UPCOMING- FALL 2026
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NINE MOONS
A Community Rehearsal & Class & Performance Project September 17-19 Join award winning choreographer Vanessa Anspaugh for a nine-month creative process that is part class, part rehearsal, and part performance project Designed for performers, movers, choreographers, and curious beginners alike, this intimate ensemble experience offers a deep dive into collaborative dance-making. Rather than focusing on technique alone, participants explore choreographic process, creative research, improvisation, and performance, gaining insight into how and why a work is made.Together, the ensemble will develop a new evening-length performance that premieres in May 2027 in Northampton, then touring to a variety of nontraditional sites including galleries, barns, meadows, parking lots, and other public spaces.Seeking performers of all backgrounds and experience levels who bring curiosity, generosity, and a commitment to collaborative process.All bodies. All gender expressions. All ages welcome.Enrollment is limited to 10 participants. * INFO and PARTICIPATION FORM* MORE WITH VANESSA:
Morning Practice Thursday Mornings: 9-10:30am Inspired by CDP (Contemplative Dance Practice) with some variations that suit the group that is present. We will begin with silent personal warming-up followed by two rounds of alternating 10 minute silent meditation practice, followed by 10 minutes "authentic movement practice" (repeated again) ending with quite timed writing for those who wish to write. Location: The Whately Town Hall - 194 Chestnut Plain Road, Whately, MA 9/3, 9/10, 9/17, 9/24, 10/1, 10/15, 10/22, 10/29, 11/5, 11/12, 11/19, 12/3, 12/10, 12/17 * please email Vanessa if you would like to register- [email protected] - |
Sweaty Somatic Sunday Sangha
Sunday Afternoons: 4-5:30
A 6 Week Series with Vanessa Anspaugh
Did you dance in your past? Are you intimidated by dance classes now? Or maybe you never formally took class! This is a space where you can come, move, sweat, feel safe, nurtured in a consistent community container, and have a space where you can take a risk, be vulnerable and maybe have a FUN / CHILL WORK OUT!
REGISTRATION COMING SOON!
Sunday Afternoons: 4-5:30
A 6 Week Series with Vanessa Anspaugh
Did you dance in your past? Are you intimidated by dance classes now? Or maybe you never formally took class! This is a space where you can come, move, sweat, feel safe, nurtured in a consistent community container, and have a space where you can take a risk, be vulnerable and maybe have a FUN / CHILL WORK OUT!
REGISTRATION COMING SOON!
Hatchery and Young At Heart- photos by Peter Raper
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ACROSS THE GENERATIONS
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TOGETHER TOGATHER TOGETHER TOGETHER Friday November 20th- Saturday Nov 21st in the Workroom Theater at 33 Hawley st Northampton a 36-hour event organized around the question of what fortifies us as individuals and as overlapping communities in this time. Knowing that there is no one answer to this question and that there is always more to do to divest from systems of domination, we put faith in care and simple technologies of gathering with others around shared intention and attention. Perhaps in doing so we will nourish our hearts and connections and reveal some of the strategies most needed to keep going. In addition to performances, readings, a dance party fundraiser, and a gender expansive clothing swap, there will also be opportunities for facilitated rest, touch, movement practice, singing, and collaborative crafting. WORKSHOPS & PERFORMANCES & a DANCE RAVE! CURATION TEAM: Vanessa Anspaugh, Mara Poliak, hana van der kolk and Jen Polins ARTISTS: Vilde Chaya Fenster-Ehrlich, Kelsey Chapman, Simon Wolff, Hana van der Kolk, Melinda Buckwalter, Jen Polins, Mara Poliak, Eddy Levin, Ashley Shey, Jeffy O, Movement of the People Dance Company and MORE! |
*PAST EVENTS*
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little loco(motion)
A workshop with LOSLITTLEGUYS produced by SCDT at 33 Hawley st, Northampton MA August 21–22: 9:00 AM–12:00 PM in the dance studio August 23: 10:00 AM–1:00 PM in the Workroom In this workshop we will focus on components of physical research through the study of improvisation, floor techniques, and structured material in order to discover the complexities and range of our movement potential. We will work on how to exert energy efficiently using various surfaces of the body as mobilizers. We will place an emphasis on properties of physics to reduce strain on the body and increase expansiveness. We will end the practice by integrating set material into the structure of the workshop, we will make space for the active exploration of spatial consciousness, timing, rhythm, and dynamism. By offering difficult technical phrases we challenge the mind to record quickly and make choices of performativity. |
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presented in collaboration with SCDT and Wendy Woodson THOSE WHO WAIT A FILM BY Chani Bockwinkel and Ty Burdenski Saturday July 18, 6:30 PM in the Workroom Those Who Wait is a poetic retelling of the Millerite doomsday movement that swept across America in the 1840s. The film follows the town of Portland, Maine as its residents navigate waves of apocalyptic prophecy and disappointment. Mixing the genres of historical re-enactment and fantastic parable, this queer gaze into the colonial past explores the powers and perils of "believing it's over". WATCH THE TRAILER HERE! |
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SCDT presents
HUT performance X3 Movement | Words | Sound Saturday April 11th at 8 PM in the Workroom Movement: Cameron Childs Words: Mark Wunderlich Sound: Rebecca Schrader HUT is an exciting and innovative interdisciplinary performance series that has been running for 14 seasons. It is co-curated by movement artist Jennifer Polins, sound artist Jake Meginsky, and writer Catherine Corbett Bresner. The series showcases the work of three artists in each performance, featuring MOVEMENT, WORDS, and MUSIC from local and international artists who share a pursuit of experimental improvisation and an intention to push their forms forward. HUT draws diverse audiences who love music, writing and dance, offering varied communities a chance to sit together and experience performance styles they might not have appreciated before. By juxtaposing different artistic genres and emphasizing experimentation, HUT creates a unique space for building a new sense of public engagement and appreciation for the arts. image by Bill Nace 2024 |
JACOB'S PILLOW is BACK at SCDT!
EMBODIED INFO SESSIONS for
THE CURRICULUM IN MOTION INSTITUTE
Saturday April 11, 12-1:30 PM
at 33 Hawley street, in the WORKROOM
INFO:
These regional info-sessions are aimed at connecting with local artists, sharing in community-engaged, embodied movement work, and offering an opportunity for potential applicants to learn more about the Curriculum in Motion™ Institute.
The Institute is a 10-month career development program for emerging, mid-career, and seasoned choreographers seeking to strengthen their choreographic voice with a focus on community building. This initiative is part of our broader commitment to fostering a regional network of dance educators, artists, and community builders across the region and state. More information about the program can be found on our website.
EMBODIED INFO SESSIONS for
THE CURRICULUM IN MOTION INSTITUTE
Saturday April 11, 12-1:30 PM
at 33 Hawley street, in the WORKROOM
INFO:
These regional info-sessions are aimed at connecting with local artists, sharing in community-engaged, embodied movement work, and offering an opportunity for potential applicants to learn more about the Curriculum in Motion™ Institute.
The Institute is a 10-month career development program for emerging, mid-career, and seasoned choreographers seeking to strengthen their choreographic voice with a focus on community building. This initiative is part of our broader commitment to fostering a regional network of dance educators, artists, and community builders across the region and state. More information about the program can be found on our website.
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SCDT ARTS NIGHT OUT
DANCE SAMPLER- FREE CLASSES! Friday March 13, in the WORKROOM Join us for FREE mini-classes that give you a taste of our movement programs. No Registration required, just come on down! No dance experience is needed — Just come as you are, ready to move, explore, and have fun 5-5:15 Creative Moves ( ages 3-5 ) 5:15-5:30 Youth Technique ( ages 6-12 ) 5:30-5:45 Dance Making ( ages 6-12 ) 5:45-6 Hatchery Young Artist Program ( ages 13-18 ) 6-6:16 Contemporary Ballet ( ages 13 and up) 6:15-6:30 Contemporary Modern ( ages 13 and up) 6:30-8 OPEN TUNING IN THE WORKROOM what is tuning: The Tuning Scores were created by dance-maker Lisa Nelson who has been “exploring the role of the senses in the performance and observation of movement since the ’70s” Tuning is a collection of practices that research real time editing, composition and performance that are a performance in themselves. Tuning offers tools and frameworks for communication and a model of collaboration that is constructed by the players in the act of doing. These explorations give insight into performance and dance-making processes, cross disciplinary lines, and invite people of all ages and abilities to participate in the questions they provoke. |
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WIP GUEST ARTIST CLASS: Movement for Embodied Inquiry with Madison McGain (WIP Spring 2026 Artist) Saturday March 14 12-1:30pm The Workroom, 33 Hawley ST About Class: Movement for Embodied Inquiry: Finding momentum and efficiency in movement, and the interplay between tension and softness, this workshop offers different entry points to explore dynamic and texture. The class opens with an improvisational warm-up, moving through planes, offering space to tap into the individual artistic voice. Slowly, more structure and textures are introduced, culminating in a center phrase. We will focus on finding ease within effort, internal awareness, and translating sensation into dynamic movement vocabulary. |
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WIP works in progress Sunday March 15, 2026 at 4pm in The Workroom Theater WIP ARTISTS: Doron Perk Sarah Ana Malone Colby Connelly Madison McGain Celine Bassman Mira Göksel About WIP: The School for Contemporary Dance and Thought presents WIP (works-in-progress), a performance series that showcases developing movement-based works. WIP values sharing research and experimentation, rather than presenting finished works, and welcomes applications from emerging and established artists. The curatorial team choosing WIP choreographers is composed of fellow dance artists that have presented at WIP and SCDT board members. We are looking to create performances showcasing a diverse range of established and emerging artists, as well as those local to the Pioneer Valley and beyond. The curatorial team aims to create a program comprised of artists both local and national. |
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SCDT SPACE RESIDENCY
Please apply by March 20, 2026, 11:59pm EST. FREE Rehearsal Space in the Workroom at 33 Hawley St., Northampton, MA from June 8-12, 2026. Space is open from 9am-3pm for your rehearsal time. Opportunities for community engagement via workshop, lecture, or performance on a return trip, Fall 2026 (exact dates TBD between SCDT and chosen applicant). Please note: this is a space residency, there is no monetary compensation and housing is not included. |
