Rosanna Tavarez

ROSANNA TAVAREZ

Rosanna received an MFA in Choreography from The Ohio State University and a BFA in Choreography from University of Michigan. She has a diverse background as a performer/entertainer and has had the honor of working with Marina Ambramovic, Ryan Heffington (Sia), Travis Payne (Michael Jackson), Tony Michaels (Beyonce) and Rosanna Gamson/Worldwide. She also toured with N’SYNC and Jessica Simpson as one-fifth of the girl group Eden’s Crush and covered the Emmys, Grammys and Oscars in addition to hosting her own shows as a television personality for FOX, E!, TVGuide Network, and Telemundo/NBC.

As a dance educator, Rosanna has taught as faculty and guest artist at numerous institutions including CalArts, University of Michigan, Loyola Marymount University, Scripps College, CalState Long Beach, Studio School, University of Southern Mississippi, Texas State University and Cal State LA. She has also had the honor of teaching Countertechnique workshops across the country for dance companies and schools, and to an international audience via the Countertechnique Online platform.

Rosanna creates her own dance-theatre work in Los Angeles under the moniker LA DANSA DANSA. Her work has been presented at The Broad Museum, American Dance Festival, REDCAT, Highways Performance Space, Breaking Ground Dance Festival, Sarasota Contemporary Dance and the LA Department of Cultural Affair’s LA Dance Platform and have been supported by ARC grant from the Center for Cultural Innovation, UCLA Hothouse Residency and Show Box LA.

PROJECTS

IN BOCCA AL LUPO

WHERE THIS TAKES US

THE LONGEST DISTANCE

HYBRIDS OF PLANTS AND OF GHOSTS

HOME AGAIN

COUNTERTECHNIQUE®

By continuously and sequentially directing and counter directing parts of the body through space, Countertechnique® allows the moving dancer to work with an ever-changing dynamic balance. This dynamic balance reduces the pressure on the overall body structure and can be changed at any given moment. The consistent use of the counter direction in all movements is key to the technique; both the awareness and application of this principle is trained throughout the Countertechnique® class.

The Countertechnique® theory is organized around two principal notions: the ‘toolbox’ and ‘scanning’. The toolbox is the systematically organized collection of tools for body and mind with which Countertechnique® works, often visualized as a virtual map that dancers carry with them. Scanning defines the process of dancers continuously and actively observing their mindset and body in order to choose the most appropriate tool(s) from the toolbox for the situation they find themselves in. Scanning allows dancers to make active use of the toolbox in their daily practice of training, rehearsing and performing.
In Countertechnique® classes, dancers are introduced step-by-step to the various tools – making sure, however, that the priority always lies with experiencing and enjoying the difference in moving, rather than first having to understand the tools intellectually. Classes are therefore very accessible, and can be taught to participants of all levels. Even so, gaining a full understanding of the different tools and being able to apply them in complex movement, instantaneously and often simultaneously, involves a learning process of several years, even for professional dancers. Throughout this process dancers increasingly become their own teachers, allowing them to practice and progress even at times when a teacher is not available.

www.countertechnique.com

SCHEDULE

Blaktinx Dance Festival
"Her Name Was Miriam"

Sept 20-21, 2019, 7:30pm
Bootleg Theatre

In the 1970s Rosanna Tavarez's mother moved to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic seeking a better life. As a teenager, Tavarez's mother began work in jewelry and sewing factories in New York City as an undocumented worker. In this new work-in-progress, Rosanna shares a conversation with her mother about the day the immigration officers raided one of the factories where she worked, and chaos and tragedy ensued.

LA MADE: "Hybrids of Plants and of Ghosts"

October 6, 2019 @ 2:00 PM
Los Angeles Public Library

Guest Artist Residency at University of Southern Mississippi

Oct 15-19, 2019

Countertechnique classes taught to students in the School of Performing and Visual Arts

New work created for the Repertory Dance Company

Countertechnique Workshop

Jan 4-8, 2020, 10am-12pm
The Space at Diavolo

Countertechnique Online Winter Series

March 19 & March 26, 10-11:30am PST
For full schedule and registration go to
Online Winter Series | Countertechnique®

PAST EVENTS

American Dance Festival

July 8 - July 21, 2019
Duke University

At the heart of ADF is the Summer Dance Intensive (formerly Six Week School), where dancers from around the globe come to train, create, and discover the vast possibilities of the dance world. More than a series of classes, the Summer Dance Intensive is a powerful opportunity to move, make, research, discuss, and form lifelong, career-building relationships with other dance artists. Over the course of the festival, students of all levels work each day with ADF’s diverse faculty, extraordinary musicians, and vibrant student body to create rewarding, life-changing experiences. The five-and-a-half week commitment results in the enduring, hard-won benefits that only long-term training can yield.

Rosanna Tavarez & Charles Slender-White teach Countertechnique and Improvisation for Performance

LA Dance Festival
"Her Name Was Miriam"

April 14, 2019, 6:30pm
Luckman Fine Arts Complex

In the 1970s Rosanna Tavarez's mother moved to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic seeking a better life. As a teenager, Tavarez's mother began work in jewelry and sewing factories in New York City as an undocumented worker. In this new work-in-progress, Rosanna shares a conversation with her mother about the day the immigration officers raided one of the factories where she worked, and chaos and tragedy ensued.