Michelle’s teaching combines information from her studies of various somatic and energetic modalities as well as her professional experience as a performer and artist over the last 11 years. She has been known to incorporate a deep understanding of movement and performance with a creative, exploratory and enjoyable atmosphere. She has been guest faculty at Hollins University (2010) and the University of Illinois (2005), teaching technique, improvisation, composition and performance, and somatic studies. She teaches regularly in New York as faculty at Movement Research and has also taught at Dance New Amsterdam, the American Dance Festival, and the former Trisha Brown Studio in New York, as well as in Berlin, Dublin, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Calgary, Toronto, Portland, and San Francisco.
Technique Class Description
I invite you to come to class with the belief that your body has all it needs and that within the collective of the room, we expand our resources even further. We’ll use guided improvisations, honoring each individual’s unique pathways for engaging and understanding. We’ll also work with simple exercises and imagery, utilizing specific ideas about anatomy and kinesiological function. There will be time to observe how our actions, thoughts, perceptions, emotions, and breath shape our experience. The accumulation of this information will help us access states where physically efficient, creative engagement is the default choice! Class will end with an application of these ideas to choreographed phrase work. Influences come from numerous energetic and somatic modalities including Body Mind Centering, Feldenkrais Method, Alexander Technique, Fitzmaurice Voicework, developmental work, Franklin Method, BodyTalk and Yuen Method.
