Class Descriptions
Subject to change
Classes at Muse will include a mixture of one and a half hour long leveled intensives and one hour long electives. The intensives will allow for deep dives into exciting topics, including expanding your creativity within idiom dances. The electives will allow you to explore broad topics and learn with participants of all levels, a core value of Muse.
Our class descriptions are below. We encourage you to look through them and self-select your desired classes in advance, the class lists will be posted at the front desk and on the classroom doors but we will not be printing copies for attendees to save paper. A reminder that if you wish to take classes at level 4 or 5 you must attend auditions first thing on Saturday morning in order to be placed in those levels and attend those intensives. If you self-identify with levels 1 to 3, you do not have to audition to take intensive classes in your level and can always choose to take classes leveled below your chosen level. See our leveling page for more details.
Classes by Schedule
Saturday
Library, German Society
More Dancing, More Fun
10:45 am - 11:45 am
Why do we social dance? Because it's fun! This class is about just that: how to have a fun dance with everyone, no matter the experience level. We'll give you technical tips, conceptual ideas, and mindsets to get the most out of every dance. No matter the song, no matter the partner, you'll have the tools to end the song with that happy feeling.
Dan Repsch and Laney Barhaugh
All Levels
Ballroom, German Society
Auditions
10:45 am - 11:45 am
Auditions for Level 4 and 5
Miscellaneous Teachers
Level 4 + 5
Library, German Society
The Battle
11:55 am - 12:55 pm
The Battle is a choreographed dance that you learn in class and then perform at midnight on Saturday! Learn the choreo in this class so you can strut your stuff on the floor.
Dan Repsch
All Levels
Ballroom, German Society
The Battle
11:55 am - 12:55 pm
The Battle is a choreographed dance that you learn in class and then perform at midnight on Saturday! Learn the choreo in this class so you can strut your stuff on the floor.
Julie Brown
All Levels
Upstairs Cabaret, Ruba Club
Steal That Move
11:55 am - 12:55 pm
We all want to get better at observational learning! In this class, we’ll work with you to develop the skill of watch and learn through a LOT of practice. After breaking you in with an intense no-breakdown “See, then do” session, we’ll answer questions in the end of class about specific movements and how you can get better at learning by watching and repeating.
Adam and Krystal Wilkerson
All Levels
Library, German Society
You Are Here
2:45 pm - 3:15 pm
This is a class about partnership, and we'll be taking it from the perspective of self awareness. The long format of this class will allow for thoughtful exploration of your own movement and how it relates to your partner and movement that you create together.
Mike and Dan Legenthal
Level 2 + 3
Ballroom, German Society
Maintain Your Voice
2:15 pm - 3:45 pm
This class will explore how to maintain your creativity and presence in the dance across partnerships and connection styles. It is essentially a class on where & how your voice shows up in partnership, and we'll talk about tricks for maintaining it across physical differences, skill differences, and philosophical(?) differences.
Kenneth Shipp and Laney Barhaugh
Level 3 + 4
Upstairs Cabaret, Ruba Club
Precision in Partnership
2:15 pm - 3:45 pm
Crafting a tight partnerships starts with your footsteps. In this class, we'll explore what it means to lead and follow precise foot placement and timing!
Adam and Krystal Wilkerson
Level 4+
Rathskeller, German Society
Groove Together
2:15 pm - 3:45 pm
In this class, we’ll learn how to build a relaxed connection that lets each partner express themselves and add their own stylings & variations while leading or following in blues.
Dan Repsch and Julie Brown
Level 2 + 3
Library, German Society
Leverage & Compression: Texas Shuffle & Piedmont
3:55 pm - 4:55 pm
Work on stretch & compression general technique; then use the technique in the different dances, differentiate the music & styles of the different dances (our goal will not be an intro to the styles, but to work on stretch & compression & get a little bit of music and idiom dance knowledge)
Kenneth Shipp and Julie Brown
Level 1 + 2
Ballroom, German Society
Juke Joint Jammin'
3:55 pm - 4:55 pm
Arkansas has been an underrated hotbed of blues talent, and this includes both musicians and dancers. We've poured over the documentaries, and come up with some of our favorite juke joint and drinkhouse movements, and we're excited to share them with you!
Mike and Dan Legenthal
Level 3 + 4
Upstairs Cabaret, Ruba Club
Master Class: Icy Hot
3:55 pm - 4:55 pm
At muse our master classes are catered to our attendees and topics will be solidified at the teacher summit.
Laney Barhaugh, Adam and Krystal Wilkerson
Level 5
Sunday
Library, German Society
Ass Back in Jazz
11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Eliminate the stiffness, create dynamic shapes, and maximize a relaxed, youthful feeling in your ballroom blues by focusing on a often neglected body part: the gluteus maximus. We’ll show you how to exert energy in a powerful way, that's necessary for the African American spirit and aesthetic of the dance.
Kenneth Shipp and Laney Barhaugh
Level 1 + 2
Ballroom, German Society
Flow
11:30 am - 1:00 pm
This class is going to be challenging. We're going from "when" and "where", and playing with acceleration and deceleration, with balance, with precision. Think Technique with a capital T! This class will help you find your flow-related weaknesses, and find ways to improve them. Come prepared to work hard, and to fail... and then to practice, and then to get better. Prereqs: Students in this class should already be very familiar with stretch and momentum, able to comfortably lead and follow complex passes and turns, and to have a strong sense of their own balance. If you're on the border for these pre-reqs but don't quite meet them, please bring a partner (or partners) rather than joining in rotation.
Mike and Dan Legenthal
Level 4 + 5
Upstairs Cabaret, Ruba Club
Independent Footwork and the Swirling Vortex
11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Using a series of uncommon and particular connection techniques, we'll create a context that opens the door for individual rhythmic expression amidst an ebb and flow of momentum.
Dan Repsch and Julie Brown
Level 2 + 3
Ballroom, German Society
Whose('s) Muse?
1:25 pm - 2:25 pm
Dr. Christy Jay Wells
Lunchtime Lecture
Library, German Society
Master Class: Choices
2:30 pm - 4:00 pm
At muse our master classes are catered to our attendees and topics will be solidified at the teacher summit.
Julie Brown, Kenneth Shipp, Mike and Dan Legenthal
Level 5
Ballroom, German Society
Variations and Composition in Close Embrace
2:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Close embrace is more than a hug. In this class, we'll work on texture variation, position changes, and partnership independence in close embrace to help you find your voice with your partner!
Adam and Krystal Wilkerson
Level 2 + 3
Upstairs Cabaret, Ruba Club
What's Cooler Than Being Cool?
2:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Come to this class ready to work and we’ll help you answer that question above. We will be drilling you to push your current understanding and range with your polyrhythms, your polycentric movements, and your spirit of cool.
Laney Barhaugh
Level 3 + 4
Rathskeller, German Society
Influencing and Responding
2:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Dancing is a two-way street, with both partners listening and adapting based on each other. In this class, we'll explore how follows can influence a dance on both macro and micro scales, and how leads might respond to that to alter the course of an idea. Let's create a dance built on the merged ideas of both partners!
Dan Repsch
Level 1 + 2
Library, German Society
Big Easy Blues
4:10 pm - 5:10 pm
Blues piano players out of New Orleans often combine latin rhythms with “busy” right hand work, leading to a sound that is rich and rolling. It’s more complex than a shuffle, but it can be immensely satisfying to dance to! Come get your boogie on to one of our favorite styles of music! Note that this music can be a little tricky, so this class requires a strong understanding of basic blues music and rhythm.
Mike and Dan Legenthal
All Levels
Ballroom, German Society
Composition: Flow and Transitions in Line of Dance
4:10 pm - 5:10 pm
How do you transition from one figure to another? How do you string them together to tell a cohesive story with the music? That's what composition is all about, and we want to help you find your flow in Line-of-Dance ballroomin'!
Adam and Krystal Wilkerson
All Levels
Upstairs Cabaret, Ruba Club
Integrated Body
4:10 pm - 5:10 pm
Isolation is awesome, but learning how movement in one part of your body affects another is just as useful and fun! We'll explore how movement and energy flow through your body, and give you the tools to create on your own.
Laney Barhaugh
All Levels