The Denison University Department of Dance is offering a class in African/Jazz Dance. This 90 minute movement class, taught by Meida McNeal, will take place between 4:30 and 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 3, in the Doane Dance Building Upper Studio (231 W. College Street).

McNeal received her M.F.A. in choreography from Ohio State University and her Ph.D. in performance studies at Northwestern University. She is currently a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Theatre, Speech and Dance at Brown University.

The class will explore the aesthetic and cultural principles undergirding Chicago house music and dance, a form born in the 1980s from Chicago’s alternative youth and ethnic communities. Participants will be introduced to specific house vocabulary such as jacking, the wop and the reebok, and will experiment with the movement principles that underlie Chicago house including the activation of an undulating spine, a low-weighted pelvis driving through space and the use of polyrhythmic play and improvisation.

All levels of experience welcome, and no experience is needed. This class is free and open to the public.

For more information, or to reserve a place, please e-mail Susan Kosling at koslings@denison.edu

Calendar Listing:

CALENDAR LISTING: Denison University, Granville — A class in African/Jazz Dance will be offered from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 3, in the Doane Dance Upper Studio (231 W. College Street). The class is free and open to the public. E-mail koslings@denison.edu for more information.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

For press inquiries:

Name

Barbara Stambaugh

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Director, Media Relations

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stambaughb@denison.edu

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(740) 587-8575