Donation – $10-25

For the dancer who has been interested in getting back into the swing of it all and those itching for something new, this Jazz workshop will have something for everyone! Movement in this workshop will focus on strength, flexibility, and ways to develop coordination and rhythmic ability. It’ll all be done to a selection of popular music of today along with jazz hits! The workshop will be conducted to classic big band & contemporary Jazz music. This is a perfect class to experience social dance.

LaTasha “Tasha” Barnes is an internationally recognized and awarded dancer, choreographer, educator, performer, cultural ambassador, and Tradition-bearer of Black American Social Dance from Richmond, VA. Currently based in New York, Barnes is globally celebrated for her musicality, athleticism, and joyful presence throughout the cultural traditions she bears: House, Hip-Hop, Waacking, Vernacular Jazz, and Lindy Hop. Her expansive artistic, competitive, and performative skills have made her a frequent collaborator to Dorrance Dance, Singapore based Timbre Arts Group, and Ephrat Asherie Dance. Her leadership and business skills have placed her in positions of service as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Ladies of Hip-Hop FestivalⓇ, Vice President of Marketing & Outreach for the International Lindy Hop ChampionshipⓇ, Board Member of the Black Lindy Hoppers Fund, the Frankie Manning Foundation and a contributing member to the NEFER Global Movement Collective. Expanding the scope of impact for the communities she serves, Barnes completed her self-designed Master’s in Ethnochoreology, Black Studies and Performance Studies thru New York University Gallatin School in 2019. Her thesis and continuing research are working to bridge the gap between communities of practice and academic cultural dance research, performance, preservation, and pedagogy. In concert with these efforts, she is honored to be a part of the Brain Trust developing the ground-breaking stage production Swing Out, bringing the passion and power of Lindy Hop and its community to the concert stage. She is also honored to be a developing partner of several intergenerational and inter-communal cultural arts exchanges and performances that will be presented in the near future. Also in support of this dialogue; Barnes is a contributing author to the forthcoming text 21st Century Jazz Dance: Africanist Aesthetics and Equity in Teaching and Choreography by University of Florida Press out in 2021. Through all her efforts, Barnes’ forever purpose is to inspire fellow artists and arts enthusiasts to champion artivism through cultivating an authentic sense of self and intention in their creative expressions and daily lives.