MIT: Independent Activities Period: IAP

IAP 2013 Activities by Category - Theater and Dance

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24 Hour Show

Brian Remlinger, Lillian McKinley

Jan/26 Sat 08:00PM-09:00PM W20-306

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Once again, with little pomp and much revelry, the MIT Shakespeare Ensemble embarks on a mission to create a one-of-a-kind, never-before-created show. The catch? They have 24 hours to do it. The writing begins at 8 PM on Friday, January 25th. Then follows the chaos of casting, teching, building, and rehearsing, before you, our audience, come to see the result at 8 PM on Saturday, January 26th, in 20 Chimneys (W20-306). All are invited. Admission is free. Sides are sure to split.

If you would like to be involved as an actor or a techie, email ensemble-request@mit.edu for more details. If you would like to watch the play, just show up at 8 PM on Saturday! No reservations required.

Sponsor(s): Shakespeare Ensemble
Contact: Shakespeare Ensemble, ensemble-request@mit.edu


Argentine Tango Beginner Two Day Bootcamp

Hanna

Jan/26 Sat 01:00PM-05:00PM W16-RRB
Jan/27 Sun 01:00PM-05:00PM W16-RRB

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/21
Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions
Fee: $30.00 for Instructor fees

MIT Tango Club is pleased to announce that the popular Two Day Tango Bootcamp returns for an IAP Edition!  Tango Bootcamp is an intensive two day introduction to Argentine Tango designed to get you from no dancing to tango in two quick days.

2011 IAP bootcamp demonstration video: http://www.facebook.com/v/10100286658316256/

Argentine Tango is a social dance with emphasis on leading and following, improvisation, and musicality. Partner connection and movement together to the music are emphasized over flashy moves. Come learn tango in a comfortable, relaxed, and open environment: in two days we teach you all the basics of Argentine Tango to get you ready for fun on the dance floor! You will learn tango connection, walking, ochos, cruzada, molinette and other delectable movements in this no-nonsense workshop. Snacks and drinks will be provided.

No dance partner or previous dance experience are needed: just a willingness to try new things. Space is limited. Our bootcamps have been very popular in the past so be sure to sign up at the website below.

Register here: http://tango.mit.edu/workshops/bootcamp.php

UPDATE ON 1/21/2013: The bootcamp is SOLD OUT and the online registration is now closed.

Sponsor(s): Tango Club
Contact: MIT Tango Club, tango@mit.edu


Blues Dance Lesson

MIT Lindy Hop Society

Jan/09 Wed 07:30PM-09:00PM W20-208 Lobdell
Jan/16 Wed 07:30PM-09:00PM W20-208 Lobdell
Jan/23 Wed 07:30PM-09:00PM W20-208 Lobdell
Jan/30 Wed 07:30PM-09:00PM W20-208 Lobdell

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions

Blues dance is a style similar to swing dancing that is done to blues music - the foundation of all the popular music of today!  This four week series will introduce you to the fundamentals of how to rock out to this infectious music, both in terms of body movement and how to improvise with a partner so everyone has a great time!

 

Sponsor(s): Lindy Hop Society
Contact: MIT Lindy Hop Society, swing@mit.edu


DANCE and SCIENCE meets CREATIVITY

Larry Pratt, Adwoa Boakye

Jan/07 Mon 02:30PM-04:30PM McCormick Hall, Dance Studio
Jan/09 Wed 02:30PM-04:30PM McCormick Hall, Dance Studio
Jan/11 Fri 02:30PM-04:30PM McCormick Hall, Dance Studio

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Limited to 20 participants
Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions

This class will merge science and creativity with improvised human motion.  The aim is to use dance as a way of accessing heightened consciousness and proprioception in a way that allows for more fluent creativity.   Movement improvisation as a group will be guided by ideas about energy, entropy, turbulence and other processes and properties that are commonly known but poorly understood. Participants will walk away with a deeper intuition into these entities.

 The workshops will be led by Riley Watts, professional dancer with the William Forsythe Company (Germany) and fluid dynamics expert Larry Pratt of the Woods Hole Oceanographic/MIT Joint Program. Please contact Larry Pratt, by email, to register.

Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences
Contact: Larry Pratt, lpratt@whoi.edu


International Folk Dancing for Everyone

Valarie Rosen

Jan/13 Sun 08:00PM-09:30PM W20 Lobdell (2nd fl)
Jan/20 Sun 08:00PM-09:30PM W20 Lobdell (2nd fl)
Jan/27 Sun 08:00PM-09:30PM W20 Lobdell (2nd fl), Live music by Skorosmrtnica!

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions

Learn to dance in time signatures you've never heard of! 

By the end of the first hour, you'll be dancing in rhythms such as 7/8, 5/4, 15/8, and more!  Our repertoire includes circle dances, and a few couple dances, from Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Serbia, Hungary) and around the world (Quebec, Sweden, China, South Africa, Scotland, and the U.S.)

No partner needed and absolutely no experience necessary. Come by yourself or bring friends. Beginners are encouraged to arrive on time for introductory teaching in each session.

These dances continue as a regular series on Sunday nights, so you can keep coming once you get hooked!

Sponsor(s): Folk Dance Club
Contact: MIT Folk Dance Club, fdc@mit.edu


Intro to Contra Dancing, with Live Folk Music

Mitcho Erlewine, Ann B. Cowan

Jan/08 Tue 08:00PM-10:30PM Student Center 491
Jan/22 Tue 08:00PM-10:30PM Student Center 491
Jan/29 Tue 08:00PM-10:30PM Student Center 491

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions
Prereq: none

Banjos + group theory + twirling your partner = FUN!

Contra dancing is a modernized American folk dance, using easy walking steps, set to exciting, LIVE folk music from New England, Ireland, and Quebec. Dance with a partner and other couples, then change partners. A caller teaches the sequence of moves and prompts you during the dance, making it accessible to all. No experience necessary!

Do you play an instrument? Bring it, and sit in with the band!

Free snacks will be provided. Come alone or bring friends! Website lists Tuesdays later in semester.

Sponsor(s): Folk Dance Club
Contact: MIT Folk Dance Club, fdc@mit.edu


Israeli Folk Dancing

Valarie Rosen

Jan/09 Wed 08:00PM-09:30PM Student Center 491
Jan/16 Wed 08:00PM-09:30PM Student Center 491
Jan/23 Wed 08:00PM-09:30PM Student Center 491
Jan/30 Wed 08:00PM-09:30PM Student Center 491

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions

Dance to music ranging from last week's Israeli pop hit to folk songs from the days of the pioneers. Come learn the newest, hottest dances in Israeli folk dancing.

Lots of teaching! Lots of fun! Beginners are most welcome! No partner needed and absolutely no experience necessary. Come by yourself or bring friends.

Beginner teaching until 9 pm, mixed-level dancing 9-11 pm. These dances continue as a regular series on Wednesday nights, so you can keep coming once you get hooked!

Sponsor(s): Folk Dance Club, Hillel
Contact: MIT Folk Dance Club, fdc@mit.edu


Learn to Square Dance

Dennis Wilson

Jan/29 Tue 08:00PM-10:00PM Lobdell

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Come to the Tech Squares Beginner's Night and get a taste of Modern Western Square Dancing. At Tech Squares, the square and round dancing club at MIT, we dance fast, we dance smart, and we have lots of fun! No previous dance experience or knowledge necessary.

Sponsor(s): Tech Squares
Contact: Dennis Wilson, 812-345-4534, dennisw@mit.edu


MIT Asian Dance Team IAP Workshop Series

Jocelyn Lu, Kris Shin

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions

Asian dance spans a wide variety of styles, from traditional cultural pieces to modern pop dances. The MIT Asian Dance Team will hold workshops consisting of a one-hour dance instruction in either traditional or hip hop Asian dance. 

Saturday, January 19th: Coming Spring, a traditional handkerchief piece 
Saturday Jan. 26th: Lucifer, a popular Korean pop song by SHINee 

Both workshops will be held in McCormick Dance Studio, 3-4pm. No dance experience necessary, but please dress comfortably!

Contact: ADT Exec, adt-exec@mit.edu


MIT Asian Dance Team Workshop Series

Jocelyn Lu

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions
Prereq: None

Want to learn some Asian dance this IAP? Come to the MIT Asian Dance Team's IAP Workshops! We are hosting two separate workshops on Saturday, January 19th and Saturday, January 26th, from 3-4PM. Each workshop will feature a different facet of Asian dance. No dance experience required; participants are welcome to come to either or both workshops. 

Participants should come dressed in comfortable clothes.

Please visit our website for more news and updates! If you have any questions, please contact us at adt-exec@mit.edu.

Sponsor(s): Asian Dance Team
Contact: Ruobing Lu, 281-832-5316, RBINGLU@MIT.EDU


ADT Workshop Session I: Coming Spring

Jan/19 Sat 03:00PM-04:00PM McCormick Dance Stud

We will be teaching a segment of Coming Spring ¿¿, a traditional Chinese handkerchief dance, as well as some simple handkerchief technique. Props will be provided.

Jocelyn Lu


ADT Workshop Session II: Lucifer

Jan/26 Sat 03:00PM-04:00PM McCormick Dance Stud

We will be teaching a Korean hiphop piece, Lucifer, by the popular band ShinEE.

Kris Shin


MIT Ballroom Dance IAP Workshops

Allison Chang, Emily Chang, Amy Gao, Christopher Au

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions
Fee: $5.00 for funding events (MIT students free, other students/affils $3)

Beginner lessons for four different ballroom dances. No experience or partner necessary. Lesson 7:30-8:30pm, Optional practice 8:30-9pm

Sponsor(s): Ballroom Dance Club, Ballroom Dance Team
Contact: Christopher Au, bdc-info@mit.edu


Waltz

Jan/07 Mon 07:30PM-09:00PM W20 - Lobdell

Beginner lesson in American Waltz.

Allison Chang, Emily Chang, Amy Gao, Christopher Au


Swing

Jan/14 Mon 07:30PM-09:00PM W20 - Lobdell

Beginner lesson in East Coast Swing.

Amy Gao, Allison Chang, Emily Chang, Christopher Au


Merengue

Jan/21 Mon 07:30PM-09:00PM W20 - Lobdell

Beginner lesson in Merengue.

Emily Chang, Allison Chang, Amy Gao, Christopher Au


Cha-Cha

Jan/28 Mon 07:30PM-09:00PM W20 - Lobdell

Beginner lesson in International Cha-Cha.

Allison Chang, Amy Gao, Emily Chang, Christopher Au


Musical and Mathematical Design of Square Dance Singing Calls

Guy L. Steele Jr., MIT PhD '80

Jan/23 Wed 01:00PM-02:30PM 34-101

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Square dancing in the modern style is an interesting mixture of physical movement and mental activity as dancers react in real time to whatever the square dance caller asks them to do from moment to moment. There are mental challenges for the caller, too, to take a popular song you might know—but never think of as a square-dance song—and weave the names of square dance calls into the lyrics so that it all flows and times out properly, both musically and choreographically.  Concepts from computer science as well as musicology are helpful in organizing solutions to this multidimensional optimization problem.

This talk will demonstrate a variety of singing calls with live dancers and discuss how such songs can be put together so as to keep the dancers moving while also "telling the story." It will also introduce and demonstrate the "language" of square dancing, and consider it as a kind of programming language for dance movement.

 

Guy L. Steele Jr. (MIT PhD '80, ACM Fellow, IEEE Fellow, National Academy of Engineering) is the co-inventor (with MIT Prof. Gerald Jay Sussman) of the Scheme programming language and wrote the first Scheme compiler.  He is a co-author of books about C, Common Lisp, High Performance Fortran, and Java, as well as The Hacker's Dictionary (MIT Press). He designed the original EMACS command set and was the first person to port TeX. He currently leads the Programming Language Research Group at Oracle Labs.

 

Visit Tech Squares here, or at squares@mit.edu.

Sponsor(s): Tech Squares
Contact: Dennis Wilson, 812 345 4534, dennisw@mit.edu


The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Abridged

Brian Remlinger, Lillian McKinley

Feb/01 Fri 08:00PM-10:00PM W16-030

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Description:
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged is a hilarious play created by the Reduced Shakespeare Company. It parodies all of the old playwright's 37 plays in 90 minutes of high-speed over-the-top hilarity. Come see the MIT Shakespeare Ensemble perform their rendition of the show! Knowlege about Shakespeare's works is not at all necessary. Admission is free.

Peformance Dates:
8pm, Febraury 1st
2pm, Febraury 2nd
8pm, February 2nd

Location: Rehearsal Room B in Kresge (W16-030)

Sponsor(s): Shakespeare Ensemble
Contact: Shakespeare Ensemble, ensemble-request@mit.edu