August Menagerie - Featuring Mini Workshop with Fen!

Darling dancers! We have a special extended Menagerie this month, with workshops in the afternoon starting at 3 PM, and capping off the evening with our usual dance going to 1 AM and beyond! We're delighted to welcome Fen Kennedy to Menagerie! They will be teaching classes for us in the afternoon and immediately before the dance. And after the lessons, prepare for sets DJed by Fen Kennedy and Orlando's DJ Volter/Kyle Killough! These classes are recommended for people with some partner dance experience who want to add playful and creative elements to their Fusion dancing. EVENT SCHEDULE: 3:00 to 4:00 PM: Myth-busting Contact Improv Contact improv is the octopus dance. Nope. Contact improv is rolling on the floor. Sometimes. Contact improv is allllllll up in another person’s business. Only if you all want it to be. Contact improv is a dance form developed during the 1960s that includes a whole range of techniques for encountering the music, the dance floor, and (optionally) other people. In this 101-class we’ll look at some of the most useful of those techniques, and how they can be used within the framework of a partnered or solo fusion dance. 4:15 to 5:15 PM: Contact Improv – Lofted and Loaded Many of the techniques of contact improv deal with exchanging and sharing weight, and those techniques rely on stance and physics rather than size and strength. In this class we’ll explore those techniques within a fusion framework, and as dance forms of their own. (note: For this class, participants should be able to lead or follow directed movement and changes of connection, and be comfortable giving at least 30% of their weight to another person with an instructor’s support.) 5:30 to 7:30 PM: Dinner break! 7:30 to 8:30 PM: Styling for Geeks Isolations, arm patterns, facial expressions, gender norms, trying to be cool… styling your dancing can be a challenge, even when you’re really experienced at moving your body in other ways. I believe that styling can be practical, logical, and learned, even if it doesn’t come naturally, and in this class, I’ll share some of my favorite tricks with you. 8:30 to 9 PM: Quickbooting Your Fusion Connection with Elizabeth Coke This class is recommended for people with limited to no partner dance experience, or for folks who just want to review and refine their fundamentals. We'll get you connected to your partner and the music and ready to join us on the social floor! 9 PM to 1 AM or beyond: Dancing with special guest DJs Fen Kennedy and Kyle Killough, along with Menagerie's own Pierce Collins and Elizabeth Coke LOCATION: 5522 New Peachtree Road, Suite 103, Chamblee, GA 30341 COVID POLICY: Proof of receiving vaccination is required, as well as either (a) proof of receiving a booster shot, or (b) taking a COVID test at the event with a negative result. We have a supply of rapid tests to provide at the event available for $12. MEDICAL EXEMPTIONS: If you are unable to vaccinate due to medical reasons, please reach out to us to discuss the matter. PRICING: Our pricing is a pay-what-you-can model. Think of it as Benefactor/General Admission/Discounted Rate: $55/$40/$25: Full admission to afternoon workshops, evening lesson, and dance $15/$12/$10: Evening lesson and dance $10/$8/$5: Dance only DJS: 9-10: Fen Kennedy 10-11: Pierce Collins 11-12: DJ Volter (Kyle Killough) 12-1: Elizabeth Coke After hours: ??? You can purchase tickets on eventbrite at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mini-workshop-with-fen-kennedy-tickets-674382093997?aff=oddtdtcreator