COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT & ENGAGEMENT
VADCO will guide the audience through the creative experience of dance using various demonstrations and exercises designed to invite and involve the viewers into the process. Audiences will experience first hand the connections between art and art form, and art and culture. Valerie Alpert Dance Company is dedicated to fostering the awareness and the advancement of the arts throughout our communities.
Technique: Dancing emerges from the body, the mind, and the spirit. Classes are designed to challenge and inspire students to explore all of these areas. Technical dancing involves the efficient execution of diverse movement vocabularies, but along with the steps, it is the motivation, intent, and imagination of the individual performer that informs the movement. Classes usually last between 90 minutes and two hours, and focus on the unique movement vocabulary of Valerie Alpert as informed by her diverse background with an emphasis in Bartenieff fundamentals.
Composition/Improvisation: This class focuses on the creative tools used for dance composition. Through structured improvisational exercises, students explore the elements of composition such as space, theme, form, and design. Dance theory will also be discussed in relation to how several well-known choreographers such as Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, Martha Graham, as well as more current choreographers think about choreography. Students will explore their own creative spirits while understanding the frame of reference of past choreographers.
Repertory/New Works: Students learn sections or entire dance works from Valerie Alpert’s repertoire. The work usually includes physical contact with a small amount of improvisation. Additionally, Valerie Alpert can be commissioned to create original works for students.
CHILDREN'S WORKSHOPS/CLASSES
Valerie Alpert particularly enjoys working with children. She has been involved with the "I Have A Dream Foundation", a program set up for high-risk kids and "Kennedy's Imagination Celebration" where she taught creative movement classes for children including the hearing impaired. She has worked with physical and emotionally impaired children, affording all students an opportunity to become artists.
The future of art and its advancement as a vital, integral part of society depends on the education of the next generation. We provide an opportunity for children to discover and experience creativity and to develop an appreciation and understanding for art as a positive influence in our world community. Structured as explorations in movement and music, our classes will also improve fitness, self-esteem, and integrative learning. Our experience and proficiency in a wide range of educational environments enable us to offer classes to children of all ages, regardless of physical and/or mental abilities.
