Appalachian Flatfooting Workshop
For Movers of All Experience
Play folk music with your feet! Flatfooting is a solo form of improvised percussive dance originating in the Appalachian mountains of what some people call the United States, with sonic and gestural connections to West African, Indigenous, and Western European dance. Using the toe, heel, and ball of the foot to strike and slide across the floor, flatfooting articulates the rhythms of old time fiddle and banjo tunes. Wear comfortable clothes and smooth-soled supportive shoes with a low heel or no heel for this class.
Play folk music with your feet! Flatfooting is a solo form of improvised percussive dance originating in the Appalachian mountains of what some people call the United States, with sonic and gestural connections to West African, Indigenous, and Western European dance.
Wear comfortable clothes and smooth-soled supportive shoes with a low heel or no heel for this class.
Maryhouse 55 East 3rd StreetNew York, New York, 10003
2pm to 3:15pm
Join us for a day with Nic Gareiss, including both the Appalachian Flatfooting Workshop and Solo Square Dance.
Workshop:
2:00 pm
Wear comfortable clothes and smooth-soled, supportive shoes with a low heel or no heel for this class.
Concert:
Doors: 7:30 pm
Show: 8:00 pm
Location for Both Events: 55 East 3rd StreetNew York, New York, 10003
About the Instructor:
Dancer Nic Gareiss (he/they) grew up at folk festivals in rural Michigan where he learned Appalachian, Irish, English, and Canadian step dance surrounded by fiddlers, banjo-players, and folk singers. This mix of traditional music, song, and movement has become the heart of Nic's creative work as a performer. Gareiss has been named one of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch," was hailed by the New York Times for his "dexterous melding of Irish and Appalachian dance," and called "the most inventive and expressive step dancer on the scene” by the Boston Herald.
In 2020 Nic received the Michigan Heritage Award, the state's highest distinction bestowed on traditional artists. Holding degrees in music and anthropology from Central Michigan University and a MA in Ethnochoreology from the University of Limerick, Nic's thesis was the first piece of scholarship to query the experience of fellow LGBTQ+ Irish step dancers. He has performed in seventeen countries including at composer Steve Reich's 75th birthday celebration at the Cork Opera House, as well as at London's Barbican Centre, Paris' Salle Gaveau, the Munich Philharmonic, and Fall For Dance North, which presented Nic's collaboration with dancer Caleb Teicher at rural farms, parks, and vineyards across Ontario. www.nicgareiss.com / @NicGareissLFI