SMU Meadows To Host "Teaching Jazz Dance" Symposium in Dallas, June 13-15

The Meadows Division of Dance will host its third “Teaching Jazz Dance Symposium,” June 13-15, 2016. The symposium, organized by award-winning choreographer and Meadows Professor of Dance Danny Buraczeski, includes three days of classes and presentations dedicated to the continued vitality and relevance of jazz dance.

Speakers will include Michael Williams, professor of dance at The University of Arizona and director of the Arizona Jazz Dance Showcase, an annual jazz dance festival attracting approximately 1,000 national participants; Michele Iklé, associate professor and chair of dance at Hobart and William Smith Colleges; and Karla Grotting, faculty member at the University of Minnesota and founding member, principal dancer and artistic associate with Joe Chvala and the Flying Foot Forum. Topics will include creating models for dynamic jazz pedagogy, “Preparing the Body for Jazz Dancing Through Laban Movement Analysis and Bartenieff Fundamentals,” and a class/workshop on “African Elements That Exist in Jazz,” among others. Additional activities will include a tour of the Dallas Arts District, the largest urban arts district in the nation.

“The symposium will create forums for conversation and discussion repositioning jazz dance as a substantive choreographic language,” says Buraczeski. “We need to continue to articulate the prime tenets of jazz dance but in fresh ways, inspiring a new generation of dancers, teachers and choreographers.”

Held every other year, the “Teaching Jazz Dance” symposium draws participants from across the country and has covered such topics as the importance of pushing the boundaries of the jazz dance genre; the perceived devaluation of jazz dance in academic and “high art” settings; the impact of popular variety shows such as So You Think You Can Dance; and more.

For more information, contact Danny Buraczeski at dburacze@smu.edu or 214-768-3818.