MOTION STATE ARTS @ Fringe PVD
wilbury Theatre Group, Providence, RI
Open mic dance performances & dance/movement classes!
SATURDAY, JULY 19, 8:30pm:
Cabaret Jeté
An open mic night for all things dance! Variety abounds at this grab-bag of short and sweet dance performances. Dance artists of all styles are invited to throw their hats in the ring and feet on the floor. Uncurated and unapologetic!
Sign up is first-come, first-served; limited slots.
Important Considerations:
Pieces must be no longer than 5 minutes.
No shoes are allowed.
The stage is a 32'x24' marley-covered sprung dance floor.
Light and music cues are up and down only; no internal cues.
If you have music, please bring it on your own phone/laptop.
There is no tech rehearsal; everyone will have an opportunity to warm up on the stage starting around 8pm.
JULY 19, 20 & 26:
CLASSES!
Pay-what-you-can, $10 suggested special Fringe price!
Open to all experiences and abilities (except where noted). Recommended for ages 16+.
SATURDAY, JULY 19
10–11:30am: SCOTT MCPHEETERS—CONTEMPORARY DANCE FORMS
This class will build from the ground up, offering moments of guided movement meditation, playful floor work, and choreographed phrase material. Expect soft introspective investigations that grow towards dynamic, locomotive explosions.
Scott is an interdisciplinary performer, educator, maker, and co-director of Subcircle, a 501c3 arts non-profit located in Biddeford, ME. Subcircle is a dance company, artist residency, and arts presenting organization that prioritizes serving BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ artists and seeks to generate greater access to the performing arts for Southern Maine residents. Scott lived and performed in Philadelphia for 14 years, where he collaborated with choreographers and companies including Nichole Canuso Dance Company, Kun-Yang Lin, Bearded Ladies Cabaret, Marianela Bóan, Bronwen MacArthur, Beau Hancock, Ellie Goudie-Averill, Headlong Dance Theater, and Gina Hoch-Stall. Currently, in addition to his work with Subcircle, he collaborates with Motion State Arts’ own Ali Kenner-Brodsky! For the 2025/26 academic year, Scott will be a Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance at Bates College. He holds a BA in Theater Arts from Dickinson College and a MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from Sierra Nevada University.
11:45am–12:45pm: ANA HARMON—GAGA CLASS
Gaga is the ever-evolving movement language created by choreographer Ohad Naharin. Classes are predicated on a deep activation of the body and attunement to physical sensations. Information is layered, building into a multisensory, physically invigorating experience. While many instructions are imbued with rich imagery, the research of Gaga is fundamentally physical, connecting to a specific process of embodiment. Inside Gaga's guided structure, the improvisational nature of exploration enables each participant to connect to their own research and range.
Ana is a dance and movement advocate currently living in her home state of Massachusetts. She has been a Gaga teacher since 2019, completing her certification with the artistic guidance of Ohad Naharin. Now more than ever, she is committed to dancing every day and sharing the healing power of movement with a range of movers. Ana currently divides her time between Gaga teaching engagements and supporting the Gaga organization's various artistic and educational programs across the globe. She was a faculty member at the Boston Conservatory from 2022–2025 and will lead her third Gaga course at Harvard University this fall. Ana trained with Boston Ballet’s pre-professional program for 13 years and joined Ballet Austin II in 2008. In 2010, she joined Kamea Dance Company where she danced for three years. Ana completed a BA in English Literature & Middle Eastern Studies from Tel Aviv University in 2016.
1–2:30pm: LAILA J. FRANKLIN—CONTEMPORARY FORMS (AND FUNCTIONS)
Laila’s class is interested in excess, fatigue, virtuosity, and care, leaning away from preciousness and leaning into curiosity and risk-taking. Drawing from her background in Limon, Countertechnique, and contact improvisation, the class will explore moving in and out of the ground, with and through space, and amongst one another with deep bodily and spatial awareness. The class develops through improvisatory and guided skill-building and conditioning exercises, and culminates in phrase work utilizing the skillset cultivated through class.
Laila is a multidisciplinary dance artist based in Boston, MA. Her work is interested in meta-commentary, deconstruction and bits, approaching themes surrounding the human experience with complexity, nuance, curiosity and humor. She has been commissioned by Brown University and Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and presented through Public Space One (IA), Loculus Collective’s Sideways Door Festival (MA), Cotuit Dance Festival (MA), School of Contemporary Dance and Thought (MA), and Movement Research at The Judson Church (NY). Her performance credits include projects with Miguel Gutierrez, Stephanie Miracle and Melinda Jean Myers. She is an archival assistant to Jennifer Harge and research assistant to Stew Stewart. She was recently featured as one of 2024 Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch.” Laila holds an MFA from the University of Iowa, a BFA from The Boston Conservatory, and is a proud alumna of Duke Ellington School of the Arts.
SUNDAY, JULY 20
10–11am: LILA HURWITZ—AWARENESS THROUGH MOVEMENT®
The Feldenkrais Method® of Awareness Through Movement (ATM) is a subtle and powerful system of neuromuscular re-education that evokes changes in muscular tone, flexibility, coordination, attention, and the comfort and efficiency of movement. We'll delve into a classic ATM lesson, exploring issues common to dancers and regular humans, and experiencing the amazing ways our bodies are designed to move with economy and grace.
Lila is a Guild Certified Feldenkrais® Practitioner who has been teaching movement since 1987. She’s performed with Ann Carlson, Heidi Henderson, Nina Martin, Bebe Miller, Karen Nelson, Stephanie Skura and many others, frequently focusing on ensemble improvisation. Lila co-founded/produced the Seattle Festival of Dance Improvisation and is a Motion State Arts co-producer. She supports many fantastic dance artists via Doolittle+Bird, and management and grant-writing consultancy.
11:15am–12:45pm: JOSHUA TUASON—CUNNINGHAM TECHNIQUE
Come participate in the post-modern dance form of Merce Cunningham Technique. Designed as an open-level class, we’ll play with creative concepts and games that expand and challenge our use of space. Through the innovative use of Chance Procedures, we’ll discover together how Merce expanded our definition of what dance can be. A standing warmup will engage the body and mind, and small phrases will get us moving through space. Come curious and let’s discover what is possible!
Joshua Tuason is a dance artist and educator based in Providence, RI. Certified in both Cunningham and Alexander techniques, he layers any class with a somatic approach that invites the whole person, with agency, into the process. He is an Associate Professor of Dance at the Boston Conservatory and is a Registered Somatic Movement Educator through ISMETA. He is President-elect of the Rhode Island Dance Alliance, a local non-profit that fosters community. He's always happy to indulge anyone about dance and movement while getting his caffeine fix.
SATURDAY, JULY 26
10–11:30am: STEPHANIE TURNER—COMMON GROUND/CONTACT IMPROVISATION
Contact Improvisation is an exploration of the body’s relationship to the physical forces that govern our motion while in physical contact with other bodies. The form can be expressed as highly athletic exchanges—falling and flying through space, and also as quiet, mindful exchanges with very little motion. This wide range of movement potential makes CI safe and accessible to all bodies, ages, and abilities. We will primarily use improvisational scores and games to inspire playful ways into moving with a partner that include sharing weight and working with momentum and gravity. We will also look at creative strategies to activate the inherent wisdom our bodies possess: physical instincts for safety and spontaneous expression.
Stephanie facilitates ongoing classes and jams for Contact Improv Providence and is currently on faculty in the performing arts departments at MIT and Roger Williams University. “Researching through the body, I’m continually surprised how physical and creative practices build new language for connection. My teaching is informed by many years of training in contact improvisation, various dance disciplines, martial arts, sports and choreography. Each discipline possesses valuable lessons and a unique vocabulary for connection to self, others and the environment. I found over time that as my functional and expressive vocabulary expanded, so did my capacity for vulnerability and my ability to exercise clear boundaries. It’s powerful to have a direct experience of this through the body in real time. I’m interested in how these skills can support a playful relationship with physics and love to share what I have learned in hopes that others feel less bound by laws of physics and instead experience a more creative and flexible partnership with them.”
The Motion State Arts Stage at FringePVD features dance performances and classes sponsored by MSA. The 2025 Providence Fringe Festival®, presented by The Wilbury Theatre Group with support from community partners throughout Providence, features more than 300 performing artists from across the country sharing their work in theatre, dance, visual arts, and everything in-between.