From Scratch: Creating Original Performance
Sep. 27, 2012
DAVID BRICK, founder and co-director of Headlong Dance Theater in Philadelphia will lead a workshop titled From Scratch: Creatiing Original Performance on Saturday September 29th from 1-3pm in Warner Main Space.
Students interested in participating can sign up in Warner Main on the Dance Landing.
ABOUT DAVID BRICK
David Brick’s first movement vocabulary was sign language. Many years of gymnastics gave way to modern dance when he entered Wesleyan University. Before starting Headlong with Andrew and Amy, he danced and toured with the Richard Bull Dance Theater. Other recent projects include co-directing Madam Douce Amere with Fins for Wings; choreographing Love Unpunished for Pig Iron Theatre Company; and dancing for Nichole Canuso Dance Company. He loves teaching Contact Improvisation at the Parlor and Dance Composition at Bryn Mawr College.
Headlong Dance Theater was founded by Co-Directors David Brick, Andrew Simonet and Amy Smith in 1993. David, Andrew and Amy collaborate in the creation and performance of all Headlong’s dances and share credit for all the company’s work. Our core dancers, especially Nichole Canuso, who has been with us since 1996, contribute immensely to the creative process, as do the other dancers who work with us on a project basis.
Over the years, Headlong has created over forty dances, many of which are known for their witty take on contemporary culture. Rather than relying on a single dance style or technique, Headlong develops a unique movement vocabulary for each new piece. The Co-Directors’ eclectic movement backgrounds include modern, ballet, jazz, tap, contact improvisation, releasing techniques, theater, sports, sign language, Bharata Natyam, and Ghanaian dance. Drawing on these and many other sources, Headlong creates movement that both reflects and comments on the subject matter they are exploring. In Shosha, they looked at photographic images of the Jewish ghetto in 1930's Warsaw, as well as video footage of the Living Theater and other experimental theater groups of the 1970's. In Britney's Inferno, for example, they used videos of Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys as a source of movement material.
David, Andrew and Amy were inspired by the work of Richard Bull and Cynthia Novack early in their careers, and Headlong continues to practice choreographic improvisation in the studio and on stage. In fact, many of the company’s dances include or consist entirely of structured improvisation.
Headlong has performed nationally and internationally to a range of audiences, and their work -- informed by a deep commitment to collaboration, humor, and formal experimentation -- has won many fans and much acclaim.
