Asia Dance Channel

Modern Dance Workshop for Teenager by Cathy Seago

28 August 2009

KL Pac

By Kee Huey Ying

School’s out! Dance’s in! KLPac has arranged a line-up of August Holiday Program to fill the students’ spare time. Modern Dance Workshop for Teenagers by Cathy Seago was conducted on 26, 27 and 28 August 2009. It is a one and a half hour per session of dance classes intended for teens aged from 14-25 years old.

This workshop was conducted using a combination of Cunningham, Limon and Release-based contemporary dance techniques, three of the main techniques used in contemporary dance.

At 9.30am, Cathy and her students walked into the studio and did some warm-up exercises, and the class started soon after. Do not expect pop music to be playing in the background with britneychristinahilary-dance-steps exploding before your eyes.

Cunningham is named after a teacher and choreographer Merce Cunningham, who uses the idea of the body’s own “line of energy” to create easy and natural movements that focuses on the architecture of body in space, rhythm and articulation.

The Limon technique emphasizes on the feeling of weight and “heavy energy” in the body, and movement is originated using breath to lift and swing through the body to create and freeze movement. It explores the use of energy in relation to gravity and works with weight in terms of fall, rebound, recovery and suspension.

The Release technique, on the other hand, minimizes tension in the search for clarity, flexibility and efficient use of energy and breath.

Light music was played in the background as the students danced in Cathy’s and her partner’s leads. In the beginning, the dance steps were straightforward and the students seemed comfortable following them. Towards the second half of the dance workshop, students were partnered to practice duets in contemporary dance techniques.

Cathy Seago, the British dancer and academic was in residence at KLPac. She will perform work-in-progress, Duod, dances that examine the dynamic arc of intimacy and conflict in a transformation from cocoon to flight.