Join us for a special Contemporary Modern Master Class with Brett Garfinkel! Class starts with floor work based on principles from Laban following a contraction series from Graham. Other influences are pulled from the Cunningham technique. Class focuses on alignment; head and tail connection, shifting of weight, change of direction, moving sequentially through the body, balancing in off balance positions, utilizing inversions and being upside down on the hands. The phrase work encompasses all of the above as well as performance choices, musicality and expression. About Brett: Brett Alan Garfinkel is a native of Long Island, New York. Brett graduated magna cum laude from Adelphi University with a BFA in Dance. During his undergraduate studies, Brett performed works by Aszure Barton, David Parsons, Leda Meredith, Tracy Kofford, Sharon Wong, Aylene Liberona, Rebecca Kelly, Chung-Fu Chang, Oliver Daehler, Nick Seligson Ross, Janis Brenner, Trebien Pollard and August Bournonville restaged by Frank Augustyn. He was an associate choreographer for the LMproject from 2007-2010 and hosted The International Children’s Festival at Wolftrap in Washington, DC. Brett was a scholarship student with Jennifer Muller/The Works from 2007-2010. He was the rehearsal assistant to Leda Meredith for Wong Dance and Stockton College. Brett was also a guest choreographer at Jericho Senior High School’s dance performance, Choreo, from 2004-2011. He also performed works by Donald McKayle, Danny Grossman and Roger Jeffrey at Skidmore College during the New York State Summer School of the Arts. In 2009, Brett finished a 5-week residency with Lucinda Childs at Bard College restaging and performing DANCE, a 1979 collaboration between Philip Glass, Sol LeWitt & Lucinda Childs, at The Fisher Center for the Performing Arts. DANCE then toured to Martha’s Vineyard, Williams College, University of Florida, The Joyce, NYC and The Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. From 2008-2012 Brett was a member of BODYART Dance Company and joined the production team in 2011. He was a Production Assistant for the show Anatomy of Lost and a Production Manager for the dance film After the Final Curtain with BODYART. Also with BODYART Brett has had the opportunity to perform at Bass Hall in Fort Worth, TX in 2010 and be apart of numerous underwater photo shoots with photographer Chris Crumley, one took place on the Turks & Caicos Islands. He has also toured and performed with Vissi Dance Theater to Sardinia, Italy as well as Flexicurve, Hydroflo, Naganuma Dance, Genesis Dance Company and Mary Seidman & Dancers in NYC. Brett performed with the Paris Opera Ballet at Lincoln Center in their production of Giselle as well as performing with John J. Zullo/Raw Movement for the HOT Festival at The Dixon Place in NYC in the summer of 2013. He graduated summa cum laude from Purchase College, SUNY with an MFA in Dance Performance & Teaching. During his graduate studies at Purchase, Brett taught Intro to Modern Dance for non-majors for a year and had performed works by Anna Sokolow, Nathan Trice, Merce Cunningham, Patrick Corbin, Seán Curran, Daniel Nagrin, Jennifer Muller and José Limón. In summer of 2014 Brett was the Production Assistant for a photo shoot with Chris Crumley & BODYART at Coe Hall at the Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay, NY as well as the Production Manager & Stage Manager for BODYART Dance Company’s season of Thread performed at the Irondale Center in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Brett is a certified GYROKINESIS® trainer and received the Caroline Nehouse Grant from Career Transitions for Dancers to help pay for the certification. Brett is currently an Assistant Professor at Northwestern State University. More Info below.