School Buzz: Americans in Venice

April 24, 2011


Americans in Venice

This spring, three University of the Arts students are the only U.S. dancers participating in the Arsenale della Danza dance workshop. Along with 22 other dancers from around the world, Noelle Cotler, DuJuan (DJ) Smart and Patrick Cubbedge were selected to spend four months studying and performing at the event, which is part of La Biennale di Venezia (the Venice Biennial)—a renowned arts festival in Venice, Italy.


DJ Smart, on of three American students participating in the Arsenale della Danza workshop in Venice, Italy, by Akiko Miyake.

“It is both entertaining and frustrating to work with people who speak different languages,” DJ tells DS. “However, information is absorbed more rapidly because you must be more attentive and exercise your other senses [to pick up the material].”

The workshop features master classes in a range of styles, including Forsythe method, capoeira, Katherine Dunham technique and more, with guest artists such as Francesca Harper and Othella Dallas. Participants study and dance for eight hours a day, six days a week and show off what they’ve learned at public performances.