Doug Varone and Dancers’ Winter Intensive

New York City-based Doug Varone and Dancers, a 27-year-old contemporary dance company, will host a six-day Winter Intensive on January 13-18, 2014. Running from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, dancers will interact with Artistic Director Doug Varone and various company members through a set of classes focusing on contemporary technique, repertory and creative investigation.

On what makes this intensive different from other intensives, Varone said that it moves past technical focuses toward also developing dancers “as thinking dance artists.” He said, “As a choreographer, I have always embraced the individual qualities that each of us possess as unique movers. A need to unearth those qualities is what continually draws me to this remarkable art form and creates the center of every work I’ve created. It is paramount that this workshop serves as a safe haven, allowing each dancer to explore the individual in an environment that challenges both body and mind.”

The intensive, which will be located in the heart of Manhattan at Hunter College just blocks from Central Park, will offer this chance to “explore” primarily through Varone’s Creative Investigation and Phrasework class. The creation of new material will be the emphasis, with phrasework, creative devices and performance skills being used to expand the scope of participants’ dancing and artistry.

However, technique will also be developed through contemporary classes. Through the expansive use of the back and limbs, Varone’s style will be explored through an emphasis on breath, strength, dynamic lyricism and musicality.

In an overview of Varone’s repertory, students will also experience “the wide range of movement dynamics, emotional nuance and spatial architecture inherent in Varone’s choreography.”

Tuition for non-New York residents will cost $635, while locals receive the discounted price of $535. For more information, visit www.dougvaroneanddancers.org.

Photo: Contemporary dance company Doug Varone and Dancers. Photo by Phil Knott.