VDM Masterclass and Short Course Registration is Open!!
We are very excited to feature Short Courses from Dawn Pratson (USA) and Selma Odom (Canada), and Masterclasses from Adriana Ausch (USA/Romania), Cheng-Feng Lin (Canada), and Kaye Barker (United Kingdon) in VDM Masterclass Series 14!
Review the registration details below and then register for upcoming and past events at our REGISTRATION PAGE.
Staying expressively and functionally "fit" requires practice. In this class we will spend an hour tuning up our functional and expressive movement, i.e., staying present in our bodies, keeping alignment, releasing extraneous tension, keeping or enhancing range of motion in our joints (functional); refining our use of Laban efforts and spatial dynamics (expressive). With music and in silence, this class will get your day started in the right way!
The class will include mindfulness practice, somatic awareness, movement phrases, guided movement improvisation, and choreographed movement phrases linked with music. Through this class, participants will take away movement practices to use in their own creative expression and self-care as well as ideas for teaching children and adults.
Dawn Pratson (USA) has an extensive background in music, dance and movement. She earned her Dalcroze license from the Longy School of Music of Bard College in 2004, where she was on faculty in the Dalcroze and preparatory programs for over 15 years. She has a BA in music and dance and a master’s degree in creative arts in therapy. Her primary instrument is the flute. Secondary instruments are voice and piano. She has a certificate in Orff-Schulwerk.
Dawn was the founding music specialist at the FACT – Folk Arts-Cultural Treasures Charter –School in Philadelphia and taught there from 2005 to 20016; she was on the faculty of the Dalcroze School of Music and Movement summer training program from 2020-2024. Dawn is a founding member of the Dalcroze Society of America’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee.
"Rhythms and Art with Adriana Ausch"
Online live masterclass. Asynchronous recording also available.
Expand the scope of music and art experiences! Bring, literally, more color to your classroom or studio by incorporating visual art in your teaching of music and movement and improvisation. We will explore how to integrate the arts in the teaching of musical concepts, and use visual art to create movement and instrumental improvisation. We will improvise rhythmic motives related to the months of the year. We will also create graphic scores to support the design of a Plastique Animee (an analysis of a piece of music performed through movement). Through responding to other art forms and creating in other media, we can expand our own and our students' understanding of musical concepts.
Adriana Ausch enjoys a career as a singer and Dalcroze teaching artist. As cross-style singer she has performed solo and chamber programs in the Boston Area and her native Romania and presented Dalcroze workshops in Boston, New York, Toronto and Bucharest. Currently she is Dalcroze Eurhythmics faculty at Longy School of Music of Bard College where she taught in the Dalcroze Department Eurhythmics, Improvisation several Dalcroze inspired classes for graduate and undergraduate students: Eurhythmics Lab, Plastique Animée, Improvisation for Singers, Music and Architecture and Cabaret.
Adriana Ausch is the founder and president of the New England Dalcroze Chapter, in Boston. She has taught Dalcroze workshops in USA, Canada, Romania and China. Adriana Ausch earned the MM and License in Dalcroze Eurhythmics at Longy School of Music. She completed her MM in Vocal Performance at Longy Previously she earned an MM in architecture in Bucharest, Romania and was active as in architect in Romania and Frankfurt am Main Germany.
"A Masterclass with Cheng-Feng Lin"
Online live masterclass. Asynchronous recording also available.
Based in Toronto Canada, Cheng-Feng Lin (Canada) started his full-time Dalcroze studies under the inspiring community at the Longy School of Music led by the late Lisa Parker, where he received the Certificate, License, and M.Mus in Dalcroze Eurhythmics. He later obtained the Diplôme Supérieur from the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze in Geneva. He is the co-director of studies for Dalcroze teacher-training programs for Dalcroze Canada.
Six 80-minute classes. Online live course. Asynchronous recordings also available.
This short course explores the dimensions of moving together, weaving between then and now to discover how movement practices connect across time, place, and community. Through movement, improvisation, writing, and dialogue, participants will reflect on how experiences of the past can resonate in the present and spark possibilities for the future.
Each session combines:
- Movement activities to explore gesture, space, and interaction in pairs and small groups.
- Historical perspectives highlighting figures such as Suzanne Perrottet and Adolphe Appia in the evolution of communities of Dalcroze practice.
- Writing prompts to capture lived experience and strengthen observation and dialogue.
- Discussion and exchange in breakout rooms to deepen connection.
- Resources for further exploration with curated lists and follow-up materials to continue learning after the course.
Session 1: Moving Together
Experiencing and reflecting on explorations of body, space, and time by people of the early Dalcroze community.
Session 2: Collaborations
Exploring lessons, demonstrations, and presentations of the past and present, revealing movement choices and shared creativity in various times and places.
Session 3: Communities
Zooming out to the collective: how do communities form, adapt, and endure? Drawing on Canadian and American examples, and on new spaces such as ICDS and VDM, this session considers the histories and futures of Dalcroze-inspired communities and the ways they are continually re-imagined.
No previous experience is required - only curiosity, openness, and a willingness to move, reflect, and connect. Participants will also receive curated resource lists and follow-up viewing suggestions to extend the learning beyond the sessions.
Selma Odom (Canada) is Professor Emerita at York University in Toronto, where she taught dance studies courses from 1972 to 2012. She has written extensively on Émile Jaques-Dalcroze and the sources, practices, and influences of the teaching he initiated around 1900. She focuses on the evolution of this pedagogy through the careers of colleagues, students, and their successors worldwide. With Joan Pope, she co-authored Practical Idealists: Founders of the London School of Dalcroze Eurhythmics (Coventry University, 2013), and she co-edited Navigating Landscapes of Dalcroze Practice: Histories of Music and Movement (Boydell & Brewer, 2025) with John Habron-James and Johanna Laakkonen.
Masterclass #45
"A Masterclass with Kaye Barker"
Online live masterclass. Asynchronous recording also available.
Kaye Barker (United Kingdom) is a holder of the Diplôme Supérieur in Dalcroze Eurhythmics and graduated in 2022 after studying in Geneva, Switzerland. Before starting her Dalcroze studies, Kaye was a professional violinist and member of the BBC Philharmonic. After this she joined the Bridge String Quartet, which performed on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM. She was appointed Head of Strings for Ealing Music Service and later Head of Music at Gumley House School FCJ in West London. Since 2018, she has focused entirely on studying and teaching Dalcroze. She currently teaches Dalcroze Eurhythmics on the String & Brass Training Programme at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and for Dalcroze UK’s Teacher Training programme. She teaches on Dalcroze UK’s Spring Courses & Summer Schools, has given workshops in Singapore and has taught for Dalcroze Australia and Dalcroze Shanghai. She won the Aletheia prize (2020), which was awarded for her Diplôme Supérieur choreography.
- VDM Masterclasses require paid pre-registration. $30 USD per Masteclass. $90 USD per 3-session Short Course. $180 USD per 6-session Short Course.
- Upon registering, you will receive the Zoom link in a confirmation email. The Zoom link will be re-emailed to you 48 hours in advance of the class.
- We will send a recording to all masterclass registrants. You may participate live or watch the recording later (or both!). The recording link for masterclasses expires after 30 days. The recording link for short courses expires after 60 days.
- Recordings of earlier Masterclasses and Short Courses are available for purchase HERE (with a new 30/60 day expiration).
- Each Masterclass will last 90 minutes. 60-75 minutes of teaching followed by questions and discussion. Each Short Course session will last 80 minutes. All classes are taught in English.
Questions?
Check out our Frequently Asked Questions here.
Need a scholarship?
If you are in need of financial assistance to attend the masterclass series, we will be happy to help as much as we can. Please fill out this very short scholarship request form:
If you have any questions, please email us at virtualdalcroze@gmail.com.
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