VELOCITY X RITUALS

improvisational practices – expanding our range of possibilities 

We will explore how we can change our range of possibilities in our bodies by conceptualizing new pathways and attempting (sometimes successfully and sometimes unsuccessfully) to accomplish the abstract idea or image we have in our minds. This class is primarily structured improvisation derived from a range of methodologies that help to create the physical and mental parameters to allow dancers to experience their bodies, space, movement, and their imagination in new ways.

BIO:

maia melene d’urfé is a dancer and choreographer who creates movement as a genuine expression of their sensations, convictions, and fears. They dance with Seattle contemporary dance and House communities; their choreography has been presented internationally at FIDCDMX and Quinzena Internacional de Dança de Almada, nationally in New York City, North Carolina, Maine and in Seattle WA through Velocity Dance Center, Amy O’Neal, eXit Space, Seattle International Dance Festival, and their own independent productions. They find their voice through quality of movement, their language through physical facility, and flow through melody and rhythm, all to investigate facets of the human condition and how we respond to change within the self, our relationships, and wider culture.

*Photo by Jim Coleman

WORKSHOP WITH JOBEL MEDINA

This class is structured as a standard dance class for intermediate and advanced contemporary dancers. It begins with a warm-up, focusing on strengthening and mobility, while finding groove and accessing varying movement qualities and textures. We use metaphors, images, and auditory cues as tools to find sensations in the body that ideally inspire us to move.

The second part is choreography and composition, where dancers learn a series of movements with a focus on clarity, expansiveness, efficiency, and spirituality—while applying ideas previously explored in the warm-up.

By spirituality, I mean dancing with intentionality—connecting to something larger than ourselves and the space we’re in. It’s about tuning into instinct, accessing groove, and moving from a place of presence and depth.

BIO:

Jobel Medina (b. 1990, Pasig City, Philippines) is a Filipino-American dancer and choreographer based in Los Angeles.

His choreographic practice engages with the inherent contradictions between commercial and experimental modes of performance, negotiating a dynamic space where spectacle intersects with subtlety. His work explores the productive tension between explosive physicality and nuanced restraint, positioning contradiction as a generative force within his creative process.

Medina’s work spans the United States and France, and he has collaborated with renowned artists such as Tino Sehgal, Benjamin Millepied, Dimitri Chamblas, Alex Prager, Kim Gordon, Simon McBurney, Shahar Binyamini, Danielle Agami, and Tom Weinberger.

His choreography has been presented at leading institutions including the Philharmonie de Paris (with Los Angeles Dance Project), The Broad Museum (Los Angeles), the Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles), the Musée d’Orsay (Paris), and the Institute of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles).

He holds a Master of Fine Arts from the California Institute of the Arts and has taught at various universities across the United States.

improvisational practices – expanding our range of possibilities 

We will explore how we can change our range of possibilities in our bodies by conceptualizing new pathways and attempting (sometimes successfully and sometimes unsuccessfully) to accomplish the abstract idea or image we have in our minds. This class is primarily structured improvisation derived from a range of methodologies that help to create the physical and mental parameters to allow dancers to experience their bodies, space, movement, and their imagination in new ways.

BIO:

maia melene d’urfé is a dancer and choreographer who creates movement as a genuine expression of their sensations, convictions, and fears. They dance with Seattle contemporary dance and House communities; their choreography has been presented internationally at FIDCDMX and Quinzena Internacional de Dança de Almada, nationally in New York City, North Carolina, Maine and in Seattle WA through Velocity Dance Center, Amy O’Neal, eXit Space, Seattle International Dance Festival, and their own independent productions. They find their voice through quality of movement, their language through physical facility, and flow through melody and rhythm, all to investigate facets of the human condition and how we respond to change within the self, our relationships, and wider culture.

*Photo by Jim Coleman

WORKSHOP WITH EIKO OTAKE

ABOUT:

BIO:

improvisational practices – expanding our range of possibilities 

We will explore how we can change our range of possibilities in our bodies by conceptualizing new pathways and attempting (sometimes successfully and sometimes unsuccessfully) to accomplish the abstract idea or image we have in our minds. This class is primarily structured improvisation derived from a range of methodologies that help to create the physical and mental parameters to allow dancers to experience their bodies, space, movement, and their imagination in new ways.

BIO:

maia melene d’urfé is a dancer and choreographer who creates movement as a genuine expression of their sensations, convictions, and fears. They dance with Seattle contemporary dance and House communities; their choreography has been presented internationally at FIDCDMX and Quinzena Internacional de Dança de Almada, nationally in New York City, North Carolina, Maine and in Seattle WA through Velocity Dance Center, Amy O’Neal, eXit Space, Seattle International Dance Festival, and their own independent productions. They find their voice through quality of movement, their language through physical facility, and flow through melody and rhythm, all to investigate facets of the human condition and how we respond to change within the self, our relationships, and wider culture.

*Photo by Jim Coleman

improvisational practices – expanding our range of possibilities 

We will explore how we can change our range of possibilities in our bodies by conceptualizing new pathways and attempting (sometimes successfully and sometimes unsuccessfully) to accomplish the abstract idea or image we have in our minds. This class is primarily structured improvisation derived from a range of methodologies that help to create the physical and mental parameters to allow dancers to experience their bodies, space, movement, and their imagination in new ways.

BIO:

maia melene d’urfé is a dancer and choreographer who creates movement as a genuine expression of their sensations, convictions, and fears. They dance with Seattle contemporary dance and House communities; their choreography has been presented internationally at FIDCDMX and Quinzena Internacional de Dança de Almada, nationally in New York City, North Carolina, Maine and in Seattle WA through Velocity Dance Center, Amy O’Neal, eXit Space, Seattle International Dance Festival, and their own independent productions. They find their voice through quality of movement, their language through physical facility, and flow through melody and rhythm, all to investigate facets of the human condition and how we respond to change within the self, our relationships, and wider culture.

*Photo by Jim Coleman