DANCE LAB: Summer Intensive
Overview
CSU Dance Lab is a college preparatory summer program offering immersive study in classical and contemporary dance forms, repertory, theory, and composition. In addition to dance classes and rehearsals, students will attend lectures, develop artist statements, choreograph solos, and present a public performance. Mentored by CSU Dance faculty, renowned guest artists, and current dance majors, attendees expand skills and knowledge while contributing to a collaborative creative process. Beginner through pre-preprofessional level dancers ages 14+ are invited to register for our two-week in-person intensive. To ensure individualized attention, registration is limited to 24 dancers admitted on a first-come-first-served basis.
Dancers ages 14+ beginner through pre-professional level explore:
- Classical and Contemporary Dance Forms
- Choreography
- Writing
- Lectures
- Repertory and Performance
- Individualized mentorship by CSU Dance faculty, current majors, and renowned guest artists
CSU Dance Lab is committed to healthy instruction and adheres to university COVID-19 protocols.
Daily Schedule (Monday–Saturday):
- 9-10:30 a.m.: Movement/Technique
- 10:30 a.m. — 12 p.m.: Movement/Technique
- 12-1 p.m.: Writing, Choreography, Dance History, Music, Nutrition/Injury Prevention
- 1-2 p.m.: Lunch (end of day for half day option)
- 2-4 p.m.: Repertory Rehearsals
Monday
9-10:30 a.m. Yoga and Imagery for Dancers
10:30 a.m. — 12 p.m. Modern
12-1 p.m. Writing
1-2 p.m. Lunch
2-3 p.m. Classical Repertoire
3-4 p.m. Contemporary Repertoire
Tuesday
9-10:30 a.m.: Ballet
10:30 a.m. — 12 p.m.: Pointe
12-1 p.m.: Choreography
1-2 p.m.: Lunch
2-3 p.m.: Classical Repertoire
3-4 p.m.: Contemporary Repertoire
Wednesday
9-10:30 a.m.: Improvisation
10:30-11:45 a.m.: Kathak
12-1 p.m.: Collaborative process
1-2 p.m.: Lunch
2-3 p.m.: Classical Repertoire
3-4 p.m.: Contemporary Repertoire
Thursday
9-10:30 a.m.: Contemporary
10:30 a.m. — 12 p.m.: Hip Hop
12-1 p.m.: Dance History
1-2 p.m.: Lunch
2-3 p.m.: Classical Repertoire
3-4 p.m.: Contemporary Repertoire
Friday
9-10:30 a.m.: GUEST ARTIST, Flamenco
10:30 a.m. — 12 p.m.: Jazz
12-1 p.m.: Music for Dancers
1-2 p.m.: Lunch + Q&A with Current Majors
2-3 p.m.: Classical Repertoire
3-4 p.m.: Contemporary Repertoire
Saturday
10-11:15 a.m.: Warm up class
11:30-1 p.m.: Rehearsal
2 p.m.: Performance
Faculty and Guest Artists:

Seia Rassenti Watson grew up dancing in Southern Arizona. Training with Flamenco Y Maś by Olivia Rojo, and Tucson Regional Ballet established her base of movement appreciation. In 2006, she graduated from Kirov Academy of Ballet, Washington DC, as Salutatorian; before joining North Carolina Dance Theater, where working with choreographer Dwight Rhoden solidified her love for contemporary ballet. Seia spent eleven consecutive seasons creating + performing with Aspen SantaFe Ballet.
Judy Bejarano teaches improvisation, choreography, and modern technique at CSU. She is also well known for her innovative evening length productions as the artistic director of IMPACT Dance Company, whose performances speak to issues in our everyday lives. She collaborates and creates custom events with area art groups as well as for private events. Bejarano is increasingly interested in redefining the relationship between performer and audience, therefore, IMPACT’s work can be found in nontraditional spaces, from art galleries to airplane hangars. Bejarano is increasingly interested in the use of dance as a collaborative outreach tool and has a long term relationship with the arts programs at Pathways Hospice. The company also has a well established integrated arts outreach program called Every Voice Matters. Bejarano’s work has been selected for many regional and national festivals including National American College Dance Festival, Colorado Choreographers Showcase, and Gala Concert for the National Dance Association Festival. Her topic driven work often uses original text, dance, and projection and continues to be commissioned at the university level and by independent dance, theatre, and music groups. Bejarano, an enthusiastic and demanding instructor, also teaches throughout the region. She received her M.F.A. from C.U. Boulder in dance with an emphasis in choreography.
Raised in Hickory Corners, Michigan, Grace Gallagher started her training with jazz, ballet, tap, and contemporary movement forms. Upon graduation from high school, Grace went on to attend Arizona State University, where she trained in modern and urban dance technique. After earning her B.F.A., Grace went on to live in New York City where she spent her time interning and training at Broadway Dance Center. Shortly after, Grace decided to try out the commercial scene in Los Angeles. She was accepted into the Edge Performing Arts Center's rigorous scholarship program. Upon completion of the program, Grace was hired by Edge to help kickoff their kids program. Recognizing her passion for teaching and choreography, Grace made the decision to leave the commercial dance industry to pursue a career in dance education. Grace went on to earn her M.F.A. in Dance along with her K-12 teaching certification from Arizona State University.
Grace has extensive experience as a guest teaching artist and choreographer in numerous contexts including: guest teaching at public and private universities, community colleges, and high schools, teaching at a variety of studios nationwide, hosting professional master classes and workshops, and serving as a faculty member on a national convention. Grace has also taught a variety of courses at Colorado State University and Arizona State University and has worked for two separate non-profit programs that utilize dance as an emotional outlet for underserved youth.
Additionally, Grace artistically directs her company, gracegallagherdance where has created four original evening length works; CONSequence, 40 Love Letters, JUXTAposition, and RElate. Her work has also been shown at Nasty Woman|Phoenix Unite, Artel PHX, Phoenix Center for the Art's Beta Dance Festival, and Breaking Ground Dance Festival. Grace has earned over a dozen choreography awards, and has been recognized as one of Phoenix's "emerging artists" by JAVA Magazine. She recently returned from touring Germany with America's Got Talent runner up, The Silhouettes.
Grace now lives in Fort Collins, CO with her husband and two dogs, where she continues to teach locally and travel all over the country setting work and sharing her love for dance.
Susie Garifi holds a M.A. in Dance Education from New York University, a B.A. in Dance from Colorado State University, and studied with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in their Independent Study Program. Currently, Susie is employed at CSU as an instructor in the dance program where she teaches courses for dance majors and non-majors alike. She also dances professionally as a company member in IMPACT Dance Company in Fort Collins, Colorado, and is an outreach co-coordinator of their program 'Every Voice Matters.' Susie was on the dance faculty at Front Range Community College for 11 years, and has taught and choreographed for several dance studios in the Northern Colorado community. In addition to her teaching career, Susie and her husband are part owners of JAY'S Bistro. Susie enjoys sharing her knowledge and passion for dance with the community and looks forward to continuing to do so for many years to come.
Madeline Jazz Harvey is a dance educator, choreographer, and performer specializing in classical and contemporary ballet. She began her performance career at age fourteen as an apprentice with Charlotte Ballet, under the direction of Patricia McBride and Jean Pierre Bonnefoux. She attended summer intensive programs on full scholarship at Chautauqua Institution, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and The Juilliard School. In 2010, Madeline joined Carolina Ballet Theatre where she served as a principal dancer, resident choreographer, and outreach coordinator for five full-time seasons. Highlights include performing the role of Giselle, Alonzo King’s Map, Dwight Rhoden’s Beatle Juice, and various works created for her by artistic director Hernan Justo. She also performed as a guest artist with companies including Repertory Dance Theatre, American Repertory Ballet, Olney Ballet Theatre, and Colton Ballet Company of Augusta. After three performances as an invited guest artist, Madeline became a full member of Judy Bejarano’s IMPACT Dance Company in May 2020.
Madeline has been teaching and choreographing since 2006 in a variety of community and collegiate settings. In 2007, she was the youngest recipient of the New York Choreographic Institute Fellowship Award. Human connection and vulnerability drive her choreographic process. She values collaboration and is honored to have co-created works with composers, musicians, visual artists, and members of the National Organization for Parents of Murdered Children (South Carolina Chapter). Madeline’s choreography has been featured in concerts and festivals across the nation including as part of the Regional Ballet Association and American College Dance Association. She led full-time instruction at Charlotte Ballet, Davidson College, and DanceArts Greenville, and seasonal instruction at Repertory Ballet Academy, Springfield Ballet Company, and Canyon Concert Ballet, among others. In addition to guest teaching, she has created original works for UNCC, Davidson College, Converse College, Furman University, and Tampa University. She is honored to have served as a répétiteur for Mark Diamond, Jerri Kumery, Shaun Boyle, and Bryan Arias.
Madeline holds a B.A. and Professional Training Certificate in Dance from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and an M.F.A. in Choreography from Jacksonville University. She was appointed as Instructor of Ballet at the University of South Carolina in 2015 and became assistant professor of Dance at Colorado State University in 2017. She is credited with the development of ShapeX, a program designed for children with Type II Diabetes. Sponsored by grants from General Electric and the Greenville Heath System, this curriculum promotes health and nutrition through movement-centered activities. Madeline’s research investigates play as a paradigm for choreographic process. Recent projects examine the artistry of parenting through dance. Her dance film, Embodiment, was featured as part of the Horsetooth International Film Festival (2019) and Screen Dance Miami (2020). She is currently working in collaboration with psychologist Zeynep Biringen to develop dance interventions for emotional availability and attachment from pregnancy through postpartum.
Matthew Harvey began his dance training at the age of nine. He studied at Repertory Dance Theatre in Allentown, Pennsylannia, under the direction of Jennifer Haltzman Tracy and Trinette Singleton. He attended Summer Dance Intensives on scholarship at Joffrey Ballet School and Chautauqua Institution. Harvey danced as a trainee under the artistic direction of Jean Pierre Bonnefoux and Patricia McBride at North Carolina Dance Theatre, now Charlotte Ballet, from 2006 to 2007. He moved to Greenville, South Carolina in 2007 to join Carolina Ballet Theatre. Harvey has been featured as a guest performance artist with Olney Ballet Theatre in Maryland, Marion Ballet Theatre in Florida, Universities of North and South Carolina, and various cities across South America. In addition to dancing, he teaches a variety of dance styles including ballet, jazz, contemporary, and body conditioning. Harvey has been choreographing since 2006, including works for Carolina Ballet Theatre, Dance Spirit Magazine Competition, and the Youth American Grand Prix.
Lisa Morgan has been a member of the CSU dance faculty since 2000, teaching modern dance technique, choreography and most recently focusing on teaching methods for children's dance. She works closely with regional schools, K-12 educators and state agencies to increase movement experiences for children in public schools. She is on the committee for the 2017-2018 revision of the Colorado Dance Academic Standards for the Colorado Department of Education and is part of the initiative to establish teacher licensure for dance in the state. She coordinates the dance portion of BRAINY (BRinging Arts INtegration to Youth), a program designed to bring students from Title I schools to the University Center for the Arts to experience music, theatre, dance, and visual art for a day. She works with CSU Music Therapy, teaching movement to undergraduate and graduate students. She coordinates Moving Through Parkinson's, a movement therapy program for individuals living with Parkinson’s Disease and was the assistant director of IMPACT Dance Company, a contemporary dance company based in Fort Collins, from 1997-2016, and continues to work as a collaborating artist with the company.
Emily Morgan is a teacher, dancer, and choreographer. Her training is eclectic, largely rooted in Cunningham technique and postmodern release-based technique and complimented by her study of Limón, Graham, and Klein techniques, as well as ballet, kathak, capoeira, yoga, and other forms. She has performed with members of Lower Left Performance Collective in Texas and New Mexico, with Sebastian Prantl in Krems, Austria, Daniel Ashwanden in Vienna, Austria, in work in New York by Stephan Koplowitz and Ellen Cornfield, and in work in North Carolina by Sarah Council, Ashwini Gogate, Ann Dils, Martha Connerton, Jan van Dyke, and BJ Sullivan. Her choreography has been shown in North and South Carolina, Indiana, Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, New Mexico, and California. Emily’s research is situated in community dance practices and interactive/participatory dance in traditional and non-traditional spaces. This encompasses many other research interests: dance created by and for community members, site-specific dance, and interdisciplinary and/or collaborative performance and pedagogy. She has presented her written and creative research at conferences and festivals throughout the United States and internationally in Mexico, Austria. and Barbados. Emily has taught modern dance, improvisation, choreography, history, world dance forms, ballet, and dance pedagogy, among others. She has taught at Winthrop University, the University of Texas, El Paso, El Paso Community College, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, Elon University, the North Carolina Governor’s School, and at a public magnet arts high school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Emily holds an M.F.A. in Dance/Choreography from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, a B.A. in Dance from Denison University in Ohio, and is a doctoral student in dance at Texas Woman’s University.
Dates: July 30-August 12, 2023
Registration Deadline: June 16, 2023
Enrollment limited to 24 participants
Pricing (does not include room and board):
$50 registration fee
$1,200 tuition (public performance)
Week 1 only July 30-August 5 (informal showing) $600
$50 registration fee
$600 tuition (informal performance)
Class Pass (drop-in attendance)
$125 for 5 classes
$225 for 10 classes
$325 for 15 classes
$425 for 20 classes
A $20 processing fee is applied to all registration packages.
Housing is available at an additional charge.
Students who are not affiliated with CSU can select the residential option at an additional cost of $680/week plus tax.. This rate includes a shared room, full breakfast, and catered lunch. Residential students dine as a group each night at the dining hall or local restaurants. Students are responsible for purchasing their own dinner. Residential students are housed at the Best Western University Inn with full time supervision by CSU dance majors vetted through a rigorous application process.
Incoming CSU dance majors with fall housing assignments have the option of early move-in on August 5. An additional fee for the dorm room and meal plan will be charged through CSU Housing and Dining Services.
Free diagonal and two hour zoned parking options are available on a first-come-first-served basis. The Lake Street Garage is another close option. Z-lot parking permits (directly behind our building) can be purchased online by Visiting the parking services website.