Class Description

Nathaniel’s contemporary class focuses on the awareness, quality, and growth of one's movement and artistic voice. It challenges dancers of all types and backgrounds to find more possibilities within themselves.

He guides dancers to access ease and fluidity, to understand that the body, as a beautiful vessel, has natural curves working in sequence with one another. Nathaniel exploits the concept of infinite cyclical energy to assist dancers, in finding the full space within and beyond the walls of one's skin and confront exhaustion.

A warm-up consists of spinal manipulation, extremity articulation, and core engagement to connect the dancers into the space. He utilizes ballet vocabulary and Horton technique to emphasize correct anatomical alignment while ensuring safety and longevity.

After the body is stretched, maximizing its full range of motion, a movement phrase is then explored challenging the dancers technically and creatively. The choreographic phrase is given as a tool to deepen specificity in execution, coordination, and memory. Class combinations derive from either one of two movement themes (1) balancing momentum and flow with heavy emphasis on transitioning through each movement or (2) reflecting and enhancing the dynamic qualities within a particular song; as a result, refining the dancer’s ear to accentuate musicality and precision.

From the beginning of every class dancers are: encouraged to find their own voice within the given material, asked to be patient and supportive with oneself, and challenged to trust their own inner flame that can never be tainted, stolen,  or extinguished.

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*Nathaniel specializes in teaching ballet, ballet partnering, contemporary, modern (Release & Horton), improvisation, and floorwork.*