The Movement Project’s

cleveland dance fest 2023

november 3rd, 4th & 5th

Master class Sponsors

Class Schedules

Location: All classes will be held on the stage at the Ariel LaSalle Theater, 823 E. 185th Street, Cleveland, Ohio 44119

Class descriptions

Professional Master Classes

PRESENTED BY LA BODEGA

Cunningham technique

Anna Peretz Rogovoy

11/4 (9:00 - 10:25 am)

Class will begin with Cunningham's back exercises and progresses through a warm-up that emphasizes full range of motion, quick shifts of weight, direction changes, and complex rhythms. Phrases from Cunningham repertory are incorporated and studied for their technical and performance qualities.

About the Artist: Anna Peretz Rogovoy (she/her) is an MFA candidate and teaching assistant at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Prior to moving to the Midwest in pursuit of this degree, Anna spent ten years dancing and choreographing in New York City after earning a BA from Bennington College (VT). Her dances, called "choreography for movement purists" by The Dance Enthusiast, were presented at venues including The Flea Theater, the 92nd St Y, JACK, University Settlement, HERE Arts Center, Triskelion Arts, and Eden's Expressway, among others. While in NYC, Anna studied at the Merce Cunningham Trust, performing Cunningham works including Trails, TV Rerun, and Inlets 2. She also performed for Mina Nishimura, was a teaching assistant for Janet Panetta's Ballet for Professional Contemporary Dancers class series, company manager for John Jasperse, Michelle Dorrance, and Damian Woetzel, and Public Relations Coordinator for Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. At UIUC, Anna has performed in dances by Sara Hook, Sarah Marks Mininsohn, Rebecca Nettl-Fiol, Tere O’Connor, and Rachel Rizzuto. Her own dances have been presented in Illinois at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts (spring 2022) and the Virginia Theater (spring 2023). She received the 2023 Patricia Knowles award. 

http://www.annarogovoy.com/

Urban Midwest Storytelling

Dominic Moore-Dunson

11/4 (10:30 - 11:55 am)

Using the storytelling principles of his coined choreographic style, Dominic will teach a contemporary based class exploring how movement initiates and responds to story. 

About the Artist: Dominic Moore-Dunson (he/him) is an award-winning choreographer, professional dancer, teaching artist, speaker, and creative entrepreneur. Dominic is the founder of MooreDunson Co, an arts, media, and entertainment company committed to "Urban Midwest Storytelling". Dance Magazine's 2023 "25 to Watch", Dominic has received numerous recognitions including a 2021 Top 40 finalist for the National Dance Project Production Grant, 2021 Associate Artists at Atlantic Center for the Arts with Doug Varone, 2019 Cleveland Arts Prize's Emerging Artist Award, and a 2018 fellow of The Anne & Weston Hicks Choreography Program at Jacob's Pillow. Moore-Dunson is a Creative Research Residency Artist and named a Creative Administration Research Fellow with the National Choreography Center at The University of Akron.

https://www.dommooredun.com/

Contemporary Club Dance

Jennifer Meckley

11/4 (12:00 - 1:25 pm)

The class will explore club dance styles such as house dance, vogue, and waacking and investigate how they can influence and enhance contemporary dance movement and practices.

About the Artist:  As a performer, teacher, choreographer, and practitioner of hip-hop, street dance, club dance, and contemporary dance forms, Jennifer (she/they) has made it her goal to emphasize the benefits of training in African American vernacular dance techniques and enhance the interactions between these dance forms and queer culture. Jennifer obtained a B.A. in Dance from Slippery Rock University and a M.F.A in Dance from The Ohio State University. They currently serve as an Assistant Professor of Dance at Ball State University. She has served as a faculty member at West Chester University, Cuyahoga Community College, Northampton Community College, and the University of Dayton. Jennifer actively pushes the boundaries of physicality as a founding member of the modern dance company, Abby Z and the New Utility, directed and choreographed by Abby Zbikowski. The company has performed at venues including Jacob’s Pillow, New York Live Arts, The American Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival., Judson Church Movement Research, Kelly Strayhorne Theatre, and more. Their choreography has been presented at The American College Dance Association, Gibney Dance Center, Detroit City Dance Festival, West Chester University, Slippery Rock University, and Ball State University. Her identity as a queer person motivates the content for her work and her choreography is a fusion of movement from breaking, house dance, waacking, vogue, and contemporary dance.

https://www.jennmeck.com/

Youth Master Classes

PRESENTED BY FOOTSTEPS DANCEWEAR

Contemporary Ballet

Rebecca J. Leuszler | The Movement Project

11/5 (9:00 - 9:55 am)

Through this class, dancers will learn classical and contemporary ballet techniques and terminology. Class will focus on working from an anatomical approach, creating honest and sound movement. By removing any preconceived notions of what dancers should look like, dance like and be capable of, participants can focus on the correct placement of bones, allowing muscles to function effortlessly and efficiently. Dancers are encouraged to take artistic risk, think independently and to explore their qualitative approach to movement. The ballet curriculum will include Vaganova, Cecchetti, and Balanchine techniques.

About the Artist: Rebecca J. Leuszler (she/her) graduated in 2007 from the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts in Connecticut with a degree in Ballet and Modern Dance Performance. During her time in Connecticut she furthered her studies at the Alvin Ailey School, School of American Ballet and the Harkness Dance Center. Rebecca developed her performance skills under the mentorship, direction and coaching of dance masters Eleanor D’Antuono, Theresa Capucilli, Kevin Martin, Victoria Mazzarelli, Alexi Tchernivchov and Doug Varone. During her professional career, Rebecca has performed with the Kirov Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Ohio Dance Theatre, MOMIX Dance Theatre, Doug Elkins and Friends, Morrison Dance and Verb Ballets. Currently, Rebecca teaches dance throughout northeast Ohio, including her position as an adjunct dance professor at Baldwin Wallace University. And most recently, along side her sister Megan, she serves on the Board of Directors for the Columbus based organization OhioDance, as well as the Dance Advance Team at DANCECleveland. Rebecca received a 2016 Creative Workforce Fellowship. The Fellowships is a program of the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture. Funding for the Fellowship program is made possible by the generous support of Cuyahoga County residents through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. The Movement Project’s work has been featured at Cleveland Public Theatre, Hullabaloo/Valerie Mayen, Cellar Door Cleveland, Arts in August, OhioDance Festival at BalletMet, Baldwin Wallace University, Ohio University and Dumbo Dance Festival in NYC.

www.themovementproject.org

Intro to dance as Storytelling

Dominic Moore-Dunson

11/5 (10:00 - 10:55 am)

Dominic will introduce the principles of his contemporary based choreographic style for students to explore. Students will learn movement from his Dance Magazine recognized work, "inCOPnegro: Aftermath".

About the Artist: Dominic Moore-Dunson (he/him) is an award-winning choreographer, professional dancer, teaching artist, speaker, and creative entrepreneur. Dominic is the founder of MooreDunson Co, an arts, media, and entertainment company committed to "Urban Midwest Storytelling". Dance Magazine's 2023 "25 to Watch", Dominic has received numerous recognitions including a 2021 Top 40 finalist for the National Dance Project Production Grant, 2021 Associate Artists at Atlantic Center for the Arts with Doug Varone, 2019 Cleveland Arts Prize's Emerging Artist Award, and a 2018 fellow of The Anne & Weston Hicks Choreography Program at Jacob's Pillow. Moore-Dunson is a Creative Research Residency Artist and named a Creative Administration Research Fellow with the National Choreography Center at The University of Akron.

https://www.dommooredun.com/

Latin-House

Lex Cuevas | The Movement Project

11/5 (11:00 - 11:55 am)

This class will explore the cross-cultural relationships between Latin social dance and Hip Hop. Lex will be combining foundational movements in each style into a workshop for the students, focusing on the connections between Kitchen Salsa and House.

About the Artist: Lex Cuevas is a multidisciplinary, Latin-American artist born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. Her choreographic research observes how methods of movement practice are used as an instrument for building meaningful relationships. In film and photography, her images depict the impression of a memory using lighting, focus, and shape to elicit emotional responses to visual stimuli. As a part of her choreographic research, she has instructed workshops at Fort Hayes Arts and Academics High School creating a piece in collaboration with students and in partnership with Courtney Crenshaw and Global Water Studies Columbus (2023). Lex has performed at The Ohio State Department of Dance “Spring Forward” and “Faculty Concert” in Flock choreographed by emeritus professor Bebe Miller (2022) and in Voices of the Forest choreographed by Donald Isom (2022). She has also studied abroad in Bahia, Brazil where she performed, taught, and took classes to exchange with communities in the cities of Salvador, Lencois, and Arembepe (2023). Her photography has been on display at the Cleveland Museum of Art's Transformer Station in Ohio City, Ohio (2019), as well as at the Columbus Museum of Art’s A Night at the Museum in Columbus, Ohio (2022). She graduated from The Ohio State University in 2023 with her BFA in Dance with a focus in Education. In 2023 Lex joined Cleveland based dance company, The Movement Project, as a Seasonal Company Member.