DANCE

Contemporary Jazz Fusion: Laura Ann Smythe

Organized by the SMC Dance Department

Masters of Dance

Register: https://www.smc.edu/calendar/#event-details/5ab64e76-ad19-4ffc-814f-ca0ed5ad010d

This class will focus on rhythm driven movement that honors African American vernacular jazz roots while sampling contemporary dance practices. At the intersection of codified and community dance practices, students will be pushed to perform, find musical precision and experience the joy of storytelling through movement. 

Laura Ann Smyth, originally from Canada, is a Los Angeles-based dancer, choreographer and educator. Smyth holds a BA in sociology with a minor in dance from the University of Calgary, a MFA in dance from the University of California, Irvine and is currently a PhD Candidate in dance at Texas Woman’s University. Her scholarship focuses on the intersection of Black jazz-informed dance practices and embodied rhetoric. Smyth is a member of Donna Sternberg and Dancers, JazzAntiqua Dance and Music Ensemble and is a full-time faculty member at Loyola Marymount University.