What is Jazz Funk? It’s amazing. That’s what it is. This class is an investigation into the relationship between hip hop, house, jazz technique, high physicality and musicality. I’m investigating the ways in which we can locate euphoria and pleasure within the moving body as we digest our place within current societal relations. How can we use dance as a vessel to achieve this? What is the place and importance of music and pop culture in this investigation? (We shall find out). This class focuses on the development of body awareness, artistic expression, movement quality and spatial awareness. Other focuses for the class include taking risks, building confidence, and using movement as a vehicle for stepping outside of our comfort zones :). Students will be able to build a diverse set of skills that will aid them in the future in all styles of movement through a jazz funk lens.

Jess Pretty is a New York based dance artist, choreographer and teacher. She received her MFA in Dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign with a Queer Studies minor. Pretty has performed in works by Will Rawls, Jennifer Monson, Niall Jones, Cynthia Oliver, Abby Zbikowski and more. She has presented work at panoply performance lab, the CURRENT SESSIONS, three ACDA conferences, the Emerging Artists Concert Series at Green Street Studios, and Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.

This residency is made possible through a Project Support Grant from the Arts Council of Indianapolis.