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Cara McManus
Graham Technique
Biography:
Cara holds a BA in Dance and Comparative Literature from Fordham University / the Ailey School and an MA in English Literature from CCNY. She danced with Graham II for two years and the Martha Graham Dance Company for four years, and now teaches at the Graham School. She currently performs with the Caterina Rago Dance Company, Tabula Rasa Dance Theater, and Lydia Johnson Dance. Previously, she also performed with the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, The Pantos Project, Joshua Beamish / MOVETHECOMPANY, and in Beau Bree Rhee's Shadow of the Sea commissioned by the Kitchen. She has taught Graham technique classes and master classes at schools and summer intensives throughout the Northeast, for all ages and levels.Class Description:
Cara's Graham class draws on her extensive experience studying under Graham masters at the Ailey School and the Graham School, such as Christine Dakin, Jacqulyn Buglisi, Denise Vale, and Peggy Lyman, as well as her experience rehearsing and performing with the Martha Graham Dance Company. The class starts with a traditional floorwork that centralizes the breath and the spiral, activating these processes through the use of vibrant imagery. We then continue through standing exercises that grow from spinal alignment and articulation, and end with combinations that weave together the fundamental elements of the technique into a dance. Particular attention is paid throughout to movement quality, and individual-based feedback is utilized heavily.