Spend your summer dancing!

Posted on February 15, 2023February 14, 2023 by Gillian Ebersole

Berkshire Pulse is excited to have summer dance intensives for ages 4 to 18 running June through August, alongside community classes for dancers of all ages!

Our offerings range in style and genre, from contemporary and choreography, to musical theater, hip hop, and more. Scroll to see all our intensives or check out our website.

Registration is open! Start your dream summer today.

SUMMER 2023 AT PULSE

Summer Intensives

🔎DANCE DISCOVERY (Ages 8-13)

📅 Monday to Friday, June 26 – July 7 (no classes on July 4)
🕘 9am – 3pm

For beginners and advanced beginners, this camp has a half-day option for dancers ages ages 8-9 (9am-12pm full two weeks only).

An exciting journey into the engaging and rewarding world of dance, this two-week program provides an introduction to dance forms including ballet, modern, African, Contradance, and more. Dancers will also have a chance to practice dance-making of their own!

🎶BERKSHIRE PULSE INTENSIVE (Ages 11+)

📅 Monday to Friday, July 10 – 21
🕘 9am – 4pm

For students with at least two years of prior dance training.

This two-week program allows dancers to develop excellence in technique, as well as versatility and collaboration in the creative process. Daily classes will include ballet, contemporary, jazz, hip hop, swing, salsa, and flamenco. Dancers will explore dance-making through partnering and improvisation. Plus, field trips to local partnering organizations!

🚀DANCE ADVENTURE (Ages 4-7)

📅 Monday to Friday, July 24 – 28
🕘 9am – 12pm

This new program for our youngest dancers invites them on an expedition into the exciting, engaging, and rewarding world of dance. Classes will include creative dance, tumbling, drumming, and more!

👟HIP HOP AND STREET STYLE (Ages 12+)

📅 Monday to Friday, July 31 – August 4
🕘 9am – 3pm

All levels, two groups: ages 12-14 and 15+

Dancers will learn foundational movements and techniques of hip hop and street style dance, alongside discussions about the cultural meaning and significance of these dance forms. The program will create an encouraging space to try out what you learn and most importantly show off your unique style and personality while freestyling in daily cyphers.

🎭MUSICAL THEATER (Ages 10+)

📅 Monday to Saturday, August 7 – 12

All levels, full-day camp for ages 10-14, evening series for ages 14+

🕘 9am – 3pm (day camp)

This week-long camp gives students the opportunity to jump right into the world of musical theater with classes in tap, broadway jazz, voice, acting, and improvisation. Students will learn healthy warm-up practices for the voice and body, and work on character development, expression, ensemble, and more. The program directors will work with students to produce an informal performance for the program’s final day.

🕔 5pm – 7pm (evening series)

This-week long evening series for students ages 14+ will give the students an opportunity to take a daily musical theater workshop rotating between singing, acting, and improv and work on developing something for an informal performance at the end of the week.

Our Community Moves Together

Posted on February 1, 2023February 14, 2023 by Gillian Ebersole

Community Boxing is back! Beginning February 3rd, this program brings Genève Brossard of Berkshire Boxing to the Housie Dome on Fridays at 4:45pm. This fun class provides a welcoming and supportive class for all levels of experience and fitness.

FREE for Housatonic and Great Barrington Youth! For 8th graders to adults; pre-registration required.

JOIN BOXING

Save the dates! Our summer intensive schedule is live on our website. Registration will open in mid-February.

SUMMER 2023

Community Classes for You

Want to take multiple classes in one day? Here’s a schedule for you!

Tuesday Evening Classes

Choose between Community Beginners Ballet with Fiona Scruggs and Community Beginners Flamenco with Joanne B. Jackson. Then, put on your tap shoes for Community Beginners Tap with Molly Welch.

Wednesday Evening Classes

Start your Wednesday learning to sing and act in Musical Theater with Wendy Welch. Then, get your heart rate going in Holly Jones’ Community Jazz class. Finally, wrap your evening with Intermediate Swing with Brianne Szymanski.

Are you a morning person? Try Community Modern at 9am on Tuesdays and Shake Your Soul at 9am on Fridays.

Saturday Classes

Saturday classes begin bright and early with Shannon Nulf’s Community Ballet class – often packed, arrive early to snag your favorite spot at the barre. After, you can take Community Contemporary with Shannon Nulf and Gillian Ebersole. Finish your day of dance with Tsiftieli and Raqs Sharqi Dance with Myrto Daskaloudi.

Dances of Africa

with Nkoula Badila

📅 Beginning Tuesday, February 7
🕓 4-5pm

Ages 6-10

Accompanied by live drumming, this class introduces students to the study of African rhythms and dances. Dancers will work on unity, coming together to dance as a team, highlighting the grace in their arms and strength in their legs and feet, as well as building stamina and energy.

Moving Life Stories Begins

Moving Life Stories (MLS) is a creative movement class created for and geared toward the Berkshire immigrant population and their allies.

Our first of two series of Moving Life Stories Workshops begins February 3 at the South Berkshire Friends Meeting House in Great Barrington, with another following at the Pittsfield YMCA.

Moving Life Stories “is a safe space where immigrants can exchange and share their experiences, and create something together, using movement as their language” ~ Rural Intelligence

LEARN MORE

This program is made possible by the generosity of Mass Cultural Council, Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, Lee Bank, Greylock Federal Credit Union, and TD Bank Charitable Foundation, as well as Dalton Cultural Council, Mount Washington Cultural Council, New Marlborough Cultural Council, Otis Cultural Council, Pittsfield Cultural Council, Sheffield Cultural Council, and Washington Cultural Council, local agencies which are supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Spring Registration is Open

Posted on December 15, 2022December 14, 2022 by Gillian Ebersole

Registration for our Spring session is underway! Be sure to check out our offerings and sign up.

In-person registration is open during select hours:

December 12-16: 11am-7pm
December 17: 9am-2pm
December 19-23, 27-30: 10am-3pm

Web registration continues online through the new year!

CHOOSE YOUR CLASSES

Two Weeks Left to Give

Thanks to generous community support, Pulse has never turned away a student for an inability to pay. In 2022, approximately one out of every five students was awarded between 30% to 100% of the cost of tuition.

We have until December 31 to meet our generous $5000 matching grant from Alander Construction. For the second year in a row, Alander will match all donations up to $5000, dollar for dollar.

This grant supports our Tuition Assistance Program. Learn more in our 2022 impact report and appeal.

SUPPORT PULSE

January Classes & Workshops

We have classes and workshops for adults and kids alike running the whole month of January. Scroll to learn more, or click the button to view and register!

VIEW CLASSES + REGISTER

Contemporary 4 with Joe Poulson

📅 Tuesdays, January 3 to 24
🕓 4-5:30pm

Open to intermediate/advanced adults; requires commitment to all four classes.

Hip Hop Series with Dashawn Davis

📅 Fridays, January 6 to 27
🕓 4-5pm: ages 10-15; requires commitment to all four classes. Register here.

🕠 5:30-6:45pm: ages 14+, drop-in. Register here.

Dunham Workshop with Saroya Corbett

📅 Saturday, January 7
🕤 9:30 to 11am

Open to all levels; ages 12+

Learn about Katherine Dunham Technique, a modern dance style that combines Caribbean folk movement with ballet and experience a Dunham Technique movement class!

African Dance Series with Nkoula Badila

📅 Mondays, January 9 to 30
🕓 4-5:30pm

Open to teens and adults of all levels; requires commitment to all three classes.

Support Pulse Teaching Artists

Pulse teaching artists and artists-in-residence Tom Truss and Moscelyne ParkeHarrison are hosting fundraisers to continue their respective creative work.

Tom Truss and collaborator Matthew Cumbie are raising money to finish the set and work with a composer for their work ReWritten, which reflects on the relationship between authors Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

SUPPORT “REWRITTEN”

Moscelyne ParkeHarrison’s Art Tonic 3.0 is the first live iteration of BODYSONNET’s yearly fundraiser. This year, they are zooming in on their multimedia collaborators, past and future, all in support of more projects for the 2023 season.

SUPPORT BODYSONNET

Join us for our first week of classes!

Posted on September 12, 2022December 12, 2022 by Gillian Ebersole

Classes for our fall session are officially in full swing!

It’s not too late to sign up for our Youth Program classes—and drop in to try one of our Community Classes for movers of all ages and levels.

BROWSE CLASSES

Welcome to our New Teaching Artists

Sing with Wendy Welch

Tap with Molly Welch

Authentic Movement Workshops

Authentic Movement is a meditative, intuitive, improvisational movement practice. This fall, we are hosting a series of workshops for both experienced movers and those who are new to this practice.

Join Paula Josa-Jones for the first workshop on September 18!

Don’t Miss SIX Pulse Teaching Artists Perform

September 23 at 7:30pm
The Foundry West Stockbridge

This show brings together Berkshire-based dancers and performers – Veronica Bone, Gillian Ebersole, Molly Hess, Fern Katz, Shannon Nulf, and Fiona Scruggs– all with works answering the question “What are you celebrating?” What emerges is a series of works focused on resilience, perseverance, and triumph.

This event supports local artists and venues and is a part of ArtWeek Berkshires.

BUY TICKETS

Time to Sign Up for Fall Classes!

Posted on August 31, 2022August 31, 2022 by Jordyn Cormier

Registration for our fall classes is officially underway. Check out our new Youth Performing Arts Program schedule—and don’t miss out on our freshest Community Classes.

Get excited—classes start September 12th!

Can’t Wait to Start Dancing Again? Try This…

3 Day Ballet Jump Start Youth Program

with Fiona Scruggs and Emily Hildebrand

for ages 10-18

This program offers students who are new or returning to Pulse the opportunity to resume training with 3 consecutive afternoons of classes just before the Fall session begins. Previous dance experience is required.

2 CLASSES AVAILABLE:

Advanced Beginner, ages 10-12

Tuesday 9/6 thru Thursday 9/8

4-5:30pm

with Fiona Scruggs

Intermediate+, ages 13-18

Tuesday 9/6 thru Thursday 9/8

4:30-6pm

with Emily Hildebrand

And Make Sure to Check Out Our NEWEST Classes!

These classes are available for the first time ever!

🎤 The Art of Rap (Ages 10+)

Learn how to rap with Jackson Whalan and explore verse writing, freestyling, and collaboration techniques.

🎸 Rock Band Camp (Ages 11+)

Turn your rockstar dreams into reality with Jeffrey Howard. Calling all drummmers, guitarists, bassists, keyboardists, vocalist—level up your playing skills and let’s play together!

🎭 Musical Theater for Teens (ages 12-18)

Work on songs and learn to use the body and voice for healthy acting and singing with Wendy Welch.

🎭 Musical Theater for Adults (ages 18+)

Love to sing? Explore the fun and freedom of singing through a healthy vocal technique, breath and connection to the material with Wendy Welch.

💕 Dance for the Special Child (ages 6-9)

With deep respect for the journey of the child whose perceptions and abilities are getting in their way, Sara Kiesel offers therapeutic movement classes that develop skills in communication, behavioral skills management, and social/emotional interactions.

🕺🏽 Vitamin D (ages 14+)

Vitamin D is a choreographed fitness class with Jessica Mahaney for ANY BODY that wants to shake a tail feather!

💃🏽 Latin Dance at Simon’s Rock (ages 16+)

Join Luana Dias David and discover the rhythms and movements from Salsa and Samba steps—progressing into a choreography true to the original rhythm.

🥊 Community Boxing Gym (8th graders to adults)

*FREE for Housatonic + GB youth*

Genève Brossard’s fun class focuses on improving fitness and learning all the elements of boxing training; practicing punch combos, footwork, jump-rope tricks, mitt work, and conditioning.

BROWSE MORE CLASSES