Martha Graham Instructors Teach BYU Students Contemporary Dance
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Out of the Blue

A Moving Class


A room of dancers, leaning to their sides.
Photo by Bradley Slade.

Sometimes words hinder communication. Virginie Mécène and Ari Mayzick (center), veterans of the world-renowned Martha Graham Dance Company, understand this, often teaching with movement only; here, Mayzick supports Mécène as she leans sideways, yearning outward while remaining rooted the ground. Their communication is made of movements and facial expressions, no words necessary.

In July Mécène and Mayzick trained BYU students in the expressive Graham technique at a three-week contemporary dance master class. “It’s a really big deal,” says assistant dance professor Kori N. Wakamatsu (BA ’02). “[It’s] a once-in-a-career opportunity.”

Dancers practiced movement exercises on sunlit studio floors and learned performance pieces, including Graham’s own Dark Meadow Suite. “I absolutely loved the class,” says participant Lindsay G. M. Chinain (’20). “It does not matter how good of a dancer you are. You can always find a way to improve and deepen your movement.”