Join VLA DANCE & Hibernian Hall for our annual free and invigorating movement series!
SUMMER MOVEMENT SERIES '22
SCHEDULE
Thursdays 7 - 8:30PM
Rotating Styles & Teachers
Sundays 11 - 12:30PM
Advanced Contemporary Class
7/14 Nadia Issa
AfroCuban Folklore (Yoruba) / Orisha Dance Technique | Open Level
7/21 Nadia Issa
AfroCuban Folklore (Yoruba) / Orisha Dance Technique | Open Level
7/28 Fredson Sossavi
Tricking | Beginner Level
8/4 Fredson Sossavi
Tricking | Beginner Level
8/11 Theo Victoria
Breaking | Beginner Level
8/18 Theo Victoria
Breaking | Beginner Level
7/17 Tyeri Morrison
Contemporary Dance | Advanced Level
7/24 Victoria L. Awkward
Contemporary Dance | Advanced Level
7/31 Victoria L. Awkward
Contemporary Dance | Advanced Level
8/7 Victoria L. Awkward*
Contemporary Dance | Advanced Level
8/14 Victoria L. Awkward*
Contemporary Dance | Advanced Level
8/21 Sarah Pacheco
Contemporary Dance | Advanced Level
*Located at the Dance Complex @ Canal
NADIA
ABOUT CLASS AfroCuban Folklore (Yoruba) / Orisha Dance or Folklore, is a dance tradition of the Regla de Ocha-Ifá spiritual-religious practice. This class will provide and guide movers through gaining a strong understanding and technical skill of the dances and rhythms of the Orishas to the complex Batá percussion rhythms, as well as Güiro and Iyesá rhythms. Through the AfroCuban rhythms of the Yoruba/Lukumí practice, this course aims to connect the body to movements of the Afrikan influences and traditions of Cuba and the Orishas. Aché!
NADIA holds a Masters of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School, focusing on the African and African American Religious Studies Area of Focus, graduating in 2022. Nadia is joining the P.h.D. program in the Department of Religious Studies at The University of Texas at Austin for Fall 2022. Additionally, Nadia is a Company Dancer with Jean Appolon Expressions, a Haitian Contemporary dance company. Nadia recognizes that dance is an embodied tool of ritual and resistance in their research and training. Through dance and ethnographic research, Nadia has been able to navigate and communicate Blackness, queerness, and the sacred.
Nadia is teaching 7/14 & 7/21
AFROCUBAN
We are thankful for the financial support of Hibernian Hall and Madison Park Development Corporation who enable us to pay our teaching artists accordingly and host this program!
If you'd like to support further programming and growth for VLA DANCE, please donate here. A great rate to donate at is our regular master class fee at $20/class. Your support aids in VLA DANCE creaiting sustainable artistic opportunities for local artists.
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
THEO
ABOUT CLASS In this beginner breaking class we are going to get into the basics of top rock, floor work, and freezes so you can jam however you want and feel good doing it.
THEOPHILE Victoria (Theo for short) is a company member with VLA DANCE and a performing artist born and raised in Brockton, MA. He studied at Salem State University and graduated with a BA in Dance with a theatre minor and Hip-Hop concentration. Theo is also a company member in Kenzie Finn's Project31 and teaches dance at Center Stage Dance Academy. He curated a work in-progress showcase for performers at Canton Community Theater and loves participating in creating performances any way he can. In addition, Theo enjoys ensemble work like the recent production of American Idiot at The Company Theater which he performed in or Ragtime at SSU which he assisted in choreographing. Overall, Theophile Victoria's diverse skill set supports his artistic explorations and leads to provocative art.
Theo is teaching 8/11 & 8/18
BREAKING
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FREDSON
ABOUT CLASS In the late 1990s, sport karate practitioners sought a new type of expression separate from traditional forms. Tricking was the result of this thinking, as it allowed practitioners to draw inspiration outside of martial arts. These types of movements were referred to as ‘tricks’ and unlike sport karate, there were no governing bodies that regulated Tricking. Participants are freewheeling in their approach to aesthetics, methods of conditioning, and choice of training environment. Though very small, the community has gained popularity due to grassroot efforts and the rise of digital media.
In this all levels class, participants will explore foundational movements in Tricking with an emphasis on floor work. This class consists of a breakdown of tricks, combinations, and improvisational exercises. Through these drills, participants will gain a set of skills to develop their own approaches to the floor.
FREDSON Sossavi is a Boston based dancer with a passion for Tricking and Parkour.
Fredson is teaching 7/28 & 8/4
TRICKING
TYERI
ABOUT CLASS Mind Body & Soul synchronicity research through the use of experimental improvisation & emotional enlightenment. Yes we will be dancing down but the point isn’t to prioritize movement, it is to be present in the moment. The mission is for you to leave different from when you came. However that may be; physical, mental or emotional I challenge the comfort barriers we’ve embedded into our careers to disappear for the moment. Hopefully through the use of this research we change the trajectory of ourselves as humans before we prioritize who we are as artists.
TY(he/him) is from the greater Boston area where he trained in dance for 13 years at The Gold School under the direction of Rennie Gold. Ty received a BFA from The Boston Conservatory as a student on full scholarship. During his time there, he worked with artists Darrell Moultrie, Catherine Coury, Bradley Shelver, Adrianne Hawkins, and Martha Nichols. After graduating, he was featured in various on-site dance film productions with choreographers Roderick George, Ashley Lindsay, and Antonio Brown. He has acted as a guest artist in residency with Limón Dance Company and remains an active performer with little house dance company and BODYTRAFFIC in Los Angeles. Ty continues to expand his portfolio cultivating his own voice through artistic integrity development by collaborating with freelance artists and crating with Motlee Party.
Ty is teaching 7/17
CONTEMPORARY
VICTORIA
ABOUT CLASS This signature VLA DANCE contemporary class emphasizes expansive, quick and soft movement.
VICTORIA L. Awkward is the Director and Founder of VLA DANCE. As a youth she trained at Impulse Dance Center by LuAnn Pagella and worked with Boston-based artists such as Karen Krolak. She graduated from Goucher College with honors in Dance, Visual Art and Education. Along with directing VLA DANCE she is also a freelance artist, who most recently worked with Shura Baryshnikov at Boston Lyric Opera. Newly appointed the Visual Arts Coordinator at the West End House, Victoria's passion for education spans beyond the dance classroom. She has been a guest teacher at Salem State University and Middlesex School in Concord. She continually deepens her teaching practices through her work as a mentee with Cambridge-based Midday Movement Series and United Kingdom-based Alleyne Dance.
Company member, Sarah Pacheco, will be covering Victoria's class on 8/21. She will be teaching VLA DANCE's signature style.
Victoria is teaching 7/24 - 8/21