Sharon Springs Dance Festival

November 17th & 18th
A weekend of dance performance, demonstration, and master classes.

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The Sharon Springs Dance Festival 2023


Join us for the Second Annual Sharon Springs Dance Festival, a weekend of dance performances, demonstrations, and master classes for all ages with
FREE classes and performances. (Registration required for classes)
featuring
Ephrat Aherie

Schedule

Friday, November 17th 

7:00 PM EPHRAT ASHERIE & COMPANY:
UNDERSCORED highlights with Dance Party:

Please join us for a limited edition of UNDERSCORED. Part dance-performance, part dance-party, UNDERSCORED is a celebration of our need to gather, connect and share stories. Rooted in the multi-generation club-life stories of NYC underground dancers, this is an experience for EVERYONE. Observe or participate; we can’t wait to see you! 

Saturday, November 18th

10:00 AM – 5:00 PM Master Classes and Workshops for all ages will be offered throughout the day at the Sharon Springs Central School . All classes are FREE but students must pre-register. Use the link in the schedule below to register for the classes of your choice; class size is limited.

Class schedule:

Click Here to Register!

  • 10AM Children’s class (60 min) Ephrat Asherie and Company
    Children’s Class: Specifically geared towards students ages 7 to 12, this class will focus on teaching specific hip hop and club dances, while also sharing tools to help  participants create their own movements (freestyle!) to their favorite songs. Get ready to sweat, enjoy and shake-a-leg!!   
  • 11:15-12:30 PM Community class (Teens-Seniors) Shake-A-Leg with Archie & Ephrat
    Come catch some New York City club vibes with the legendary Archie Barnett and choreographer and b-girl Ephrat Asherie. All ages and levels are welcome as we share with you some of our favorite party/social dances. Get ready to sweat! 
  • 1:15-2:30 PM Musical Theater-Telling Stories Through Dance with Mindy Cooper 
    In this master class, you will harness the vocabulary of telling stories, putting dance at the forefront. Dance is just steps until you create the inner-life and layers of the story you are telling. you will learn choreography, and then learn how to elevate that choreography by carving layers of character, motivation, intent and objectives into the performance of that choreography. Physical storytelling at its’ very finest! Mindy’s expertise and body of work is storytelling with dance as the driving force, that moves the narrative forward.
  • 2:45-3:45 PM Belly Dance with Maureen Iseman-Broeking 
    Belly (Middle Eastern) dance is an ancient art which continues to evolve today. It consists of shimmying hips, delicate hand and arm gestures and sinewy, fluid undulations of the body. It uses all the muscles of the body…from head (to belly) to toe. Students should wear comfortable dance, or workout clothing. No jeans, please, and bring water! If you have a fun hip scarf, by all means, bring it.
  • 4:00- 5:00 PM Wrap Up and Cool Down with Betty Gavin-Singer 
    Wrap up the festival with Betty’s cool-down class. This deep stretch class will incorporate various positions to open and lengthen the muscles from all angles to help you stay injury and pain free. The class will conclude with relaxation and breathing techniques. All levels welcome; students should bring a yoga mat.
All Dance Classes are Free and Open to The Public!

Click Here to Register!

EPHRAT ASHERIE DANCE

Ephrat Asherie Dance (EAD) is a dance company rooted in African American and Latine street and club dances. Dedicated to exploring the inherent complexities of these dances, EAD investigates the expansive narrative qualities of various vernacular forms including breaking, hip hop, house and vogue, as a means to tell stories, develop innovative imagery, and find new modes of expression. EAD’s first evening-length work, A Single Ride, earned two Bessie nominations in 2013 for Outstanding Emerging Choreographer and Outstanding Sound Design by Marty Beller. The company has presented work at New York City Center, Art Power! at UC San Diego, The Apollo Theater, Columbia College, Dixon Place, FiraTarrega, Works & Process at the Guggenheim, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Joyce Theater, La MaMa, New York Live Arts, River to River Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, Summerstage NYC, and The Yard, among others.

UNDERSCORED

UNDERSCORED acts as a living archive of five generations of NYC club dancers. The evening-length performance component of UNDERSCORED is a multi-generational collaboration with performers ranging in age from 28-80. Celebrating and investigating their connections to the club scene from the 1970s until today, this work features EAD ensemble members and three NYC club legends, Archie Burnett, Brahms “Bravo” LaFortune and Michele Saunders. Audiences join the company in an exhilarating journey through deeply personal histories, rarely seen archival footage and of course decades of dancing through the culturally reflective styles of breaking, hip-hop, house, vogue, waacking and hustle. Initially set to premiere in October 2020, no one could have ever imagined that the very thing at the core of this work–the club–would be taken from us. Collaborating and dancing alongside club elders who have lived through the crack epidemic, the AIDS crisis and who are now surviving and thriving through the current global pandemic is life-affirming beyond belief, their dancing bodies a testament to their resilience and fortitude. The pandemic kept ALL of us from gathering. Whether on or off the dance floor, UNDERSCORED is a reminder of how essential it is to connect to one another. 


Klinkhart Hall Arts Center’s programs are made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.