Dance in Sketch: i.d. by Movemakers Philly

warmupI joined Vince Johnson’s House dance class last week after running into Lilly Kind. I was familiar with Kind’s writing about the Pennsylvania Ballet when the creator of JUNK, Brian Sanders, was commissioned to create a piece for the PA Ballet. I took Kind’s advice and sketched the up-beat dance class on the second floor at 21st and Chestnut. Movemakers Philly presents i.d. is offering a great chance to be a part of the performance. Those that come to be a part of the performance receive a discount off a monthly membership. Learning technique and choreography while listening to good music is something special about this dance class. Kind made a good point when she let me know that the energy was going to be right for sketching.

BombdancersVince Johnson runs a high energy warm up that puts everyone in a sweat. The class begins with an intense workout that loosens up the body. “Pirouette” comes up throughout the entire class to keep the form together. Johnson’s tone is cool and inspiring, “feel what’s going on,” and he says his students are, “bomb dancers.”

feel_whats_going_onThe cycle of technique and choreography is partly contributing to the movement of a circle. This is the drift of the class: it is a process, evolving, and being together.

Movemakers“That’s it!” exclaims Johnson as one of the dancers shows how to do the ‘Roger Rabbit.’

MovemakersAt one point the class rotated and the class was like a whirl pool as the energy went around the room. Then the class turned and faced each other, and this was really challenging the dancers to keep their own circular motions. The velocity of the dancers was levering new steps and hitting the count. Though, it was second to being in the moment, and moving to the beat of the base. It made me think about all of the people running city blocks, that it is not good for their knees, and that they need to come to the house dance class at Movemakers, 21st and Chestnut.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.