PATHWAYS Beyond Ballet Class with Thomas McManus
For 5 Tuesdays this summer:
PS21 Dance Barn
TIME: 10:00 am-11:00 pm (60 minute class)
COST: $15 per class or $60 for the entire series
Beyond Ballet with Thomas Mansfield
Thursday 8/1/24 10:00am - 11:00am
Thursday 8/8/24 10:00am - 11:00am
Thursday 8/15/24 10:00am - 11:00am
Thursday 8/22/24 10:00am - 11:00am
Thursday 8/29/24 10:00am - 11:00am
$15 per class but $60 for 5 class series
Description: Ballet technique is usually taught as a “rote learning” system, through repetition over and over again, a student gradually learns it’s forms and moulds their body toward the “ideal” body picture of what an “arabesque”, for instance, would look like. By incorporating William Forsythe”s Improvisation Technologies into my ballet classes, I allow dancers to experience the elastic nature of ballet as a living, breathing technique that every dancer, no matter their body type or age, can directly access and alter to fit their body type. In my view, ballet is more a system of thought that challenges our preconceptions, and less so a quest to achieve the “perfect” arabesque.
Teacher Bio:
Thomas McManus is a professional dancer, choreographer, educator, and recognized expert on the repertory, technique, and improvisational methods of renowned choreographer William Forsythe.
After dancing with American Ballet Theater 2, Finis Jhung’s Chamber Ballet USA, and Ann Marie DeAngelo and Dancers, McManus joined Ballet Frankfurt under William Forsythe’s direction. McManus danced in new works created by Forsythe and became entrusted with setting Forsythe’s repertory on major companies around the world. He currently brings this work to USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance B.F.A. students.
McManus has worked with accomplished choreographers such as Stephen Petronio, Twyla Tharp, Amanda Miller, Mark Haim, Daniel Larrieu, Susan Marshall, Philip Grosser, Sara Rudner, Jan Fabre, Kathryn Posin, William Soleu, Ohad Naharin, Helgi Tomasson, Gale Katchadurian, Peter Sparling, Ann Marie DeAngelo, Saeko Ichino, Saburo Teshigawara, and Paul Selwyn Norton, among others. McManus holds an M.F.A. in Dance from Hollins University, Roanoke.
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About PS21
A vibrant center for contemporary performance in the Hudson Valley, PS21 “presents work that challenges and invites” (The New York Times): adventurous productions by leading and emerging American and international artists in music, dance, and theater, and visionaries creating entirely new genres. On our open-air Pavilion Theater stage, across our expansive, unspoiled grounds, and in the diverse surrounding communities, PS21 cultivates and presents productions that transcend aesthetic boundaries and revitalize existing artistic languages and grammars. Throughout the year, we host developmental residencies for dancers, musicians, actors, and creators of original, even unclassifiable new work. Rooted in community collaboration, PS21’s programming engages creatively with critical global and social issues. It is a mecca for innovative and original artistic voices, a destination for performance that can be experienced nowhere else in the region. PS21’s Pavilion Theater is a green-energy marvel surrounded by 100 acres of unspoiled meadows, trails, and woodlands that are a haven to wildlife and visitors across the region. Integrated into our unspoiled campus, the theater embodies our commitments to the public: open, inviting, and optimized for their enjoyment and encouraging citizen expression and participation.
Photography
PS21 will take photos of this event for use in social media and on our website. The photos sometimes include audiences. Your attendance at this performance indicates you consent to appear in PS21 photography. If you would prefer not to appear in any photos, please let a staff member know, and we will be glad to accommodate your request.
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