October 22, 2015

You Can Dance: Sankai Juku

By Sharman Spieser

Did you know that you can join dancers from visiting companies for an exploration of the company’s movement style? These “You Can Dance” workshops are for everyone, no dance training or experience necessary. Ages 13 and up are welcome. The workshops are free, but first come, first served until studio reaches capacity. Last night, dancers from Sankai Juku led a workshop.

Workshop participant Sharman Spieser caught up with her fellow participants.

Megan and Lindsay drove from Detroit for the workshop.

you can dance participants megan and lindsay
We caught up with a few other participants on video.

First is Petra Kuppers, UMS Mellon Faculty Fellow and Professor of English Languages and Literatures, Women’s Studies, Art and Theatre. She is currently teaching a course on artistic collaboration at U-M, and her class will see the Sankai Juku on Friday. With the support of the Mellon Foundation, she is thinking about how to bring UMS into the classroom, and will use the dance exercises she learned tonight in class. Second is Susan, who drove from Toledo and “would go to Paris to see Sankai Juku,” but because of UMS she doesn’t have to. Our third participant is Jim, who “works in Ypsilanti and plays in Ann Arbor.” He lives in Saline and came “with an open mind.”

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sharman Spieser is a UMS consultant who enjoys using her experience as an adult education administrator and race dialogue facilitator in support of making the arts accessible to everyone. A quote from Alice Walker expresses her intention: “To be active in the cause of the people and of the earth is to be alive.”