Keigwin + Company Announces First Summer Intensive 'Let's Make a Dance'

KEIGWIN + COMPANY (K+C) announces the company's first summer intensive program, Let's Make a Dance, which will be held from May 21-25, 2012 at The Julliard School.

Let's Make a Dance invites participants to explore the creative process and the rewards of performance alongside professional dancers. Participants will learn to develop their unique voices and hone their skills as collaborative artists, using improvisational and compositional tools in a playful environment. Dancers will explore working as an ensemble while simultaneously learning from and creating with K+C company members in partnering and interactive phrases. The week culminates in a shared performance experience for the professional community in New York City. Curriculum includes:

CREATE WITH THE COMPANY - In this class, students will develop skills as collaborative artists by working with Larry Keigwin and the company in a guided creative process.

DANCE WITH THE COMPANY - This class will explore a variety of K+C dances to be manipulated and developed for the final performance. By tackling the physical dynamics and quirky idiosyncrasies of the work, students will expand their range as a performers.

PARTNER WITH THE ENSEMBLE - Working with basic partnering skills and graduating to more dynamic ensemble work, students will develop tactile and spatial awareness that will increase sensitivity to creating and performing within an ensemble.

PERFORM WITH THE COMPANY - Friday will be devoted to corralling the inspirations, phrases and ensemble developments from the week into a final piece to be performed for industry insiders and invited guests. This day will be a direct simulation of Larry's unique process; fast paced, charged and fun.

At the center of Let's Make a Dance is Larry Keigwin's unique and collaborative creative process. He describes his process and the focus of K+C's new summer intensive program: "The art of choreography is about excavating personalities, shaping stories, and building communities. Sharing in the creative process brings me so much joy and watching a group of talented dancers create is not only stimulating, its electrifying; The most thrilling part of having a dance company is the collaboration with the dancers. I invite you to join us in exploring the tools of the creative process and sharing in the excitement of the performance only you could create."

For further information, visit http://www.keigwinandcompany.com/calendar/summerintensive.

Let's Make a Dance is generously supported by the Christian Keesee Chartiable Trust.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Founded in 2003 by Artistic Director Larry Keigwin and Associate Director Nicole Wolcott, KEIGWIN + COMPANY creates and presents Keigwin's electrifying brand of contemporary dance. K+C reaches national and international audiences and invigorates diverse communities with a refreshing vision of dance that embodies a theatrical sensibility of wit, style, and heart. Community projects and education seek to physically engage audiences and aspiring dancers in movement and the choreographic process, and bring opportunities for individuals to become more invested in dance. Since K+C's premiere performance at Joyce Soho, Keigwin has created 16 dances, including the large-scale Bolero and recent acclaimed works such as Runaway (2008), the site-specific Sidewalk (2009) and Bird Watching (2010).

Over the past eight years, K+C has presented performances throughout NYC and nationwide. K+C has received grants and generous support from National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the American Music Center Live Music for Dance Program, The Greenwall Foundation, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, The O'Donnell-Green Music & Dance Foundation, New York Foundation for the Arts, The Jerome Robbins New Essential Works Program, The Jerome Robbins Foundation, The Christian Keesee Charitable Trust, Dianne & Daniel Vapnek Family Fund, and the Royce Family Fund.

Larry Keigwin (Artistic Director) is a native New Yorker and graduate from Hofstra University, where he received a BA in Dance. He founded KEIGWIN + COMPANY in 2003 and as Artistic Director, Keigwin has led the company as it has performed at theaters and dance festivals throughout New York City and across the country.

In addition to his work with K+C, recent commissions include Works & Process at the Guggenheim, The Juilliard School, The New York Choreographic Institute, and The Martha Graham Dance Company, among many others. In 2010, Keigwin was named the Vail International Dance Festival's first artist in residence, during which time he created and premiered a new work with four of ballet's most prominent stars. Also in 2010, he staged the opening event of Fashion Week: "Fashion's Night Out: The Show," which was produced by Vogue and featured over 150 of the industry's top models. In 2011, Keigwin choreographed the new musical Tales of the City, at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, as well as the new off-Broadway production of RENT, now running at New World Stages. Keigwin was most recently commissioned to create a new ballet on the Royal New Zealand Ballet in February 2012.

Keigwin's other choreographic credits include work with the pop band Fischerspooner, comedian Murray Hill, and as an associate choreographer for both The Radio City Rockettes and the Off-Broadway musical The Wild Party. Keigwin has also created Keigwin Kabaret, a fusion of modern dance, vaudeville, and burlesque presented by the Public Theater at Joe's Pub and by Symphony Space. As a dancer, Mr. Keigwin has danced at the Metropolitan Opera in Doug Varone's "Le Sacre Du Printemps" and Julie Taymor's "The Magic Flute," in addition to his work with Mark Dendy (receiving a Bessie Award in 1998 for his performance in "Dream Analysis"), Jane Comfort, John Jasperse, Doug Elkins, Zvi Gotheiner, and David Rousseve. He appeared in the Broadway show Dance of the Vampires and the Julie Taymor, Oscar nominated film "Across the Universe." He is a co-founder of the Green Box Arts Festival in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado, a multi-disciplinary festival designed to increase cultural opportunities in the region, as well as provide creative residencies to choreographers.

For more information, visit www.keigwinandcompany.com.