As part of New Museum R&D Season: CHOREOGRAPHY, CLASSCLASSCLASS has organized PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE, a series of fifteen artist-led classes open to adult dancers and non-dancers from the general public. Admission to each class is $8 cash, payable directly to the instructor. Please plan to arrive on time and stay for the entirety of the class. See the individual class listings below for specific information on themes and content.

PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE with Belinda He: Regarding Physical Practices as Creative Acts: A Practical Inquiry for the Solo Dance Artist
“I propose that developing a nuanced articulation of one’s self in movement is by necessity a self-conscious process, as is the development of a piece of work. When compulsion, or habit, interrupts a process that is necessarily internal and reflective, spontaneity is lost and, arguably, so is the value of the art. How, then, can one apply a similar process of rigor onto both their physical practice and creative practice while staying alert to the state of their engagement in the activities? The class proposes some ways to develop a personal physical practice that allows for the spontaneity of improvisation and creativity while retaining a strong emphasis on the development of strength and coordination necessary for the work that one will create and perform. We will investigate how a clearer understanding of our anatomical body can be useful in the act of creating and performing movement. While the content of this class can be broadly applied to any dancer in general, it is created specifically for solo dance artists who create and perform in their own works.”
—Belinda He

Belinda He is a Singapore-born dance artist and Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner who received her MFA in Dance from Sarah Lawrence College. She incorporates her studies of the Feldenkrais Method® and certain aspects of functional anatomy and biomechanics into an ever-evolving personal physical practice in order to synthesize her physical, intellectual, and creative energies into one activity.

CLASSCLASSCLASS at the New Museum
Augmenting the last three weeks of their R&D Season residency (“P.O.L.E. [People, Objects, Language, Exchange]”), artist duo Gerard & Kelly have invited New York City–based CLASSCLASSCLASS to operate its program of process-based, affordable dance classes in the New Museum Theater. CCC has made a significant intervention into education in the fields of performance and dance and has structured a production model that relates to broader explorations of alternative ecologies for working and living.

This edition of CCC—“PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE”—brings together a diverse group of dance practitioners who have all led their movement practice with CCC over the past six years.

Looking to past, present, and future, “PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE” is a platform that supports the ongoing learning of artists as teachers. In doing so, “PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE” acknowledges and invites the necessity of collective sharing in the development of ideas.
Lunchtime discussions, held on weekdays from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., provide a social space between morning and afternoon classes and are free and open to the public.

“PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE”: Full Schedule and List of Teachers

Wednesday January 28
11 AM–1:30 PM: Beth Gill

Thursday January 29
11 AM–1:30 PM: Zena Bibler, Katie Schetlick, and Brandin Steffensen
2:30–5 PM: Belinda He

Sunday February 1
1–5 PM: Ethan Cowan

Wednesday February 4
11 AM–1:30 PM: Jen Rosenblit
2:30–5 PM: Jessie Gold

Thursday February 5
11 AM–1:30 PM: Lorene Bouboushian
2:30–5 PM: Diana Crum

Wednesday February 11
11 AM–1:30 PM: Aretha Aoki
2:30–5 PM: Ni’Ja Whitson Adebanjo

Thursday February 12
11 AM–1:30 PM: Colin Stilwell
2:30–5 PM: Julie Goldberg

Sunday February 14
1–5 PM: Wendell Cooper

Sunday February 15
1–5 PM: Maria Bauman and Nicholas Powers

About CLASSCLASSCLASS
CLASSCLASSCLASS is a blank slate for movement artists to experiment with their artistic practice in some form of student-teacher relationship. CCC values inclusivity as well as the willingness to investigate ideas without the pressures of creating a product; students, come as you are. Since 2009, CCC has operated as an artist-run, artist-initiated platform. CCC addresses the needs of emerging artists to develop their ideas in the form of pedagogy, as both an artistic and professional tool. CCC has also provided an opportunity for more established artists to teach “outside of the box” or experiment with new teaching formats. Organizers seek out spaces that include independent artist-run studios such as the Woods, Barn, and Brazil. CCC has also partnered with institutions including Movement Research, the Abrons Art Center, Brooklyn Art Exchange, Gibney Dance, and Arts@Renaissance (in collaboration with AUNTS), among others. CCC is organized by Lindsay Reuter and Tatyana Tenenbaum.