Dancing is part of the African and American way of life and has become a prime means of artistic expression, with dance companies expanding and exploring new territories. In the USA, U-M Dance (MFA ’07) and Pedagogy of Action (POA) Alumnus Rodney A. Brown engages choreography as a means to address the global health problem of HIV/ AIDS. This master-class will demonstrate how Brown has used Modern (or Contemporary) dance to share the POA oral HIV prevention method. We know information can be shared through movement and words, so we seek to understand if it can through dance.

Each session features a different guest artist who teaches a masterclass and sections from their repertory—this panorama of the contemporary dance field is presented to broaden the student’s awareness of what career possibilities are out there. The guest artist conducts a 30-minute technique class/warm-up and then teaches repertory that is performed by the class.

In the final 15-20 minutes faculty coordinator Bill De Young conducts a Q and A interviewing each guest artist about their career and what recommendations they have about the transition from student to professional and what they look for when they audition dancers for their projects