School Profiles: Improv Program 2016

From June 27 through July 9, 2016, twenty-five unique bodies participated in The School at Jacob’s Pillow’s new cultural traditions program, Improv Innovations and Traditions: From Ring Shout to Blues to Jazz. These artists of all ages prove that there is no typical participant at The School at Jacob’s Pillow. They are artistic directors, college professors, students, and more, united by their love and passion for dance.

The participants praised the program for its commitment to somatic exploration in their art, no matter how they approach dance.

“This body is not your body. It’s mine, all mine.”

– Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Improv Traditions and Innovations Program Director

Kehinde Ishangi has led a long and varied dance career. Ishangi has performed with dance companies such as Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Company and is currently a member of KM Dance Project and Narcisse/Movement Project. No stranger to the clinical application of movement, she founded the Ishangi Institute to further her research and application of practices leading to the health and longevity of dancers and athletes. During the 2016-2017 school year, Ishangi will serve as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance at Florida State University. Ishangi said that her experience at The School helped her branch out.

“It’s nice to have different bodies in the space from different places at different points in their lives because there are so many different things to draw on for inspiration.”

Participants in this program also explored their spirituality in addition to their art form. Dedrick Gray, Improv program participant and alumnus of the 2015 Social Dances Program, is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago. Gray currently works with Yielded Vessel Dancing Ministry, connecting various styles of dance through spirituality. About the Improv program, Gray said that this program was a perfect way to combine his dance background and his spirituality, “Improv is part of my life. In my college dance program, we focus a lot on improv, and dancing in church we do a lot of improv there as well. It’s great to be able to enhance my own movement and aesthetic here…”

Like Gray, Katrina Miller found spiritual growth in the course of her time at Jacob’s Pillow. Miller, a student at University of Southern California interested in both dance and poetry, uses her art to spread the message of social justice. She has performed both dance and poetry at the Justice Conference, Equity Summit, and at other locations around Los Angeles. Planning on joining Women Uncontained Dance Ministries after graduation, Miller viewed her experience at the School as a way to prepare herself for her future career.

No matter what the participant’s career aspirations, participants found the information they learned at The School to be beneficial for their artistry. Kesha McKey, is an Improv participant and the founding Artistic Director and Choreographer of KM Dance Project, a company that “aims to present progressive and innovative multi-disciplinary works that lie at the intersection of dance theater and social justice.” McKey plans to transfer her experience at The School to her art.

 

All photos by  Hayim Heron.