The American Dance Festival is one of the most important festivals and summer training programs in the United States. 2015 marks the 82nd year of ADF. Please join us on the blog this summer as Leah Cox, Associate Dean, offers a window into the festival through her lens as artist, teacher, administrator, and audience member. To read Leah's artist profile, click here.

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Photo: Grant Halverson   © ADF

This summer, I’m bringing back a course originally taught by Martha Myers called Choreolab.  I did this in order to honor those students coming to ADF who have a particular interest and talent in choreography.  This class, like our Footprints and repertory courses, is by audition.  I have eleven students in the class, and it’s been fantastic so far.  The basic thrust of the course this summer can be loosely thought of as the cultivation of physical thinking.  We’re cultivating our trust in the body’s ability to learn, communicate, and create without an excessive reliance on language and discursive thought.  We’ve had four classes so far and have had minimal discussion—it’s been great!  Our initial getting to know each other has not included an exchange of names or explanation of where we’re from.  Instead, we’ve used our actions to get to know one another and it’s been rather magical.  There’s a rich, palpable sense of understanding each person borne of listening to their particular way of being and solving the various problems I’ve designed for the class.  Disabling language as a way to compose ourselves for other people has given rise to the ability of the body and movement to compose us.  It’s composition at the most fundamental level.  The added benefit, which is a huge emphasis of mine, is on disabling the judgmental mind or protective impulse.  These—judgment and shielding—are not so useful for creativity!  They separate us from the world instead of immersing us in it.  Having this class meet four times a week, embedding these practices, has been fantastic for cultivating these new approaches.  

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