What is NewGrounds?

NewGrounds is an annual concert that provides young and/or emerging choreographers the opportunity to present their work in Tampa, Florida.

The event provides these artists the opportunity to present their work in a professional environment, as professional artists. The cultural diversity of the artists presented on this yearly program is unlimited and is a significant element of Moving Currents’ annual season.

The nature of this performance opportunity, again, is rare in the state of Florida and extremely uncommon in the Tampa area.  The need for NewGrounds is created by the simple fact that there is nothing like it in Tampa. The number of applications that we receive each year supports the need and want for this program.

During the week of the NewGrounds performance, the annual NewGrounds Master Class Series is offered to NewGrounds artists and to the Tampa/St. Petersburg area community. There is also an International Choreographer’s Repertory Workshop in which a professional choreographer will work with local artists to create a work that will be presented on the NewGrounds concert.

How do I become part of NewGrounds?

• Download and complete the NewGrounds Application.

• Mail your application and a Video/DVD copy of the proposed work.

• A panel of dance artists will review the applicants’ work.

• Moving Current will then notify choreographers of the results.

2008 NewGrounds Master Class Teachers

Jennifer Salk (Modern) is an Assistant Professor at UW, where she teaches modern technique, composition, dance history, teaching methods, graduate seminars on Higher Education and Teaching Methods, and the Creative Process. Prior to her time at UW she was at the University of South Florida in Tampa. After receiving her MFA from Ohio State University, Jennifer taught at Harrison Arts Center, a performing arts high school in Lakeland, Florida for three years. She received her BFA in Dance from the University of Utah and spent seven years in NYC touring and dancing with various choreographers including David Dorfman (as a guest), Chris Burnside, and June Anderson, and was also the Artistic Director of Jennifer Salk and Company. She has taught at American Dance Festival and teaches master classes and choreographs for companies and schools around the country. Jennifer is a master teacher at the National High School Dance Festival and a frequent presenter at the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science and National Dance Education Organization Conferences. She is thrilled to be going to Paraguay in the fall to choreograph and teach. Her article, Teaching Experiential Anatomy via Modern Technique was published in The Journal of Dance Education in Fall 2005 and a DVD on the subject is in development. This will be Salk’s 16th year as Director of the Dance Department at a summer arts program in Fargo, ND. She was recently awarded the University of Washington’s Distinguished Teacher of the Year award.

Kristin O’Neal (Int/Avd Modern) Originally from Springfield, Ohio, Kristin O’Neal moved to South Florida in 1993 where she performed with Demetrius Klein, Gerri Houlihan (1995 - 1999), Dale Andree’s Mary Street Dance Theatre, and other local South Florida artists, Joanne Barrett, Pablo Cano, Bill Doolin, Katherine Kramer, Nikki Rollason and Clifton Childree among others. From 1997 - 2005, Kristin served as the Dance Coordinator of Broward Community College, choreographing and teaching modern dance, improvisation, and ballet while still performing and participating in workshops, choreographies and classes at the American Dance Festival, Florida Dance Festival, and Bates Dance Festival. Kristin has been commissioned by the Miami Light Project and Philadelphia Fringe Festival and was honored in the 2005 - 06 edition of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. She holds an MFA in dance from the Hollins University/ADF program and currently resides in Gainesville, FL. where she is an assistant dance professor at Santa Fe Community College. Kristin continues to show her own work in various venues in Florida and New York City.

2008 NewGrounds Classes

Modern Technique:
Focus of the class is to offer an eclectic, challenging movement experience that builds in progression from somatic-based floor work, to a focused standing and moving warm up, and “technique” combinations that are ultimately woven together in dynamically diverse phrase work. Upside-down movement and movement into and out of the floor are key components as are the transitions between movement which are often the most exciting part of a phrase. All of this is done with an awareness of proper anatomical alignment and sensitivity to different body types and movement preferences.

Modern Repertory Partnering:
This class focuses on integrating the physical with the expressive. It explores the many possibilities of dancers acting together using coordination, strength and articulation, allowing us to dance to the fullest without hesitation. Dancers will be asked to call upon their technical training as they move from the floor, to standing and finally into the air. The class material focuses on moving in and out of these three different planes with clarity, ease and eloquence. The work of Artistic Director Erin Cardinal explores the physical, emotional and preternatural elements of the human body in motion. Current and past works are first presented in phrases and then built upon as the class progresses. Partnering work is then added, resulting in challenging and exciting repertory movement.

Skinner Releasing:
(SRT) is a pioneering approach to dancing that has evolved from the simple principle that when we are letting go of habitual holding patterns we can move more freely, articulately and powerfully. Joan Skinner, an American choreographer, dance improvisation pioneer and former dancer with the Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham companies, created the technique from experiments in the early 1960’s. Today, Skinner Releasing Technique is a comprehensive training system that has become a considerable influence on leading artists across the world. These classes are open to everyone; beginners as well as experienced dancers are welcomed.

Jazz:
An energetic class based on a combination of technique, classical jazz and street dance. Center exercises, across the floor progressions, and combinations are based on musicality and agility. Classes explore performance quality and personal style as well as precise execution of stylized choreography.