Smart Training
June 27—July 1
Early Bird Registration (by May 30): $150*
Regular Registration (after May 30): $200*
*Register for both SOMA Summer Intensives for a discounted, package price. Find out more about our other summer intensive Level Up here.
Schedule
Smart Training
Developed by Mara Coy and founded on her research cross-training athletics and dance, Smart Training is designed to help the pre-professional dancer discover a healthier way of moving through a dance career.
Breathe + Flow
We will begin each day with Breathe + Flow to engage mind and body through breath and movement. This class is consistent within the framework of this intensive to always help center the mind and help the dancer begin the day with familiarity and consistency.
Conditioning
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we will follow Breathe + Flow with a conditioning class to help build strength and develop a safe muscular foundation for the dancer body to perform choreography and meet the athletic demands of dance in 2022.
Floor Work
Tuesday and Thursday, we follow Breathe + Flow with a floor work class to help release the dancers’ bodies and yield to the floor. Dancers don’t need conditioning every day; this gives our bodies a chance to heal and repair from the previous day’s work.
Coordination & Musicality
These classes will focus on developing our dancer minds. On M,W, F, we will work on exercises to help build coordination and body awareness.On Tu, Th, we will work on musicality– developing foundational understanding of music, including timing, tempo, dynamics, and rhythm.
Nutrition
We will take an intentional and holistic approach to teaching dancers how to fuel their dancer bodies– encouraging regular and filling eating habits, discussing nutritional value of foods, and the importance of staying hydrated (with water). Nutrition affects flexibility, alignment, strength, and cognition.
Note: Please send your dancer with adequate water and snacks/meals as needed.
Improvisation & Creation
Level 3 dancers will have the opportunity to dive deeper into the artistic/creative process with guided movement, choreography, and a creation lab.
Guided movement is an improv-based class where students are given prompts and tools to explore their own inner movement language.
Following guided movement, we will move into learning about the choreographic process and turning our improvisational explorations into clear, choreographed narratives based on conventional choreographic tools and techniques.
Finally, we will conclude with a creation lab where students will be given time and space to explore the creative process and generate their own pieces.
Foundations
Each day, students will receive instruction in foundational dance styles, including ballet, jazz, and contemporary. These are necessary in today’s dance environment to build from a common dance vocabulary and understanding.