Winter Dance Intensive
January 4 & 5, 2018 10:00am-3:00pm
The University of Akron Guzetta Hall
Verb Ballets is excited to offer a Winter Dance Workshop on January 4-5, 2018 at The University of Akron. This full day program will help you improve and strengthen your technique with classes include ballet, pointe, ballet variations and modern. Classes will be taught by dance professionals Erich Yetter, Kay Eichman, Alexis Suggs and Aseelah Shareef. Classes are recommended for all students ages 12+ and are open to all dancers who would like to attend from local studios, colleges or community.
Cost is $150 for two day workshop or $75 per day and includes healthy lunch. Drop in class is $20 and payable at the door. Pre-registration required. For questions or scholarship information call 216-397-3757.
Register early and $ave!
By November 30th: Save $20 off the full workshop or $10 off one day.
By December 30th: Save $10 off the full workshop or $5 off one day.
Thursday
10:00-11:30am Ballet with Erich Yetter
11:40-12:40pm Pointe with Erich Yetter
12:40-1:00pm Lunch
1:00-2:00pm Modern with Alexis Suggs
2:00-3:00pm Applied Dance Knowledge
Friday
10:00-11:30am Ballet with Kay Eichman
11:40-12:40pm Variations with Kay Eichman
12:40-1:00pm Lunch
1:00-2:00pm Modern with Aseelah Shareef
2:00-3:00pm Applied Dance Knowledge
Details
January 4 & 5, 2018 10:00am-3:00pm
Workshop Fee
Two Day Workshop $150
Single Day Workshop $75
Drop in class $20
Studio
The University of Akron
Guzzetta Hall, Studio 294
Akron, OH, 44325
Workshop Faculty
Kay Eichman
Kay Eichman received her early ballet training from Pat Leclercq in New Orleans. She later studied on scholarship at: The National Ballet, Washington DC; The National Ballet Of Canada; The Conservatoire de Nice, France; and Joffrey’s American Ballet Center in New York.Kay left the JoffreyII company to join Cleveland Ballet in its inaugural season. A distinguished 15 year career ensued, including principal and soloist roles in numerous traditional and contemporary works. Among these were Theme and Variations, The Four Temperaments, Agon, Concerto Barocco, Serenade, Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet and The Nutcracker . She also had the opportunity to perform at the prestigious Edinburg Fringe Festival in Scotland. Kay spent one season in Germany as Principal Guest Artist with the Geissen Ballet.Ms. Eichman has served on the faculties of The Minnesota Ballet and The University of Akron (UA) Dance Program. She is currently on the faculty UA’s Dance Institute and Ballet Mistress of the Dance Department at the Cleveland School of the Arts (CSA). Ms. Eichman was named Outstanding Teacher by Dance Institute and received an Appreciation Award from CSA for commitment ,dedication and outstanding works. In addition to teaching at numerous local studios, she has also taught company class for Verb Ballets, August Wilson, and Greene Works Project. Kay was on the faculties of IABD conference Joffrey Ballet Jazz & Contemporary Summer Session and Dance Caravan; and served as a talent judge throughout the United States with “Dance Explosion”, “Dynamite”, and others.
Alexis Britford Suggs
Alexis Britford Suggs, Columbus native, began her dance training at Theater Street Dance Academy. She continued her studies at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music’s Preparatory Program, Dayton Ballet, Jeraldyne’s School of Dance, and Columbus Youth Ballet. Alexis is also a graduate of University of North Carolina School of the Arts’ high school Classical Ballet program. She has trained at Boston Conservatory, The Ailey School, Houston Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Hungarian National Ballet, and Boston Ballet. A bronze medalist for the 2002 New York Finals of Youth America Grand Prix in the contemporary division, Alexis has always had a profound appreciation for the blending of modern dance and classical ballet forms. She graduated summa cum laude with a BFA in Dance Performance from Wright State University in Dayton, OH. During her undergraduate studies, she was a member of Dayton Contemporary Dance Second Company (DCDC2) and upon graduation was promoted to the professional company, where she enjoyed seven seasons touring both domestically and internationally. Some of her most memorable featured performance roles include, the opening duet in Ulysses Dove’s seminal work, Vespers, and the female soloist from Donald McKayle’s masterwork, Rainbow ‘Round My Shoulder. She is honored to be a part of the Bessie award winning ensemble that performed McKayle’s ballet at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater for Paul Taylor’s American Modern Dance 2016 season. Mrs. Suggs has had the pleasure of being featured in works by many notable choreographers, namely: Donald Byrd, Debbie Blunden-Diggs, Sean Curran, Ray Mercer, Ron K. Brown, Anthony Tudor and Ray Mercer. She is grateful for the gift of dance and loves sharing it with the students of Dayton Dance Conservatory.
Erich Yetter
Erich Yetter began his ballet training in Texas under Ingeborg Heuser (Staatsoper Berlin), and later with Fernando Schaffenburg (Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo) at Texas Christian University, and at the Houston Ballet Academy under Ben Stevenson, O.B.E. (Royal Ballet). He studied in New York City with David Howard and Maggie Black and Marjorie Mussman, and subsequently danced as a principal danced in London with Dance For Everyone, and also in Cork, Ireland with The Irish National Ballet. Upon returning to the states Yetter performed with Ballet Memphis in Tennessee for twelve years, after which he retired from the stage. During this time, he finished a Bachelor of Music cum laude from the University of Texas at El Paso. After Memphis, Yetter served ten years as Artistic Director of Peoria Ballet in Illinois, working with international guest artists and building that company’s national reputation. After earning a Master’s of Science in Higher Education from Kaplan University in Chicago, Yetter accepted a position as Visiting Faculty Lecturer in Ballet at The University of Akron, where he taught Advanced and Intermediate Ballet technique, Pointe technique, Ballet History, and a general education course for non-majors entitled Viewing Dance. He also wrote articles for the Chronicle of Higher Education including an extensive interview with Jennifer Homans, who wrote the bestselling book on ballet history, Apollo’s Angels. Yetter has choreographed and directed over 70 works, from full-length ballets to small chamber dances. In addition, he has collaborated with and created movement for theaters, opera companies and symphony orchestras. As a dancer, he performed standard classical ballet repertoire as well as ballets by contemporary choreographers such as George Balanchine, Domy Reiter-Soffer, James Clouser and Trey McIntyre. In 1999 Yetter was awarded the Tennessee Commission for the Arts Individual Fellowship for Choreography and subsequently his dance work, Asturias, was featured at the American Choreographer’s Showcase in Guatemala. For seven years he adjudicated on the Dance Grant Panel of the Illinois Arts Council, as well as the 2009 Federal Arts Jobs Preservation Grant Panel, dispersing government stimulus funds. In 2010, Yetter received a Challenge America Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for his production of Romeo and Juliet. In addition to teaching ballet at Case Western Reserve University, Yetter serves on the ballet faculty for Cleveland School of the Arts and the Board of Directors of OhioDance. He has taught master classes for Verb Ballets, The American College Dance Festival, Ohio Northern University, Youngstown State University Dance Festival and the Dance Institute at the University of Akron. He lives in Akron with his wife, Mary Ragna Yetter, and their three children Evan, Clara, and Jacob.
Aseelah Shareef
Aseelah Shareef is a dancer, educator, and arts/non-profit administrator. Her dance training began at the Palm Beach County School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, FL, during which time her artistic study led her to the prestigious Alvin Ailey Summer Dance Program. She has performed with Cleveland Contemporary Dance Theatre (2002-03) under the leadership of Cleveland son, Michael Medcalf, and experienced the world one stage at atime with Washington DC based, Step Afrika! (2007- 2014). Aseelah is currently working as Director of Programs at Karamu House, Inc. supporting all aspects of administration, operations and programming. Her additional experiences include former Dance Director of Cleveland School of the Arts, Project Manager for Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s Department of Arts Education, Adjunct Professor of Dance at Cuyahoga Community College and dance master-teaching artist for the Center for Arts-Inspired Learning – formerly Young Audiences of Northeast Ohio. She maintains her dance training through the Lester Horton technique (modern) and West African dance study. Aseelah is a graduate of The Florida State University, receiving a MA in Arts Administration and a BS in Exercise Science.
Guzzetta Hall
The University of Akron
Guzzetta Hall, Studio 294
Akron, OH, 44325
