NCCAkron and The University of Akron DTAA Reveal Sixth Year of 21st Century Dance Practices

The National Center for Choreography-Akron (NCCAkron) and The University of Akron School of Dance, Theatre, and Arts Administration (DTAA) have announced the sixth year of 21st Century Dance Practices, a capsule series of classes guest taught by today's working dance artists. The choreographers for this program include Shaina and Bryan Baira (Detroit, MI) of BAIRA MVMNT PHLOSPHY, Kara Jenelle (Los Angeles, CA), and George Staib (Atlanta, GA).

21st Century Dance Practices is a capsule series that represents genres, geographies, and cultural and social contexts outside the traditional binary of modern dance and ballet in a conservatory setting. This year's lineup includes artists who move individually as well as collectively beyond borders; who represent contemporary and Afro-diasporic genres; and who will come to the UA community from all corners of the country. The series challenges UA students to stretch past the basic dance curriculum and receive benefits beyond the typical one-off master class.

"As a research and development space for the national dance landscape, NCCAkron seeks to build a bridge between 20th century working knowledge and building a 21st century dance ecosystem," says NCCAkron Executive/Artistic Director Christy Bolingbroke. "As an arts organization that is adjacent to academia, curating and producing this series is our way of elevating today's dance artists and generating alternate knowledge to expand and to evolve the curriculum beyond ballet and modern."

21st Century Dance Practices takes place for three of the 15 weeks in DTAA's Modern I-IV and Modern V-VIII Spring 2025 semester. Bolingbroke adds, "This connection to different artists making their own careers in dance is crucial to students' understanding of what dance can be and what is possible in this field."

"It is wonderful to see our students experience different teaching philosophies, giving them the tools and skills that will benefit them in their future careers as artists. As both a working artist and professor, I see the impact and the importance that NCCAkron artists bring to our program, giving our students and department the opportunity to engage with and learn from these amazing practitioners," shared Hank Bamberger, UA Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance.

The capsule series is the annual spring phase of ?Ideas in Motion?, a larger initiative launched in 2020 and supported by NCCAkron, The University of Akron, The University of Akron Foundation, and the Mary Schiller Myers Lecture Series in the Arts.

In addition to teaching classes, visiting artists will participate in recorded interviews for NCCAkron's podcast Inside the Dancer's Studio.

Pictured (left to right): Bryan and Shaina Baira (photo by Effy Grey), Kara Jenelle (photo by Wes Klain), and George Staib (photo courtesy of Dance/USA).