$20

Come dance and unlock the mind, body and spirit connection in this African American dance form, created by icon Katherine Dunham, dance pioneer/anthropologist/social activist. Informed by the great traditional dances of the African Diaspora (West African, Haitian, Cuban, Brazilian, African American modern dance and more) Dunham Technique creates well-muscled, dynamic dancers with supple spines and well-articulated torsos. Dancers quickly learn to move with control and authority. Each class is a journey into self-knowledge. This comprehensive experience that includes a traditional warm up, center floor sequence, specialized barre work, series of progressions and breathing exercises. Students will enjoy a class that starts out centered and meditative then gradually becomes high-spirited and powerful as they learn the "Dunham Way of Life." This intermediate/advanced level class is open dancers who have specifically been training in Dunham Technique and are technically trained at the intermediate level or higher. The primary purpose of this class is for participants to train regularly and to accrue hours of training with a certified Dunham teacher. These hours will be officially recognized by the Institute for Dunham Technique Certification.

Penny Godboldo trained at the Alvin Ailey School in NYC. She incorporates her larger philosophical view that dance is life — a methodology developed through research in dance history – into her pedagogy as a teacher. Her work is informed by travel to Haiti, Cuba, Benin, West Africa, Brazil, Japan, China, Italy and most recently Israel and her role as chair of Marygrove College Dance Department for two decades. She began her studies in Dunham technique in Detroit at age 14 with Clifford Fears, mentored by Madame Lavinia Williams in NYC and Haiti. She continued her mentorship with Katherine Dunham for 21 years as her demonstrator in St. Louis, Denver, Detroit, and Port au Prince, Haiti and performed in Dunham repertory: “Shango,” “Adagio” and “Americana.”   Godboldo trained with Dunham Masters: Talley Beatty, Lucille Ellis, Vanoye Aikens, Pearl Reynolds, Tommy Gomez and certified teachers Theo Jamison, Keith Williams and Ruby Streate.