Cleveland Dance Movement and Verb “Ohio Contemporary Ballet” are kicking off Hispanic Heritage month with an open community workshop on September 17, 2022 featuring artists, Bryan Andres Salinas and Norma Jean Barnes! The evening will encompass two masterclasses by the artists in residence followed by a meet-and-greet reception. Verb dancer Bryan Andres Salinas, from Colombia, will take participants through a beginner salsa lesson and Norma Jean Barnes, from Pittsburgh, will take participants through a beginner/intermediate Dunham lesson. Participants of all ages (10-adult) and ability levels are welcome. Together the two organizations seek to bring the community a deeper appreciation and understanding of cultures while finding community in dance.
4:00- 4:55pm Intro to Salsa taught by Bryan Andres Salinas
Bryan Andres Salinas joined Verb Ballets in 2022 from Colombia as a part of the International Cultural Exchange Program. He will be sharing South America’s dance traditions and will be teaching a beginner salsa lesson! This class is 55 minutes long and open to all.
5:00-6:00pm Dunham taught by Norma Jean Barnes
Norma Jean Barnes will be sharing the Dunham technique developed by Katherine Dunham. Which is based in the integration of mind, body, and spirit and marries the language of ballet with traditional dance forms from the African diaspora! This class is an hour long and open to all.
6:00-6:30pm Meet and greet with light refreshments
Salsa and Dunham Workshop
Saturday, September 17th 4:00-6:30pm
$15/class or both for $25 (registration required)
About Cleveland Dance Movement
Cleveland Dance Movement (CDM) is an arts coalition comprised of dancers, choreographers, educators, and community stakeholders, committed to the support and preservation of various dance forms through access, and integration of diverse world cultures! As an essential part of its commitment to dance, CDM brings to the region a series of professional development and masterclasses, beginning with hosting the International Association of Blacks in Dance (IABD) in January of 2015! It is time we continue the legacy with “Back to school Back to Dance” Masterclass and lecture series.
Bryan Andres Salinas
Bryan Andres Salinas began his dance studies at the age of 10 at the Colombian Institute of Classical Ballet (Incolballet). In addition to studying ballet at Incolballet, he studied Colombian dances, contemporary dance, jazz, and salsa. After graduating high school, he participated in programs at Earl Mosley’s Diversity of Dance, Joffrey Ballet School in New York City, and Manhattan Youth Ballet. In 2015, he joined the Incolballet classical ballet company under the directorship of Jose Manuel Ghiso, where he danced in regional festivals and toured both nationally and internationally. During his time with the company, he worked with choreographers Anabelle Lopez Ochoa, Tatiana Martinez, Ruben Bañol, Viviana Hurtado, and Marcos Rodriguez. He was also a founding member of the Fundación Ballet Capital company under the direction of Julian Garay. Bryan joined Verb Ballets in 2022 as a part of Verb’s International Cultural Exchange Program. He will be sharing South America’s dance traditions with Verb Ballets.
Norma Jean Barnes
Ms. Barnes has had a decades-long arts career dedicated to improving lives and community through artistic process and presentation. In July 2022, Ms. Barnes taught Dunham/Afro-Modern classes for the Afro-Caribbean Dance & Drum Intensive for youth and adults. Ms. Barnes also directed “A Shout Over Jordan” for Black History Month for the Theater Ministry at Bidwell Presbyterian Church. On February 27, 2018, Ms. Barnes was honored to receive a Keepers of the Flame Award from The Legacy Arts Project for her commitment to and longevity in dance and the creative arts.Ms. Barnes designed and coordinated the TDYCC Arts Program at theTheodore D. Young Community Center in White Plains, New York from April 2002-August 2014. In this role, she taught classes along with, and supervised a staff of professional teaching artists, directed dance/theater productions, and arranged cultural field trips. Artistically, Ms. Barnes is a fluent dancer and choreographer in Modern and African dance techniques. She performed with companies, choreographers, and theater productions in New York, Pittsburgh, national tours, Scotland and Italy. She was a dancer/aerialist for two years with Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey Circus. Ms. Barnes also had the pleasure of appearing in numerous productions with the Kuntu Repertory Theatre. From 1992-2001 she founded and directed the award-winning Xpressions Contemporary Dance Company in Pittsburgh, a non-profit organization, professional company, which provided a creative outlet for dancers in diaspora contemporary dance traditions. In addition, Ms. Barnes worked at the Pittsburgh Dance Council, a dance presenter, to coordinate artist residencies for major touring companies such as Alvin Ailey, Ballet Hispanico, Joffrey Ballet, Philadanco, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, the Hittite Empire and others. She also administered Building Bridges which helped to build and diversify PDC’s audience.She earned a B.F.A. summa cum laude dance/arts management studies at Point Park University-Conservatory of Performing Arts, and attended graduate courses at New York University-Steinhardt School of Education. Professional development include the Urban Bush Women Summer Institute at Florida State University in 1999, and New York City Board of Education’s Katherine Dunham Institute in 2002 and 203.
