Register Now for the Inaugural Marietta College Summer Dance Intensive!
The Theatre and Dance Department at Marietta College is excited to announce our newest program, The Marietta College Summer Dance Intensive, which takes place from Thursday, July 27th, through Sunday, July 30th! This three-and-a-half-day immersive experience has been designed for dancers with one or more years of intermediate to advanced studio training. We're looking for people who are creative, curious, and love to dance! High school students in grades 9-12, college students, and adult dancers are all welcome.
Located in picturesque Marietta, Ohio, we're inviting dancers aged 14 - adult to join us for an immersive weekend of master classes and workshops that will take your dance training and education to the next level. There is an overnight registration option for dancers that wish to stay in a Marietta College Residence Hall and dine on campus and a registration option for dancers who want to attend on a daytime-only pass. Observation passes for parents and chaperones will be available for purchase throughout the weekend and are limited access to workshops and master classes.
Whether you're a student visiting colleges and exploring dance programs or looking to get back in shape before the fall dance season begins, the Marietta College Summer Dance Intensive will leave dancers rejuvenated and inspired. Guest instructors from across the country will join Marietta College Dance Faculty to offer classes in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, and Modern. In addition to the master classes in dance, specialists from the healthcare industry will offer workshops and discussions on important topics from the emerging world of performing arts medicine.
Participants will have the opportunity to study with industry professionals while learning how to network and create new connections with dancers from across the region.
All Registration packages include:
- Welcome Packet
- 8 Master Classes
- 2 Workshops
- Networking Reception
- Program T-shirt
- Optional admission session and campus tour for participants and their families
Overnight Registration Package includes:
- The standard registration package +
- Three nights in a Marietta College Residence Hall (Thursday, Friday, Saturday)
- Eight Meals in Gilman Dining Hall
Dance Intensive Packages
Overnight Package
- Early-bird (through June 16) $425
- Standard Registration (June 17 – July 21) $475
Daytime-only Packages
- Early-bird (through June 16) $199
- Standard Registration (June 17 – July 21) $249
- Early-bird with Meal Plan (through June 16) $269
- Standard Registration with Meal Plan (June 17 – July 21) $319
Participants will be offered an opportunity to earn a badge in Dance Wellness and Performance for participation in the intensive.
Observation passes will be available for $20 at the check-in table on Thursday and Friday of the intensive.
2023 Instructors
Aurora E. Held-Dodd, Dance Department Head, Intensive Director and Musical Theatre/Jazz Instructor
Mid-Ohio Valley native Aurora Held-Dodd joined the theatre department as an adjunct professor in 2016, teaching theatre classes, expanding the dance program, and authoring the dance minor, which was launched in 2022. She serves as a director and choreographer for Marietta College Theatre department productions and performs annually in the Spring Dance Concert.
Aurora is a third-generation dance instructor who has been dancing since early childhood and teaching for more than twenty years. With extensive study and experience in Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Tap, Pointe, and Musical Theatre, Aurora holds a Master of Fine Arts from Ohio University. A Director, Choreographer, Stage Manager, Certified Yoga Instructor, and experienced educator, Aurora brings her love of the arts into the classroom and strives to make theatre and dance accessible to everyone, regardless of major or degree of experience.
Brian Palmer, Ballet and Modern Instructor
Brian Palmer, Professor of Dance and Chair of the Department of Dance, has been a professor at Jacksonville University since 2002. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from Radford University and graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in Dance from Florida State University, where he was the recipient of a Suzanne Farrell Fellowship. Mr. Palmer began his career as a professional ballet dancer, nine years with the Richmond Ballet and two years with the Suzanne Farrell Ballet sponsored by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Though now an educator he continues to perform annually with the First Coast Nutcracker in Jacksonville. His professional organization accomplishments include serving as a dance review panelist for Florida’s Division of Cultural Affairs and as Secretary and Board of Directors member for the National Association of Schools of Dance.
Matt Saffron, Tap Instructor
Matt Saffron is a native of Morgantown, WV, and has been dancing since the age of six. He has had extensive training in tap, jazz, and ballet. He won world honors performing in Germany as a member of the 2000 USA Tap Dance Team. Matt has been a featured dancer and dance captain in productions of Guys and Dolls, Will Rogers Follies, Oklahoma, 42nd Street, Mame, Beauty and the Beast, Thoroughly Modern Millie and A Chorus Line. In Montreal, he performed as an original member of Tap’d Out in their premier show. Matt joined the cast of Tap Dogs for their 10th-anniversary tour and has since traveled the United States, Mexico, and most recently, South Africa as part of the cast for the past eight years. During his off time, Matt teaches and choreographs in the Morgantown, WV, Pittsburgh, PA, and upstate NY areas.
Joe Taft, Yoga Instructor
Joe (E-RYT500 and YACEP) has been teaching yoga for two decades. He has spent thousands of hours on his mat as both the student and the yoga teacher, which is demonstrated in his acute attention to detail in creating a powerful theme-based class. Joe's classes strive to connect our human journey to the yogic principles of alignment. Joe spends hours each week creating a life-inspiring theme that is present in every part of the class sequence and aspect of each pose and its action. His classes are unique to Joe's style of weaving together clear and careful instruction with a fun and flowing synthesis of building balanced strength, core stability, flexibility, and breathwork. His students have a deep appreciation for his therapeutic insights and eye for correcting postural habits and helping them become pain-free. Joe takes pride in creating a funky musical playlist that compliments his class themes. His playful disposition, sense of humor, and vast array of experience create a warm and safe classroom environment. Students leave his classes feeling uplifted and inspired.
Important Dates
- April 17, 2023 - Registration opens
- June 16, 2023 - Last Day for Early-bird pricing
- July 21, 2023 - Registration Closes
- Thursday, July 27th – Afternoon Check-in / Evening Welcome Reception
- Friday, July 28th - Check-in, Full Day of Classes and Events
- Saturday, July 29th - Full Day of Classes and Events
- Sunday, July 30th – Morning Master Classes and farewell reception. Optional afternoon campus tour and admissions session
Example Intensive Schedule
- 8:30 a.m. - Master Class or Workshop
- 10:30 a.m. - Master Class or Workshop
- 12:00 p.m. - Lunch
- 1:30 p.m. - Workshop or Panel Discussion
- 3:30 p.m. - Master Class
- 5:00 p.m. - Dinner
- 7:00 p.m. - Q&A Panel or Social Event
For more information about the Marietta Summer Dance Intensive, please contact, Aurora Held-Dodd at aeh003@marietta.edu