You can dance if you want to.
Famed contemporary dance company the Mark Morris Dance Group is performing a series of shows at the Brooklyn Academy of Music next month, but the choreography isn’t just for professional rug-cutters. The Fort Greene troupe is also offering free dance lessons where regular Brooklynites can learn some of the moves from the shows themselves.
The program, dubbed “Learn the Works, See the Works,” is intended to help the local community engage with the dance group, a company representative said. Plus, it is just a good time for participants and performers alike, she said.
“We do it because it is fun,” said Nancy Umanoff, the group’s executive director. “One of the things that Mark Morris Dance Group is committed to is providing access to the arts for everyone and this is a way to get people in to learn and to show them some entertainment for less.”
The classes are open to all ages and experience levels, and it is not unusual to see grandparents grooving next to preschoolers, Umanoff said. The dance group has been teaching the classes once a month for years, and between 20 and 50 boogie enthusiasts usually show up to the company’s cavernous James and Martha Duffy Performance Space, which is the largest column-free space in the borough.
The next “Learn the Works, See the Works” class will be on March 21. Dancers Chelsea Acree and Sam Black will teach the students steps from the Mark Morris original “Spring Spring Spring,” a 2-year-old piece that the company will perform at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on April 23, 25, and 26. And everyone who participates gets a coupon for $10 off to see an upcoming Mark Morris show.
“All anyone has to do is show up,” said Umanoff.
“Learn the Works, See the Works” at the Mark Morris Dance Group headquarters [3 Lafayette Ave. between Rockwell and Ashland places in Fort Greene, (718) 624–8400, www.markm
