Dance major Izzy Lefand received a Friends of Dance mini-grant to attend the staibdance Root Theory Winter Workshop in January 2026. Read on for a reflection of her experience.
Through an Emory Friends of Dance Mini-Grant, I was able to attend the staibdance Root Theory Winter Workshop over the January 2026 winter break.
The nature of Root Theory followed the exploration of movement and its rawness. Throughout the weekend, the classes explored an animalistic structure of movement. This was through learning material from staibdance’s between dog and wolf, which highlighted predator and prey relationships of movement. Many of the prompts involved being both the hunter and the hunted at different moments in the material.Since coming to college, I have made it a goal of mine to watch more dance in order to expand my own ideas of movement, so being able to watch others in a classroom setting formed this natural environment of learning and creativity. With several of the attendees being professional dancers in the industry, there was a new spin to the running of the classes. I am used to attending conventions, but most of them were in high school, with many attendees being high school students who are focused on only learning new material. For these workshops, we would learn combinations of movements in many different styles, but Root Theory, alternatively, was focused on fostering personal creativity.
Much of the material also had a focus on sound, and human reactions to moving. One class was an acting seminar to increase comfort in unusual facial expressions and gut reactions in sound. Personally, I have found sound in dance to be very effective when it is a genuine reaction, so during this class, I tried to implement a raw and realistic approach.
Outside of learning material, there were classes to promote individualized movement creation and partnership through contact improvisation. The creation of choreography is normally something I generate in my own space, so creating with others in the area with me formed a unified experience to create without judgment. With something like contact improvisation specifically, there is a level of vulnerability that is comforting in a space with unfamiliar people.
These practices opened my modes of creation and relieved some of the pressure around the art world. Everyone kept similar explorative aspects that made moving with each other a genuine and supportive experience.
Much of the material also had a focus on sound, and human reactions to moving. One class was an acting seminar to increase comfort in unusual facial expressions and gut reactions in sound. Personally, I have found sound in dance to be very effective when it is a genuine reaction, so during this class, I tried to implement a raw and realistic approach.
Outside of learning material, there were classes to promote individualized movement creation and partnership through contact improvisation. The creation of choreography is normally something I generate in my own space, so creating with others in the area with me formed a unified experience to create without judgment. With something like contact improvisation specifically, there is a level of vulnerability that is comforting in a space with unfamiliar people.
These practices opened my modes of creation and relieved some of the pressure around the art world. Everyone kept similar explorative aspects that made moving with each other a genuine and supportive experience.
Thank you for sharing this reflection Izzy! Click here to learn more about The Friends of Dance at Emory.
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