Movement | Becky Hill | Intermediate/Advanced | Period 2 | Week 3 (July 21-26, 2024)
This class will be a deep dive into the Appalachian percussive dance. We will learn footwork from legendary dancers, while exploring musicality, syncopation, and improvisation. We will focus on dancing the tune, and holding a solid groove. We will construct to deconstruct with the hopes that everyone will walk away with new tools and footwork vocabulary to use on the dance floor. This class will move quickly and is suggested for those looking to push themselves past basic footwork repertoire. Leather bottom shoes suggested.
About the Instructor
Becky Hill is a sought-after percussive dancer, Appalachian square dance caller, choreographer, and educator. Becky has worked with Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble, Rhythm in Shoes, Good Foot Dance Company, and studied with an array of percussive dance luminaries. Her choreography has been featured at Wheatland Music Festival, Jacob’s Pillow, and the Kennedy Center among others. She performs regularly with the T-Mart Rounders, Jesse Milnes, Chao Tian, Rui Fu, and Ben Nelson. She was a 2018 OneBeat Fellow, a 2021 Artist-in-Residence at Strathmore, a 2022 Artist-in-Residence at the John C.Campbell Folk School, and earned her MFA in Dance at University of Maryland College Park in 2022. Becky has done extensive research into Appalachian Dance alongside folklorist Gerry Milnes, where they co-created a documentary “Reel ‘Em Boys, Reel ‘Em” on West Virginia dance traditions and co-founded the Mountain Dance Trail of Augusta Heritage Center. As an avid organizer and teacher, Becky’s work is deeply rooted in the connections between music and community. She believes there is always more to learn and is dedicated to creative innovative choreography tethered to traditional music and dance. Learn more at www.rebeccahill.org.