OFA Dance Open Studios

In OFA Open Studios, students and community members are invited to observe the creative process and engage with the artists.

Open Studios

The OFA Dance Program hosts and supports professional artists at various stages of their creative process. Students and community members are invited to be in the room during in-process rehearsals, sharings of works-in-process, and research sessions as part of OFA Dance Open Studios. Each Open Studio may include Q&A, embodied participation, observation, and dialogue between the audience and artists. Through this feedback exchange, the community deepens their understanding while helping to shape the work.

All are welcome and encouraged to attend multiple Open Studios (read below for more details), as each one will be in a different stage of the process and engaging in different experimentations.

See below to learn more about the work, curricular connections, and upcoming OFA Dance Open Studios and Informal Showings!

Description for Crossfader

Crossfader is an evening-length choreographic work that explores and highlights the genius of freestyle dance, a Black innovated art form. Inspired by the signature format of the Stackin’ Stylez freestyle dance battle where dancers respond to creative prompts in real time, this work brings that same spirit of discovery to the stage by exploring how freestyle dance concepts can shape and inform a choreographed work.

Dancers in Crossfader will explore the articulation of four fundamental movement ideas– Bounce, Rock, Footwork, and Isolation– core building blocks across many freestyle traditions. They will additionally layer onto these foundations a series of concepts, or creative prompts, that challenge dancers to shift their timing, intention, texture, and approach. Through the layering and articulation by dancers representing different movement styles, audiences will gain insight into the science of freestyle dance: how dancers make choices, interpret rhythm, and express individuality through foundational techniques. Additionally, dancers will be challenged to deepen their own understanding of these concepts and make connections between shared lineages. Crossfader seeks to incorporate audience interaction, film, animation, and live projection-mapping for a high-energy immersive experience.

As a potential touring work, the vision is for a core cast of freestyle dance veterans and innovators from across the country to converge and work alongside a locally curated cast in each city, collaborating with local freestyle dance artists, events, music producers, and Illuminus, an experiential projection mapping organization. The goal of Crossfader is to invite audiences into the world of freestyle dance in and accessible, engage way, highlighting both its cultural roots and its innovative potential on stage.

Research Themes

Dance as a culture, language, and way of knowing specific to and reflective of place and time.
Deconstructing  intersectional and systemic hierarchies of power in dance creation, performance, evaluation, and institutions.
Freestyle dance and music as a form of resilience , liberation, and real-time movement research.
Exploring Black embodied narratives.
The global impact and influence of Black aesthetic/freestyle dance.

Research Questions

How do dance and art build community/community power?
What does it mean to bring “street dance” into theater and academic institutions; how does recontextualizing this lineage change its meaning?
What are the implications for codifying freestyle dance (e.g., Stackin’ Stylez Concepts)?
How can we reframe and preserve Black histories through freestyle dance collaboration?
How can the integration of film, animation, and motion capture expand and/or emphasize these themes?