Dance Movement Workshop at Volcano Art Center

Dance instructor Karen Masaki. Photo by Ken Goodrich, courtesy of Volcano Art Center.

Volcano Art Center (VAC) will host a five-session series of dance classes starting on Tuesday, May 2, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the Niaulani Campus.

Dance instructor Karen Masaki will lead students through basic movement techniques, building strength and fluidity in the joints and spine to experience the joy of free movement.

Each one-and-a-half hour class will begin with a full-body warm up and shift into spine and joint movements, as well as breathing exercises. An improvisational dance segment will follow accompanied by music ranging from classical to rock. Masaki will provide cues and visualizations as a starting point to expand and explore improvisational movement. No dance experience is necessary.

Class dates are May 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30. Cost for a single class is $20/$15 VAC members or $50 for the entire series (paid in advance) for both VAC members and non-members. Register and learn more online, or call (808) 967-8222.

Masaki has spent her life immersed and surrounded by the arts, performing in dance companies in Philadelphia, New York and Honolulu. She has taught at private studios and community colleges on O‘ahu, and holds a Masters in Fine Arts degree in dance from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

A long-time Ashtanga Yoga practitioner and tea grower, Masaki has studied Limon technique with renowned teachers Betty Jones and Fritz Ludin, and ballet with Alain Haubert, director of American Ballet Theatre’s William Gillespie School at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in California.

The Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus is located at 19-4074 Old Volcano Road in Volcano Village.

Visit www.volcanoartcenter.org for more on informations on programming and classes.