Friday- Ellison Bay Master Class/Workshop Series

MASTER CLASS SCHEDULE- Friday, July 26th @Ellison Bay Community Park

11am- Mindfulness Through Movement w/Simone Ferro

Introductory/Beginner

This class will invite participants to investigate their movement potential as experienced through the lens of myofascial work, proprioception, and the development of equanimity and empathy with one’s body. Mindfulness of the body will allow us to examine and nurture our relationship with ourselves and with our humanity. The goal is to investigate the interaction of our bodies and our community to promote our self awareness as creative citizens.

*participants are encouraged to bring tennis balls and yoga mats. Live musical accompaniment by James Mead

1pm- Aging in Space w/Janet Lilly

Adults, 50+

A creative movement workshop celebrating the lived-in experience of movers over 50 years old. The workshop is designed for anyone who enjoys moving- including artists, athletes, dancers, dog-walkers, and those who like a good wiggle. After a simple warm-up, participants will explore interior and exterior spatial awareness through movement and creative prompts that tap into the lived life of the body as we evolve.

*No dance experience required. Please wear comfortable clothes you can move in and if possible, a blanket and yoga mat. Live musical accompaniment by James Mead

3pm- passing through w/Kara Brody

Intermediate/Advanced

Come as you are, and move as you need. This low-stakes gathering offers a high-play environment pulling from post-modern, somatic, and release based forms. We will activate the space through a series of short sequences that progress from the floor to standing. With an emphasis on finding efficient ways of moving, this class cycles through momentum driven physicality that is often off-centered, in spiral, and grounded. Those with a movement background are highly encouraged for this class.

*Participants are encouraged to bring pants and/or knee pads

About the artists...

A native of São Paulo, Brazil, Simone Ferro is a choreographer, movement practitioner, somatic researcher, and Fulbright scholar. She joined the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Department of Dance in 2001 and retired in 2022 after decades serving as MFA program director and department chair. After a professional career as soloist with dance companies in Brazil and Switzerland, she completed her graduate work at the University of Iowa, a Laban Movement Analysis Certification by the Columbia College of Chicago and a Certificate as Fascia Trainer. Simone collaborates extensively with local dance, theater and opera community, as well as visual artists, writers, musicians, and filmmakers. Her project Milwaukee Through Embodied Research has engaged research students addressing social and environmental justice and community resilience through oral histories in the central city community of Milwaukee. Simone works with movement for mindfulness, as well as classical dance technique with an applied somatic vision in which she uses concepts of movement analysis, kinesiology, anatomy, biomechanics, fascia studies and the body as a home for empathy. Since 2007, she travels to Brazil to research popular culture in Maranhão with her research partner and life companion Meredith W. Watts.

Janet Lilly is a former principal dancer and teacher with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company and was the Director of Dance at the University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG) from 2011-2023. Lilly joined UNCG after 15 years at the Peck School of Arts Department of Dance at the University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin, where she was instrumental in creating a low-residence MFA program for returning dance professionals. Awarded a 2008-09 Fulbright Lecturer Fellowship, Lilly has choreographed and taught as a guest artist and master teacher on college campuses in the United States and abroad. Lilly is a Certified Iyengar Instructor, and is a registered International Association of Yoga Therapist and Yoga Alliance instructor.

Kara Brody (she/her) is a Korean American movement artist based in Chicago focusing her practice towards community driven spaces. She has contributed to numerous productions as a devising collaborator and performer for Lucky Plush Productions, Faye Driscoll, Erin Kilmurray, Melinda Jean Myers, The Fly Honey Show, Helen Lee, Darling Shear, Danceable Projects | Erick Montes, and The Cambrians. She was a curatorial resident at Steppenwolf 1700 Theatre, creating a dance series that celebrated artists in process through a two-week production residency and performance festival. Kara is a Lecturer at University of Chicago and has been on faculty at COMMON Conservatory, The Joffrey Academy, Chicago Movement Collective, Visceral Dance Center, Dovetail Studios, and Lucky Plush Productions’ Community Class. She has guest taught for Rutgers University, Northern Illinois University, The Cambrians, DanceWorks Chicago, Hedwig Dances, Pro.Noun Dance Festival, Young Dancer’s Initiative, and Brighton Dance Festival. Additionally, she has led community and intensive workshops for Lucky Plush Productions at The Kennedy Center, Sonoma State University, Hamilton College, and The Dance Center of Columbia College.

Supprt this Artist! *Artist donations go towards relief in Gaza- https://linktr.ee/fundsforgaza?utm_source=linktree_profile_share

James Mead (Resonance Atelier, supporting soundscapes) is a Door County native, raised by the collective entrepreneurial spirit of the peninsula & the many inspirational local artists thriving here. She is a Hatha & Vinyasa yoga and Pilates Reformer Instructor, trained at HariOm Yoga School in Alessandra, Italy; Yoga Project of Denton, Texas; and Balanced Body School of Pilates. James is Level III Sound Healing certified through the lineage of Don Conreaux under the tutelage of Alessandra Montana. She hosts somatic & sonic frequency healing experiences at Ironwood Yoga Studio in Sister Bay. Outside the healing arts, James co-owns a farm to table dinner business called Door County Underground which features locally grown and foraged organic ingredients.

Support this artist! Venmo @jamesleemead

Design- Charlie Stephens, Photo- Allison Evans at Wild Nest Photography

Photos- Meredith W. Watts (Simone Ferro) Triad Yoga Institute(Janet Lilly), PC Chien-An Yuan (Kara Brody)