Roseland Performing Arts Center

On Saturday, April 2, YSDT members Zoe Rabinowitz and Sara Genoves-Sylvan taught two masterclasses at the Roseland Performing Arts Center in West Caldwell, NJ. Introducing modern dance and improvisation concepts to students trained primarily in ballet can be challenging- but also rewarding! Watch below as Sara coaches this group of 10-16 year olds in the art of dancing through chocolate pudding (a.k.a an improvisation exercise in textures).
One thing we realized through teaching these classes is how alive our own imaginations still are, and the ways in which we’ve trained ourselves to remain curious, silly, and not too self-conscious! It’s a great lesson for students at this age who are just starting to become a little self-conscious themselves. One thing we remarked as teachers is just how useful this information could have been to us as dancers at that age. As young students we learn primarily by imitating others. This is a wonderful and necessary skill to have, but only much later do you realize how much un-learning you have to do in order to come up with your own organic movement that is all your own- and what will come to define you as an artist. We hope that these students at least caught a glimpse of their own potential for movement today- however silly and pudding-covered.