POP IN / POP OUT with Sophie Allen

SATURDAY, AUGUST 31ST

INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED LEVEL COUNTERTECHNIQUE

at TranscenDANCE, 7755 NORTH AVE., LEMON GROVE

DISCO RIOT's Pop In/Pop Out series offers master classes to those in our community from trusted teaching artists to promote a culture of sharing, exploration, diversity, expanding perspectives, and building community. Class is a place of personal growth, community building, curiosity, skill-building, and play. We hope to expand our collective experiences by bringing in teaching artists that challenge what we're used to. We learn more from one another. We grow together. Join us!

Pop In/Pop Out classes are pay-what-you-can so that we can offer the highest quality experience for the community and for the master teacher. The sliding scale is between $10-20. No one is turned away for lack of funds. Please reach out to community@discoriot.org for assistance.

Sophie Allen

Sophie Minouche Allen is a dance artist who imbues playfulness and nuance in all her endeavors. She performs, choreographs, and teaches throughout Chicago and nationally. As a performer, Sophie has recently worked with Al Evangelista, Anna Caffarelli/Crimson Moeller, Darling Shear, and Ayako Kato/Art Union Humanscape among others. As a choreographer, her work has been presented by FACT/SF, Thodos Dance Chicago/DanceWorks Chicago, Midwest RAD Fest, COMMON conservatory, Detroit Dance Exchange, Going Dutch Festival/Side Street Studio Arts, and Periodance/Performance Lab Showcase. As a teacher, Sophie offers open classes at The Rooted Space, closed curriculum classes at The Joffrey Academy of Dance, and co-facilitates the Chicago Countertechnique® Community class series throughout the city. Sophie is a certified Countertechnique® Teacher and holds a B.F.A. in Dance and B.A. in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) from the University of Michigan. www.sophieminouche.com

Intermediate/Advanced Countertechnique Description:

The Countertechnique® class is a contemporary dance technique class. It stretches, coordinates and strengthens the body, making the dancer sweat, build stamina and really move. The class starts with a recurring set of exercises, allowing dancers to investigate the Countertechnique® principles in detail. The second half of the class consists of changing components, working towards luscious movement combinations and jumping at the end. The Countertechnique® class results in dancers using less energy, losing their fear of taking risks and gaining speed in changing direction.

Countertechnique® provides tools for body and mind to deal with the demanding dance practice of the 21st century. It is a movement system to help the dancer think about the dancing body, focusing on the process of incorporating information into action. Within a clear structure of exercises the Countertechnique® class thoroughly prepares the body for rehearsal and performance, enabling dancers to move bigger, more fluidly and more spatially, while becoming stronger and more flexible. Dancers are encouraged to be pro-active in discovering connections and solutions, to be less concerned with judging themselves and to work in a healthy way with regard to body and mind. Countertechnique® makes daily training a valuable investment in the dancer's own development, as well as interesting personal research. Countertechnique® was created and developed by Dutch choreographer, dancer and teacher Anouk van Dijk, former artistic director of Australian dance company Chunky Move.