International Circus & Dance Celebration Workshops
Chinese Folk Dance Masterclass
Beginner friendly exploration of the elements of Chinese Dance. Lead by CC&DC alum Athena He-DeMontaron, this energetic class will teach students about the core components of Chinese Folk Dance. We will play with traditional Chinese props, facial expressions, and basic steps. He-DeMontaron has trained in Chinese Dance of all styles since 2005 and is a graduate of the Little Lotus Company in Charlotte, NC. She is currently a modern dancer with the State Dance Company at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC.
Athena He-DeMontaron began training in Chinese traditional dance in 2005 under her mother, XiaoSong He, founder and director of the Little Lotus Company in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was a principal dancer and soloist with the company from 2011 until she graduated in 2019. Over her 14 years at the company she has trained in a variety of dance styles including: Chinese folk, traditional dance, contemporary, and classical dance. Within the traditional dance style she has trained extensively in minority dances such as: Dai, Mongolian, Tibetan, Xinjiang, Miao, and Korean. He-DeMontaron has also won several awards and accolades for her work during her time with the Little Lotus Company.
Belly Dance
Belly dance is a beautiful art form, originating in Egypt. It focuses on muscle isolations as well as a mix of slow, snaky movements, and sharp staccato movements. In this class, we will start at the beginning, getting our bodies ready to move as a whole, releasing tension and then working to find grounding, isolations and fluidity.
Capoeira
Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian art form that combines music, dance, acrobatics, and martial arts to create a unique full-body experience. African slaves developed Capoeira to be form of resistance and preservation of culture during slavery in South America. Today this art is used to build community and foster diversity. During this class, participants will be exposed to the fundamental elements and movements of Capoeira.
Originally from Charleston, South Carolina, Reba Bowens has been working with dance and capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian art form incorporating acrobatics, martial arts, music, and dance in Charlotte communities and schools. After attending a public art middle and high school for dance, she continued her dance studies at Winthrop University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Performance and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. She holds a Masters of Arts in Arts Administration from Winthrop University. She has had the opportunity to work with Caroline Calouche, Gaspard & Dancers, Moving Spirits Inc., Triptych Collective, Rachel Barker, Sarah Ingel, Megan Payne, Eric Mullis, and many others. Along with dance, Reba has been an avid practitioner of martial arts. She studied Shaolin Kempo Karate for 14 years and attained the rank of 2nd Degree Black Belt. For the last 10 year she has focused her studies on capoeira which has allowed her opportunities to travel to Russia, Brazil and various places across the United States. For Reba, movement allows for infinite creativity and exploration with body and mind and she hopes that she can share this message with others. Outside of her creative practices, Reba is a nonprofit administrative professional working with various organizations in Charlotte and surrounding areas.
Garba
Shefalee V. Patel is an artist and a traditional Garba dancer. Garba is a form of dance originating from the state of Gujarat in the country of India. She has been dancing this art form since the age of four and has been a participant, national award winning choreographer, a judge for the last 2.0 years and has chaired a 500 participant National dance competition in Charlotte. Each year she continues to share this art form with school groups, festival goers, and various other workshops. In the class participants will learn authentic Garba with the intricate clapping and snaps. They will learn Be-taali (2 clap) and Tran-taali (3 clap) Garba steps.
Juggling
Throughout history juggling has gone from being a unique talent in ancient Egypt to royal entertainment during the Renaissance and everything in between.
Jeremy Foster has always had a fascination with juggling but never thought of it as more than a novelty until giving it a try as an adult. It was quickly apparent that there was more to it than just tossing I objects in the air.
Zoe Flowers was introduced to juggling by her father at a young age and soon realized that juggling was more than just a fun way to pass the time, it was a a skill that had benefits that overlapped into other areas of her life.
