Velocity Dance Center

// sfdi 2014 //

SEATTLE FESTIVAL OF DANCE IMPROVISATION (SFDI) 2014
21st ANNUAL SFDI / JULY 27 – AUG 3
REGISTER 

“SFDI is the leading convening of practitioners in dance improvisation in the United States.”
— John Jasperse, 2013 Faculty

“For two decades SFDI has nurtured improvisation with a powerful combination of creative risk-taking and collective responsibility. This fabulous festival has an incomparable roster of teachers and wonderful inventive workshops.”
— Ann Cooper Albright, 2013 Faculty

“If you love to improvise, Velocity Dance Center in Seattle is the place to be . . . “
— Dance Magazine

The international Seattle Festival of Dance Improvisation (SFDI) is a world-renowned festival that provides the perfect opportunity to learn and share experiences with some of the most highly regarded artists working in the field of dance today. SFDI is a week of intensives, classes, jams, somatic labs, site-specific workshops, performances and discussions focused on fostering the study and practice of dance improvisation.

solo/group improvisation + contact improvisation + somatics + alexander technique + contemplative dance practice + site-specific dance + composition + performance 

On this page // REGISTRATION *  PERFORMANCES *  2014 INTENSIVES *  HOUSING *  PRESS * FREE BONUS EVENTS
See also // 2014 SFDI SCHEDULE * 2014 SFDI CLASS DESCRIPTIONS + FACULTY BIOS

 

 

INTENSIVES Kirstie Simson / Faye Driscoll / Eric Beauchesne / Michael Schumacher / Tom Koch / Neige Christenson

CLASSES + PERFORMANCES Darrell Jones / Linda Austin / Eric Nordstrom / Haruko Nishimura / Richard Gilman / Roel Hammerschlag / Kirstie Simson / Eric Beauchesne / Faye Driscoll / Michael Schumacher / Tom Koch / Neige Christenson / Tamin Totzke / Rachael Lincoln / Stuart Phillips / Lila Hurwitz / Alia Swersky / Amelia Reeber / Elia Mrak / Tahni Holt / Kate Wallich + more

2014 SFDI SURVEY

Click HERE to fill out the 2014 SFDI Survey! We appreciate your feedback and take it seriously when considering how we may improve SFDI in the future.

PERFORMANCES

DANCE INNOVATORS IN PERFORMANCE
JULY 31 / 8PM
Broadway Performance Hall 1625 Broadway
TICKETS $18 / $12 students + seniors / $15 MVP
A critical mass of exciting artists who have been dancing everywhere but in the mainstream.

THE GATHERING
AUG 2 / 8PM
Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12th Ave
Only walk up tickets available for this performance  $18 / $12 students + seniors / $15 MVP
Internationally celebrated dance artists and improvisers, Michael Schumacher, Kirstie Simson, Darrell Jones, Mark Haim, and musician Thomas Schumacher come together for a powerful evening of virtuosic improvisation.

SFDI CLOSING NIGHT PERFORMANCES
AUG 2 / 9:30PM
Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12th Ave
Performances by SFDI participants.

2014 SFDI INTENSIVES

“It was a true pleasure to work and participate — relaxed on the human level and inspiring on the professional level.”
— Julyen Hamilton (UK), 2012 SFDI Faculty Member

DANCE IMPROVISATION AND PERFORMANCE AS AN APPROACH TO LIFE
KIRSTIE SIMSON (UK), called “a force of nature” by The New York Times, is an award-winning dancer and teacher of contact improvisation and contemporary dance who has “immeasurably enriched and expanded the boundaries of New Dance” (Time Out, London). For the past 30 years, Kirstie has collaborated with dancers and musicians, including Steve Paxton, Nancy Stark Smith, Simone Forti, Julyen Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Adam Benjamin, Russell Malliphant and Le Quan Ninh.

PRACTICE MORE FAILURE 
FAYE DRISCOLL (NYC) is celebrated as one of the most original artists of her generation. A Bessie-award winning choreographer and director Driscoll has become widely known for creating new forms of theatrical works that provoke feeling, stimulate the senses, and activate the mind. She was a member of Doug Varone and Dancers and has collaborated extensively with theater artists Young Jean Lee, Cynthia Hopkins, Taylor Mac, and NTUSA.

KIDD PIVOT WORKSHOP
ERIC BEAUCHESNE (CANADA) Born in Québec, Eric has danced with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal as well as with Canadian contemporary dance icons such as La Fondation Jean-Pierre Perrault, Paul-André Fortier, Louise Lecavalier and Crystal Pite. Performing with Kidd Pivot since 2004, Eric has also collaborated as rehearsal & staging director for Cullberg Ballet, Ballet British Columbia, The Royal Swedish Ballet and Nederlands Dans Theater in the remount of Pite’s repertory. Based in the Netherlands, Eric regularly conducts improvisation workshops and has recently collaborated with Peter Bingham and Christian Burns on several improvisation research projects.

IMPROVISATION AND INSTANT COMPOSITION // SITE-SPECIFIC INTENSIVE
MICHAEL SCHUMACHER (US / NL) has been a member of several groundbreaking companies, including Ballet Frankfurt, Twyla Tharp Dance, Feld Ballet, Pretty Ugly Dance Company, and Katie Duck’s Magpie Music Dance Company. Working as dancer, choreographer, and teacher Schumacher has developed a unique approach to the discipline of improvisation. He resides in Amsterdam and conducts workshops in movement analysis and improvisation worldwide.

ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE AND IMPROVISATION SKILLS
TOM KOCH (US / NL) Tom Koch is an expert Alexander Technique teacher who has worked with dancers across Europe and America, including extensively with dancers from the Forsythe Company and Nederlands Dans Theater. He helped inspire and guide Anouk van Dijk as she developed Counter Technique, and teaches for her “One Body – One Career” intensive programs for dancers. Tom has also served in the roles of dramaturge and movement consultant for Ballet Frankfurt, Ivana Muller and Michael Schumacher among others.

INTRODUCTION TO CONTACT IMPROVISATION
NEIGE CHRISTENSON (BOSTON) has been an avid Contact Improviser for over thirty years, as a devoted jam facilitator, teacher and performer. Her teaching encourages opening the improvisational mind and body to full physical expression and connection. She is engaged in ongoing research on the Underscore with Nancy Stark Smith and others, and supports the CI programming at Earthdance ImprovisationalRetreat in Massachusetts. Her writing on Contact Improvisation has been published in Contact Quarterly and Proximity Magazine.

READ FULL INTENSIVE DESCRIPTIONS + REGISTER >>

REGISTRATION

Register for Entire SFDI 2014 Festival Package
Sign up for your choice of Morning, Mid-day and Afternoon Intensives with Kirstie Simson, Faye Driscoll, Eric Beauchesne, Michael Schumacher, Tom Koch or Neige Christenson. Includes unlimited drop-ins, performances and jams.

> Entire SFDI 2014 Festival Package Fee: $475*

Register for Individual Intensives
Sign up for an individual 5-day, 4-day or 3-day intensive without unlimited drop-ins. Includes performances and jams.

> Morning Somatic Intensive Fee: $175*
> Mid-day Intensive Fee: $350*
> Afternoon Site-Specific Intensive Fee: $300*
> Afternoon Introduction to Contact Improvisation Intensive Fee: $110*

Register for Unlimited Drop-ins
Sign up for unlimited drop-in classes only. Includes performances and jams.

> Unlimited Drop-ins Fee: $200*

Register for Maximum Velocity
Maximum Velocity is our world-class summer program bringing together Strictly Seattle and the international Seattle Festival of Dance Improvisation, July 6 – Aug 3, 2014.  Register for Maximum Velocity (both Strictly Seattle + SFDI) and receive a 15% discount. Includes the Professional/Advanced, Intermediate or Beginning Strictly Seattle Intensive and The Entire SFDI 2014 Festival Package.

> Maximum Velocity 2014 Fee: $1075*

Drop in to Individual Classes + Jams
No pre-registration required
> All drop-in classes 2 hours: $20 each
> All jams: $5 each

FREE BONUS EVENTS

SFDI LIGHTNING TALKS
Seven of the all-star SFDI faculty have seven minutes to speak to what currently drives their research and practice. Immediately following the lighting talks, the community joins in on the conversation.
With Michael Schumacher, Kirstie Simson, Eric Beauchesne, Faye Driscoll, Neige Christenson, Tom Koch and Darrell Jones.
Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12th Ave
JULY 30 / 6:30 – 8:30PM

IN SITU VIEWINGS – ALL RISE
The community is enthusiastically invited to observe Michael Schumacher’s site-specific intensive as participants continue to explore the dynamics of dance improvisation and composition at a unique location in the city.
In Situ (On John St. between Minor Ave. N and Yale Ave. N) Free
AUG 1 / 6-8pm

NIGHTLY DANCE JAMS
Open movement jams welcome to all.
Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12th Ave or Washington Hall 153 14th Ave
EVERY NIGHT / 7-midnight
$5 at the door / FREE for SFDI Participants
Learn more about each Jam on the SFDI 2014 Jams page >>
SFDI 2014 Jams are curated by Louis Gervais.

HOUSING

Housing with other SFDI students is available in nearby dormitories. Just a quick short walk from Velocity studios at Cornish College of the Arts Residence Halls!

SFDI Housing Application 2014 STILL NEED HOUSING? YOU STILL HAVE A CHANCE. $60 LATE FEE APPLIES AFTER JUNE 23.

WORK STUDY

SFDI 2014 Work-Study Application DUE MAY 1, 2014

PRESS

PDF — Press Release for Maximum Velocity 2014, March 13, 2014

Preview — Dance Magazine, Vital Signs, July 2013

 

REFUND POLICY

*$60 non-refundable deposit is built into all SFDI prices. This deposit serves as the place holder within the program. All paid tuition (not including the $60 deposit) and housing fees will be refunded in full only if written notice of withdrawal is received on or before 60 days prior to the beginning of the intensive (May 27, 2014). Between May 27, 2014 and the July 27, 2014 all paid tuition (not including the $60 deposit) will be refunded for medical reasons only. A signed note from a doctor is required. Dorm fees will be refunded in full. After the program begins, July 27, 2014, tuition and housing fees will not be refunded for any reason.
Have questions? Need more info? Contact Kim Lusk, Programming Coordinator.

In 2011, after 18 successful years, Dance Art Group (DAG) handed the festival over to Velocity Dance Center. View the DAG press release here. To learn more about SFDI click here.

SFDI 2014 was curated by Tonya Lockyer, Michael Schumacher, Louis Gervais and Alia Swersky with generous input from the community.

The 21th Annual Seattle Festival of Dance Improvisation is made possible though the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts, 4Culture, ArtsFund, The Seattle Office of Arts and Culture and The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.