This season, Amherst Ballet offers Hip Hop and Modern classes on Fridays taught by Dana Duren.
Dana is a teacher, choreographer, performer, and improviser based in Hadley, Massachusetts. Originally from Austin, TX, Dana attended Smith College, where she earned a B.A. in Dance and Anthropology. Since graduating in 2017, Dana has collaboratively choreographed and performed in experimental dance-theater works as a member of Venus Wheeler Dance Collective. She has performed original works at venues in Austin, Northampton, Boston, and NYC.
” I love choreographing and collaborating with other movers and musicians to create new types of performance that draw on elements of improvisation, contemporary dance, and theater,” says Dana.
Dana has taught contemporary, hip hop, and yoga in various settings, including after school programs and studios. She brings her passion for pedagogy to dance spaces, incorporating skills she’s learned working as special education teacher to enhance engagement and enjoyment for collaborators and students.
“In modern, I like to balance small gestures with more virtuosic falling, turning, and jumping. My modern practice is informed by years of post modern improvisation and ballet training. I am interested in drawing on these disciplines to create unique movement patterns that allow my students to experience joyful and vigorous dancing.
In hip hop, I like to teach the fundamentals of a range of styles, especially house, street jazz, dancehall and breaking. Though we often learn set choreography, I encourage my students to focus on feeling the music and expressing their personality through choice-making and improvisation.”
Modern: Friday 4:30-5:45 pm Session I Tuition (12 weeks) $175; Drop in Tuition $20/class
Hip Hop: Friday 6:00-7:00 pm Session I Tuition (12 weeks) $165; Drop in Tuition $20/class
Clicking the “Register” button will take you to our Parent Portal site. You’ll be required to make a free account if you don’t already have one. In the home page of the portal, click on “Register for Classes.”