Seasons of Dance Master Series

More than a collection of lessons, Seasons of Dance Workshops offer a communal learning experience centered around choreography from diverse dance traditions. Participants will immerse in elemental movements, creative dance sequences and dynamic choreography: gaining along the way insights into the role of movement in holistic wellbeing. Limited spaces. Advanced registration required via email: [email protected].

Celebrate Spring! African Dance Workshop

Sunday, March 19th | 3:00pm – 4:30pm Tickets non-refundable after March 17th, 2023.

About the Workshop
African Dance Workshop is a skills-based, choreography intensive focused on body isolation technique. Body isolations are characteristic of traditional African dance, so it’s little wonder that performers who master this skill, distinguish themselves above the rest!

This workshop will take participants beyond the scope of usual classroom practice, to the deep roots of body isolation in authentic West African expression. In addition, there will be plenty of opportunity to work on isolation skills to blossom as we explore fun, energetic dance sequences and learn Wo!, an easy-to-do contemporary AfroBeat routine.

Workshop Content:
• The Dunham Barre: Where Dancers are Made
• Isolation Body Work: Flexibility, Range of Motion & Control
• 4 Universal Articulations
• Choreography: The West African Way of Remembering What’s Next

You’ll come away with a useful new tool that fosters growth and provides greater access to the rejuvenating quality of African dance.

Celebrate Summer! Brazilian Dance Workshop

Saturday, June 3rd | 3:00pm – 4:30pm

About the Workshop
This June, we pay tribute to the Carnival dance traditions of Brazil. Join us for an immersion in Samba choreography from Marcel Camus’ 1959 film, Orfeo Negro (Black Orpheus). Winner of both the Academy Award and Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or.

Brazilian Dance Workshop is a skills-based, choreography intensive focused on tension release technique. Tension release movements are at the core of Brazilian orixas dance, so it’s little wonder that performers who master this skill, distinguish themselves above the rest! This workshop will take participants beyond the scope of usual classroom practice, to explore uniquely authentic Brazilian expression through orixas dancing. Plus, there will be plenty of opportunity for participants to show new skills to shine as we explore energetic forces of nature that drive orixas movement and learn a fun, easy-to-do orixas routine.

Participants will come away with a useful new tool that fosters growth and provides greater access to the benefits of Brazilian dance.
The Content
• The Dunham Barre: Where Dancers are Made
• Shimmy & Roll: A Tension Release Study
• Musicality: When You Don’t Have A Clue, Take A Cue

Celebrate Autumn! Hawaiian Dance Workshop

Saturday, September 3rd | 3:00pm – 4:30pm

About the Workshop
As Fall approaches and the earth’s energy shifts towards restoration, so too do we begin to crave repose and time for reflection. This September, we mark this season with the Celebrate Autumn! Hawaiian Dance Workshop: an intensive that draws upon the Hula to align body and spirit with the restorative energies of our environment and amplify our sense of wellbeing.

Hawaiian Dance Workshop is a skills-based, choreography intensive focused on mind/body alignment and coordination. Aligning and expressing environmental connection is at the heart of traditional Hawaiian dance, so it’s little wonder that the Hula moves dancers and audience so deeply! The workshop will take participants beyond the scope of usual classroom practice, to explore uniquely authentic Hawaiian communication with the environment through the Hula. Plus, there will be plenty of opportunity to align with the season as we learn a beautiful, easy-to-follow Hula.
Participants will come away with a useful new tool that deepens their dance experience and provides greater access to the restorative benefits of Hawaiian dance.
The Content
• The Dunham Barre: Where Dancers are Made
• Coordination: Where the Hands Go, the Eyes Follow
• Kaona: Finding Meaning in Hawaiian Song

About the Instructor
Lisa Saunders is a performer, choreographer and multicultural dance educator whose formal instruction began more than 60 years ago. As though drawn to answer some inexplicable call, Lisa spent most of her formative years on the dance floor speaking the pure language of movement. Her earliest influence outside of dance was her father whose passion for storytelling, family histories and accounts of his ancestors’ lives and times paved the way for what would become a lifelong journey. The importance of keeping one’s history entwined with Lisa love of dance and the two took root together. Lisa became intrigued with traditional dance forms where peoples’ own unique story is centered. In the decades to follow, Lisa pursued studies in the field of ethnomusicology and dance. She holds an MA in Ethnic Dance from Jesus’ Name University, conducted field research and immersion studies in Ghanaian Dance (Professor C.K. Ladzekpo, U.C. Berkeley), Afro-Brasilian Dance (Jose Lorenzo, Ballet Folclorico da Bahia) and Polynesian dance (Kumu Hula George Naope, University Hawai’i).

Her career includes service as the co-founding member/principal performer with Berkeley’s African Music and Dance Ensemble and San Francisco’s Batucaje! Brasilian Dance Troupe. Today, Lisa is the founding executive director of Ethnic Arts Institute International—a 501©3 organization which provides multicultural arts learning experiences to K-12 and postsecondary learners and is Founder/Artistic Director of Hula Manu O’o Polynesian Dance Ensemble: where she presents cultural preservation dance works and seminars to dance professionals in partnership with UNESCO Counseil de Danse International.

Her greatest joy continues to be those magical moments in dance when culture-keeping and storytelling converge.