Dunham Jazz Workshop with Candice Michelle Franklin

This 4-session workshop will explore Katherine Dunham's technique and aesthetic, influence, and contribution to the progression of Jazz dance. Dancers will look at vernacular Jazz and its roots, Dunham's movement vocabulary used in Jazz dance, and traditional modern Jazz motifs, and experiment with the three to ultimately create a concert Jazz movement piece. This high-energy workshop encourages fun and the freedom of expression through artistry, improvisation, and embellishment of choreography regardless of skill and dance experience. For each meeting, a classic Dunham warm-up will be given followed by lively, Dunham-inspired Jazz progressions and a creative rehearsal session.

Candice Michelle Franklin, Artistic Director/Choreographer/Dancer

Originally from St. Louis, MO, born and bred into Jazz dance and influenced greatly by the Jazz music scene, Candice Michelle Franklin is a New York-based professional dancer, choreographer, and producer who has been seen in numerous film, TV shows, music videos, industrials, and, of course, on the live stage performing in plays and dance companies. She has a B.A. in Fine Arts majoring in Dance on four-year scholarship, studied on scholarship at Steps on Broadway, trained in St. Louis at Missouri Concert Ballet, and, upon invitation to New York, received her conservatory training at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. She owns The Pro DANZ Group, Inc. in which she oversees the dance and creative direction of several performance groups, recording artists, industrials, and stage shows.

Her work has been performed in a host of New York venues including Jacob Javitz Convention Center, The Syracuse OnCenter, MTV/Viacom, Capitale, Odeum Expo Center, Broad Street Ballroom, The Kumble Theater, the National Black Theater, Symphony Space, Joyce SoHo, Brooklyn Academy of Music's BAM Cafe, Webster Hall, The SPACE at Westbury/Westbury Theater, Stage 48, the Oheka Castle, The Theater of Riverside Church, The Sage Theater, American Theater of Actors, Tribeca Performing Arts Center, John Jay College, and New York’s City College, as well as numerous casinos on the east coast such as Turning Stone, the Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun, Tropicana, Borgata, and Caesar’s.

Host or Publisher Cumbe: Center for African and Diaspora Dance