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Programs & Registration

Adult Program & Classes

Our Adult program offers classes that are a respite and rejuvenation for the body, mind, and creative spirit. Classes include Keeping on Dancing: Modern for 40+, Exercise and Dance, Pilates Mat, Advanced Modern for Teens and Adults, and BrainDance for Mobility and Balance. The Adult program offers:

  • classes that encourage and emphasize kinesthetic awareness, body-mind integration, stress reduction, flexibility, core support, and fun
  • classes for novice and less experienced dancers as well as the experienced adult dancer who wants to be challenged
  • more complex explorations of the dance concepts as they apply to dance technique and all areas of life
  • a safe and welcoming environment

We always have the ability to remodel our brains. To change the wiring in one skill you must engage in some activity that is unfamiliar, novel to you but related to that skill, because simply repeating the same activity only maintains already established connections.
~John J. Ratey, M.D.

 

Class Card

Age adult

An 8 class card may be purchased and used for any adult class during the current session. Unused classes do not carry over to the next session. When purchasing card online, please use Comment box to note the primary class you will be attending. Adult classes are available as a drop-in for $15 per class.

Winter Session 2012: Class Card

Adult Class Card     Register
  • 8 Class Card Winter Session: Jan. 2-Mar. 24, 2012
  • Vacation Dates: no classes Jan. 30-Feb. 4 and Feb. 20-25, 2012
  • Visiting Weeks: April 2-7 and June 5-11
  • Cost: $115

BrainDance for Mobility and Balance

Age adult

This class is recommended for people with Parkinson's Disease, MS, and mobility and balance issues associated with disabilities, injuries, and aging.

Neuroscience research is supporting what movement educators have known for a long time – mental stimulation and physical exercise improve brain function and can protect against cognitive and physical decline. This class will build movement confidence and improve balance of mind and body.  

  • BrainDance exercises promote reorganization of the neurological system
  • Improvisational movement supported by violinist Eric Chappelle leads to joyful self expression
  • The interplay of sharing stories with movement builds community and allows the voice of the individual and the group to be heard

We will take the movement concepts of creative dance and mix them into a fun and playful exploration of all ways we can connect, interact, and express. No dance experience necessary.

  • Winter Session: Thursdays, Jan. 12 – Feb. 16, 2012
  • Time: 2:30-3:45
  • Fee: $10.00 per class or pay as you can, caregiver/aid free. Drop-in attendance welcomed.
  • Contact us with questions. To register, call (206) 363-7281

Teachers:
Ingrid Hurlen recently completed the Dance for PD training in Brooklyn, New York. She has been teaching creative dance for all ages since 1987. Ingrid has a BA in Theater from Lone Mountain College in San Francisco. She has trained with Anne Green Gilbert in numerous Summer Dance Institutes for Teachers. She is a Certified InterPlay facilitator, helping build community through movement, story, and song.

Anne Green Gilbert is the Founder and Artistic Director of Creative Dance Center and Kaleidoscope Dance Company (1981). She developed the BrainDance, an exercise used in studios, schools, and therapeutic settings here and abroad, in 2000. She has been teaching dance to all ages and abilities for over 40 years.

Eric Chappelle, published composer and virtuoso violinist, will accompany classes. Whether creating live performances on the electric violin, composing for choreographers or designing sound and music for theater he produces compelling and multifaceted gems of sound and music.

Pilates Mat

Age adult

Incorporating BrainDance with Pilates makes this a perfect workout for all walks of life. Working from the inside out, Pilates focuses on breathing, body-awareness, and core strength which are essential for maintaining posture, balance, functional movement, and a healthy, pliable body.

Clothing
Dance or exercise clothes, bare feet, athletic or dance sneakers are fine if you have an injury.

 

Winter Session 2012: Pilates Class Schedule

Tuesday 6:20 – 7:20 Rebecca Schroeder Upper Studio Register
  • 10 Week Winter Session: Jan.2-March 24, 2012
  • Vacation Dates: no classes Jan. 30-Feb. 4 and Feb. 20-26, 2012
  • Visiting Weeks: April 2-7 and June 5-11
  • Cost: $130

Exercise and Dance

Age adult

Experience improved alignment, body integration, and range of motion as you work from the inner core. Exercises build strength that comes from within. Dance allows the body full and creative expression through space. Realize the joy of working with your body in a supportive environment as you improve functional and expressive movement.

Clothing
Dance or exercise clothes, bare feet, athletic or dance sneakers are fine if you have an injury.

Winter Session 2012: Exercise and Dance Class Schedule

Monday 9:30 – 11:00 Gail Heilbron Upper Studio Register
  • 10 Week Winter Session: Jan.2-March 24, 2012
  • Vacation Dates: no classes Jan. 30-Feb. 4 and Feb. 20-26, 2012
  • Visiting Weeks: April 2-7 and June 5-11
  • Cost: $140

Keeping on Dancing: Modern for 40+

Age adult

Includes BrainDance, floor & center work, technique, movement combinations, folk dances, improvisation, and choreography. Fun and Fitness for your fourth decade & beyond! Live accompaniment.

Clothing
Dance or exercise clothes, bare feet, athletic or dance sneakers are fine if you have an injury.

Winter Session 2012: Keeping on Dancing Class Schedule

Wednesday 6:45 – 8:15 Anne Green Gilbert Upper Studio Register
  • 10 Week Winter Session: Jan.2-March 24, 2012
  • Vacation Dates: no classes Jan. 30-Feb. 4 and Feb. 20-26, 2012
  • Visiting Weeks: April 2-7 and June 5-11
  • Cost: $140

Modern V for Teens and Adults (advanced)

Ages 15 and up

Enrollment by instructor permission only-call (206) 363-7281. This is a challenging, advanced level class incorporating a variety of modern dance styles, emphasizing technical mastery balanced with improvisation and choreography.

Clothing
Girls: dance clothes such as leotards, footless tights, dance shorts, t-shirts, leggings, stretch pants, bare feet, hair should be pulled back from the face.
Boys: sweat pants/shorts, t-shirts, bare feet.
Adults: Dance or exercise clothes, bare feet.

Winter/Spring Session 2012: Modern V Class Schedule

Monday 5:00 – 7:00 Anna Mansbridge Lower Studio Register
  • 16 week Winter/Spring Session: Feb. 6-Jun. 11, 2012
  • Vacation Dates: Feb. 20-26, Apr. 16-22, May 28
  • Visiting Weeks: April 2-7 and June 5-11
  • Cost: $260

Fall/Winter Session 2011-2012: Modern V Class Schedule

Monday 5:00 – 6:45 Anna Mansbridge Lower Studio Register
  • 16 week Fall/Winter Session: Sept. 12, 2011-Jan. 28, 2012
  • Vacation Dates: Nov. 21-26, Dec. 12, 2011-Jan. 1, 2012
  • Visiting Weeks: Oct. 24-29, 2011 and Jan. 23-28, 2012
  • Cost: $240

Creative Dance Center
Educator/Community Workshops 2011-2012

Calling all educators, dance teachers, teaching artists, early childhood specialists, OTs, PTs, and parents. Join us at the Creative Dance Center as we learn, laugh, discover, and dance. 5% discount given for multiple participant registrations or when one participant registers for more than one workshop. Clock hours available for all workshops except The Art of Falling: Feldenkrais® Awareness Through Movement®. To receive clock hours please notify CDC three weeks prior to the workshop date. Workshops are held at the Creative Dance Center in our beautiful, open, ADA accessible studio space.

Movement integrates and anchors new information and experience into our neural networks. Movement is vital to all the actions by which we embody and express our learning, our understanding and ourselves.
~Carla Hannaford, Ph.D.

 

The Art of Falling: Feldenkrais® Awareness Through Movement®
Sept. 25, 2011
1-4pm  $65
Bridget Thompson, Guild Certified Feldenkrais® Practitioner

When do you fall? How do you feel about falling? Is falling related to failing? Remember rolling down a hillside as a child? Discover some answers and many more questions in this Feldenkrais(R) Awareness Through Movement(R) workshop where you will learn to recapture the joy and freedom of falling.
Moshe Feldenkrais was one of the first Europeans to get a black belt in Judo and as a martial artist, spent a great deal of his younger life falling, and falling and getting up again! Martial artists continually work at falling, making it easier, more comfortable, faster, and as a result developing resilience and spontaneity. We will also experiment with some aikido concepts and techniques, looking closely at falling and recovering. Has your ability to fall atrophied over the years? Do you fear and avoid falling? How does falling relate to your sense of safety or taking risks? How can a clearer understanding of falling increase your self confidence and give you the means to live with greater freedom? Come fall a bit – rest assured no demands will be placed on you that are beyond your abilities. No experience necessary! Discover the art of falling!

Bridget Thompson, Guild Certified Feldenkrais® Practitioner and director of m’illumino, draws on her experience as a professional dancer, and her practice of yoga, aikido, zazen (zen meditation), midwifery and the Feldenkrais Method®. For over 30 years she has studied what it means to learn and heal, teaching people of all ages in Africa, Europe and North America. Her emphasis, interest and passion are in the illumination of Self, and the expression of Spirit through the individual – but really she is simply compelled to MOVE and loves to find the most graceful, natural and effective way of doing just that.
Bridget teaches Feldenkrais® and Yoga, Feldenkrais®: Anatomy of Grace, and Water Sense at m'illumino and also sees clients individually for Feldenkrais Functional Integration® both on the table and in the aquatherapy pool. She helps people develop their awareness and a clearer sense of themselves so that they experience less pain, more grace and an enriched quality of life.She also works with dancers and athletes to improve performance and achieve excellence. In July 2011 she taught the first of a series of workshops called the 'Joy of Being' which combines Feldenkrais, aikido, and dance. The next in the series is in October 2011.
www.m-illumino.com

Sunday, Sept. 25 1:00 -4:00 Bridget Thompson Upper Studio Completed

 

BrainDance: Birth to 5-years Foundation for Learning
Oct. 23, 2011
1-4pm $65
Terry Goetz
Clock hours available. Participants wanting clock hours must bring $10 check made out to PSESD on day of workshop.

Come learn about the important connections that movement, touch, and bonding have on the developing brains of infants and young children from birth to age five. The foundation for learning and school readiness is laid during these early years. Find out why tummy-time is crucial in the first year of life and why providing a rich, multi-sensory world for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers to explore supports optimal brain development. It is an empowering and joyful experience for caregivers, teachers, and parents to be actively engaged in the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development that happens during the first five years of life. The BrainDance is based on fundamental movement patterns infants move through in the first year of life and continue refining through early childhood. Learn how to create an environment in which infants and young children can move with ease through these patterns, becoming integrated, grounded, self-reliant movers and explorers ready for a lifetime of learning. We will cover BrainDances that can be done at home, in a childcare setting, in the classroom, and in dance studios. This workshop is a must for anyone interested in making sure that young children are given the opportunity to develop their full potential in the early years of life. Daycare providers, early childhood specialists, parents, caregivers, OTs, PTs, and dance teachers are all welcome.

Theresa Goetz is Director of Education and Outreach for the Creative Dance Center in Seattle, Washington. Terry has been on the faculty of the Creative Dance Center since 2000 and began training intensively with Anne Green Gilbert in 1997. Terry has taught in preschools, elementary classrooms, and dance studios throughout the Seattle area since retiring from Pacific Northwest Ballet in 1995. Prior to performing with PNB, she was a member of Pittsburgh Ballet Theater from 1986-1988. She presents to PEPS groups and Early Childhood specialists focusing on the importance of movement in the early years of life, and trains educators nationally and internationally in BrainDance and Brain-Compatible Dance Education. She serves on the team that is writing Grade Level Expectations for K-12 Dance in Washington State public schools. Terry is an active member of the National Dance Education Organization and is the Past-President of the Dance Educators Association of Washington.

Sunday, Oct. 23 1:00 – 4:00 Terry Goetz Upper Studio Completed

Moving in the Classroom
Nov. 20, 2011
1-4pm $65
Anne Green Gilbert
Clock hours available. Participants wanting clock hours must bring $10 check made out to PSESD on day of workshop.

Explore many successful ways to use movement as a tool to teach social skills and academic subjects including language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, art, and music. Movement is a necessity in today's classroom of kinesthetic learners, ESL students, and special populations. These activities will increase learning, cooperation, and creativity in your students and are a valuable assessment tool, producing visible and tangible outcomes. Education and neuroscience research on the body-brain connection supports the fact that movement is the key to learning! Moving in the Classroom is for the classroom teacher with little or no movement experience as well as health and fitness educators and dance specialists. You'll leave this workshop empowered to bring movement into your classroom allowing your students to experience complex problem solving and to develop skills as both leaders and followers. Dance specialists and teaching artists will learn new ways to integrate curriculum and dance. Come prepared to move and have fun!

Anne Green Gilbert started her teaching career as an elementary school teacher in Chicago where she first used movement to teach the academic curriculum. In 1981, Anne founded the Creative Dance Center, a school specializing in dance education for infants through adults and Kaleidoscope, a modern dance company of young people. Anne is the author of Teaching the Three Rs Through Movement (1977), Creative Dance for All Ages (1992), and Brain-Compatible Dance Education (2006). She has produced two DVD's, Teaching Creative Dance (2002) and BrainDance (2003). As a member of the Arts Education Standards project, she helped write the Washington State Dance Standards and Learning Goals. Anne has received a number of awards for her teaching and service to dance education including the prestigious American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Honor Award (1999) and the NDA Dance Scholar/Artist Award (2005). Anne directs the Summer Dance Institute for Teachers, now in its 16th year at the Creative Dance Center, and is in demand throughout the world for her fun, engaging, and transforming workshops.

Sunday, Nov. 20 1:00 – 4:00 Anne Green Gilbert Upper Studio Completed

BrainDance: Children to Teens
Integration and Coordination through Movement
Jan. 22, 2012
1-4pm $65
Terry Goetz
Clock hours available. Participants wanting clock hours must bring $10 check made out to PSESD on day of workshop.

Easy access to technology and media means that children and teens are spending a great deal of time not moving as they sit in front of computer, TV, video, and cell phone screens. Cutbacks in recess and PE time add to the lack of physical activity our children and teens are experiencing. Lack of exercise can impact health, weight, concentration, and cognition. Movement and exercise improve brain function, mood, and focus. The BrainDance is a unique movement tool that is more than exercise and can be tailored to children and teens of all ages and abilities. This workshop will take you through the eight developmental movement patterns humans move through in the first year of life that wire the central nervous system. Based on these fundamental movement patterns, the BrainDance can also strengthen interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences and promote social-emotional relationships. Benefits include improved alignment, connectivity, coordination and expressivity; brain oxygenation for clarity and focus; body-mind integration; and reorganization of the neurological system. Dance educators will learn how to incorporate the BrainDance into their teaching and how it can lead to deeper understanding of dance technique. Classroom educators will discover how easy it is to bring the BrainDance to students in any school setting. Participants will learn variations and ways to keep the BrainDance fresh, novel, and engaging. Don't miss this opportunity!

Theresa Goetz is Director of Education and Outreach for the Creative Dance Center in Seattle, Washington. Terry has been on the faculty of the Creative Dance Center since 2000 and began training intensively with Anne Green Gilbert in 1997. Terry has taught in preschools, elementary classrooms, and dance studios throughout the Seattle area since retiring from Pacific Northwest Ballet in 1995. Prior to performing with PNB, she was a member of Pittsburgh Ballet Theater from 1986-1988. She presents to PEPS groups and Early Childhood specialists focusing on the importance of movement in the early years of life, and trains educators nationally and internationally in BrainDance and Brain-Compatible Dance Education. She serves on the team that is writing Grade Level Expectations for K-12 Dance in Washington State public schools. Terry is an active member of the National Dance Education Organization and is the Past-President of the Dance Educators Association of Washington.

Sunday, Jan. 22 1:00 – 4:00 Terry Goetz Upper Studio Register

New! BrainDance Variations for All Ages
Feb. 12, 2012
1:00-4:00pm $65
Anne Green Gilbert
Clock hours available. Participants wanting clock hours must bring $10 check made out to PSESD on day of workshop.

For participants familiar with the BrainDance, this will be a chance to spice up and enliven your BrainDance repertoire! New and fun BrainDances will be shared. Learn BrainDances that disguise themselves as fast and easy folk dances. Find ways to use props in meaningful ways. Gain confidence in layering dance concepts into the BrainDance, opening up a world of endless possibilities and variations. Critical-thinking, problem solving, and social-emotional interaction will be in high gear as you discover how fun BrainDance "stations" can be. Prior experience with the BrainDance is beneficial as this workshop will not delve into the background and origin of the BrainDance in great detail. If you do not have a foundational understanding of the BrainDance, we recommend that you take the BrainDance: Birth to 5-years or BrainDance: Children to Teens workshop before attending this workshop. Since developing the BrainDance in 2000, Anne Green Gilbert has been expanding on the versatility and variety of this unique movement tool. Join Anne as she shares novel and engaging ways to keep the BrainDance fresh and fun!

Anne Green Gilbert started her teaching career as an elementary school teacher in Chicago where she first used movement to teach the academic curriculum. In 1981, Anne founded the Creative Dance Center, a school specializing in dance education for infants through adults and Kaleidoscope, a modern dance company of young people. Anne is the author of Teaching the Three Rs Through Movement (1977), Creative Dance for All Ages (1992), and Brain-Compatible Dance Education (2006). She has produced two DVD's, Teaching Creative Dance (2002) and BrainDance (2003). As a member of the Arts Education Standards project, she helped write the Washington State Dance Standards and Learning Goals. Anne has received a number of awards for her teaching and service to dance education including the prestigious American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Honor Award (1999) and the NDA Dance Scholar/Artist Award (2005). Anne directs the Summer Dance Institute for Teachers, now in its 16th year at the Creative Dance Center, and is in demand throughout the world for her fun, engaging, and transforming workshops.

Sunday, Feb. 12 1:00 – 4:00 Anne Green Gilbert Upper Studio Register

Teaching Dance, Fostering Creativity
March 18, 2012
1-4pm $65
Anna Mansbridge
Clock hours available. Participants wanting clock hours must bring $10 check made out to PSESD on day of workshop.

Creativity is a skill that can be taught and dance provides an unparalleled opportunity to develop and nurture this skill in our students. Whether you are a dance teacher or a classroom educator, it is critical that students develop skills and knowledge that will allow them the ability to succeed in an increasingly complex world. Creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving, and communication and collaboration are key skills needed for healthy, happy, and fulfilling lives. Anna Mansbridge will share specific tools and conceptual teaching methods you can use to encourage, support, and excite your students to reach their own creative potential. Anna will take participants through Anne Green Gilbert's successful five-part lesson plan and the brain-compatible principles that underpin it. Discover how incorporating these principles into your teaching can positively affect class management, creativity, behavior, learning, and focus. Gain confidence in how to combine the mastery of movement with the artistry of expression. Teaching dance is more than teaching steps, style, and technique. A quality dance education also includes exploration of dance concepts through improvisation, problem solving, reflection and recuperation, social and emotional connections with peers and adults, and dance composition. This workshop is tremendously beneficial for the studio dance teacher and the classroom educator, as well as those who want to provide a supportive environment for learning and change. Workshop will include discussion, sample class, and resources, giving you hands-on knowledge you can use with your students immediately!

Anna Mansbridge, is from the United Kingdom, where she studied dance for many years. She holds a First Class Honors Degree in Dance and Education from Bedford College, U.K. and an M.F.A. in Choreography and Performance from Mills College, California. She has been on faculty at the Creative Dance Center since 1999, where she teaches dance to people of all ages. Anna has created many pieces on Kaleidoscope, and is Rehearsal Director for the company. Anna is also the founder (in 2000) and Artistic Director of Seattle Early Dance, which specializes in recreating dances of the European courts from the 16th through 18th centuries. In addition, Anna choreographs and directs early opera. Her recent direction of Rappresentatione di Anima et di Corpo by Cavalieri (1600) received rave reviews, and she just choreographed her first combat scene for an mini-opera at On The Boards.

Sunday, March 18  1:00 – 4:00 Anna Mansbridge Upper Studio Register

 

  • 16 week Fall/Winter Session: Sept. 12-Jan. 28, 2011
  • Vacation Dates: Nov. 21-26, Dec. 12, 2011-Jan. 1, 2012
  • Visiting Weeks: Oct. 24-29, 2011 and Jan. 23-28, 2012
  • Cost: $240
    • 16 week Fall/Winter Session: Sept. 12-Jan. 28, 2011
    • Vacation Dates: Nov. 21-26, Dec. 12, 2011-Jan. 1, 2012
    • Visiting Weeks: Oct. 24-29, 2011 and Jan. 23-28, 2012
    • Cost: $240