Gretchen Erickson began her formal dance training in the pre-professional division at Louisiana Dance Theatre, performing at Regional Dance America Festivals, the Tanzsommer Festival in Austria and Germany, and Jazz Dance World Congress.  Additionally she trained with the Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and at the Joffery Ballet School in New York. She went on to study on scholarship in the BFA program at New World School of the Arts before dancing with Of Moving Colors Contemporary Dance Company. In 2014 she received a Leverhulme grant for further postgraduate study at Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London. As a member of Transitions Dance Company she performed and toured works throughout the UK and internationally by Bawren Tavaziva, Zoi Dimitriou, and Miguel Pereira. Gretchen is currently a company member of the Marigny Opera House Ballet.

Meryl Murman is a New Orleans-based interdisciplinary artist creating dance, film, and performance since 2004. Her work has been seen in NYC, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Cleveland, Bangor, and Austin. Internationally she has been blessed with the opportunity to create and collaborate with artists in Johannesburg South Africa. Recently, her dance film, le Pain, had its world premier at the St. Tropez International Film Festival in the south of France, and its UK premier at East End Film Festival in London. In New Orleans she co-founded Broken Wings Productions, a production company dedicated to creating dance film, and she is currently the recipient of a year-long choreographic residency at Dancing Grounds. Meryl received her BFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and her MFA in Choreography and Integrated Media at California Institute for the Arts. www.merylmurman.com &  www.lepainfilm.com

• Tuesday: Contemporary technique with Gretchen. A Limon-based technique class.
• Wednesday: Structured improv with Meryl. Students will explore new pathways into their bodies through play and problem-solving. Tools will be introduced for manipulating other bodies in space, including skills for ensemble building, improvisation, and compositional techniques through games and prompts. Students will learn introductory partnering skills based in contact improvisation and contemporary partnering techniques. Exercises will include building skills for releasing into the floor, shifting between soft and sharp focus, using gravity, dancing on the vertical as well as horizontal plane, weight sharing, and counterbalance. Students should come wearing layers for floor work and bare feet or socks.
• Thursday: Contemporary phrasework with Gretchen.

All classes from 10-1130am at Live Oak Dance (1128 Dublin St) in Riverbend. Drop-in rate is $12. Class cards are available in 10-class increments for $100.