a gradual return to fitness. It's up to you to regain your peak fitness and full skill level in preparation for the fall season and further training. A morning training period will help you integrate quickly and efficiently.
Workshops
The program includes workshops such as Bouffon, Art et Movement and Rhythmic Lab. It offers an opportunity to broaden the scope of interpretive possibilities by introducing students to teachings that complement the professional training program in contemporary dance. Among other things, these workshops allow students to explore other performing arts. Students can also take part in performance workshops with professional dancers and choreographers.
SCHEDULE
August 5 to 16, 2024
1st year students
2nd year students
3rd year students
RATES
Please note that students are required to pay Summer School registration fees in one payment before May 15, 2023. A registration form will be sent to students.
2023 Rates : $575
CLASS DESCRIPTION
First year students
Related training
Daily periods of related training, whose main objective is fitness, promote rapid and effective reintegration through complementary techniques and approaches such as YOGA, Feldenkrais, Gyrokinesis and the PERMAX method. These training sessions also enable the student community to deepen their relationship with the body and develop kinaesthetic ease and efficiency.
Technical classes 1
These daily classes are designed to prepare students for the intensive training that characterizes the full-time dance program at the École de danse contemporaine de Montréal. An essential part of a dancer's training, this course is designed to consolidate basic technique. It includes daily ballet classes for contemporary dancers.
Creativity
Based on personal exploration, these workshops enable students to discover their own movement patterns through imagination and improvisation, in search of an authentic and personal way of moving. The course also explores group dynamics and interaction with other members of the cohort, with the aim of fostering encounters. Group exchanges are part of a spirit of sharing and reflection on the art of dance.
Interpretation Laboratory 1
This workshop takes the form of a choreographic creation spread over the three weeks of the Summer School. The aim of this laboratory is to enable young dancers to develop their first dance process and integrate their technical, musical, spatial and interpretive skills.
Second year students
Related training
Daily periods of related training, whose main objective is fitness, promote rapid and effective reintegration through complementary techniques and approaches such as YOGA, Feldenkrais, Gyrokinesis and the PERMAX method. These training sessions also enable the student community to deepen their relationship with the body and develop kinaesthetic ease and efficiency.
Technical classes 2
This course is designed in three parts: contemporary dance technique, ballet for contemporary dancers and VIVUS. The juxtaposition of these approaches will enable young dancers to explore the body in movement, in search of versatility and optimal technical efficiency in the current context of dance practice.
Interpretation Lab 2: Voice with Charmaine LeBlanc
The voice is by far the most intimate unveiling of our essence. Such an intimate part of us, uniquely and uniquely ours. We can all identify a person after a single word is spoken. The voice is one of our greatest tools in life, enabling us to communicate and get our messages across in a highly personalized way. Strangely enough, fear can set in when we have to speak in front of one or more people. This workshop aims to build confidence in our vocal knowledge and abilities. It aims to give tools that free the voice while working on its flexibility. It aims to remove some of the fear of using the voice by exploring and having fun getting in touch with our vocal potential. The only way to find your voice is to use it.
- How confident are you in using your voice?
- Do you know the range of your voice and how to use it?
- Do you articulate when you speak?
- Do you know how to use the mechanics of breathing for projection?
- Are you aware of tempo? Do you speak too fast?
- Are you aware of your tone and its influence on your audience?
- Have you thought about your phrasing and the power of pause?
This experiential workshop will guide you through the basic steps to finding your own voice and using it optimally. We'll explore proper breathing and how the voice overlaps the breath. We'll explore vocal range and examine articulation, tempo and tone. We'll explore vocal technique based on my work with members of the Roy Hart Theatre and with Meredith Monk. This marriage of technique and improvisation will help you understand the musical qualities of your speaking voice and how to use it to best effect.
Interpretation Lab 2: Coordination, mobility and play (inspired by Fighting Monkey)
Alanna's approach focuses on contextual and collaborative practices. Inspired by the movement research developed by Linda Kapetanea & Jozef Fruček, the teacher proposes improvised games and explorations to refine motor skills and the effectiveness of kinesthetic response to various stimuli.
Interpretation Lab 2 - Bouffon families
Bouffon is a highly physical style of theater based on medieval tradition. For survival, society's undesirables (a high priest, dwarfs, enormities and hunchbacks) form a band. The student will be challenged to embody these characters, and will be pushed in a transformative and parodic direction beyond self-censorship and its hitherto imagined limits. Character development, ensemble work, eyework and abdominal work (for laughs!) are all part of this workshop. The jester strengthens stage presence and makes those new to the art more daring.
Third year students
Related training
Daily periods of related training, whose main objective is fitness, promote rapid and effective reintegration through complementary techniques and approaches such as YOGA, Feldenkrais, Gyrokinesis and the PERMAX method. These training sessions also enable the student community to deepen their relationship with the body and develop kinaesthetic ease and efficiency.
Technical classes 3
This course is designed in three parts: contemporary dance technique, ballet for contemporary dancers and VIVUS. The juxtaposition of these approaches will enable young dancers to explore the body in movement, in search of versatility and optimal technical efficiency in the current context of dance practice, with the aim of enabling dancers to adapt with ease to various practices and trends. This course is complemented by an improvisation class, enabling students to practice this aspect of the art of dance, which is widely used in contemporary creative processes.
Interpretation Lab 3: Theatrical foundations for dance/dramaturgy performers
The first week focuses on the basic principles of interpretation. Notions of presence, authenticity, play and state will be addressed alongside technical exercises: breath engagement, sight reading, projection and diction. The second week puts these principles into action through a series of creative workshops, focusing on the writing, dramaturgy, staging and performance of short theatrical forms.
Interpretation Laboratory 3: Creation Lab
This course brings together a choreographer and a large group of advanced dancers to try out different approaches in preparation for a large-scale creation.