This technique master class, co-taught by SMTD alums Xan Burley and Alex Springer, explores their collaborative body of work as the Median Movement. Warm-up attends to the shifting weight of the body at rest and in motion, generating heat for endurance, strength, and stability. Class exercises work to develop alignment and intelligent corporeal engagement in preparation for complex material. Improvisation practices, wherein we regard the body as a receptive vessel, instigate authentic embodiment of both individual and collective creative identities. Class will include phrase material drawn from Burley’s and Springer’s current repertory.

Each Modern Lab session features a different guest artist teaching a master class and sections from their repertory. This panorama of the contemporary dance field is presented to broaden the students’ awareness of potential career possibilities. Each guest artist conducts a 30-minute technique class/warm-up and then teaches repertory that is performed by the class.

In the final 15 minutes, faculty coordinator Bill De Young conducts a Q & A with each artist, discussing their career; their recommendations for transitioning from student to professional, and what they look for when they audition dancers for their projects.