Educational Offerings
In alignment with our mission to build opportunities for local dancers, audiences, and the community to experience dance, little house offers several educational opportunities. Our aim is to make dance accessible for a diverse range of individuals, from those who have extensive dance training and experience to those who are curious and have never been in a dance environment. These opportunities also offer our dancers a platform to continue their development as teachers and artists.
Community Classes:
Weekly open community classes take place at Casco Bay Movers year-round. These classes are open to anyone from the community to attend. These classes serve a range of people - recent graduates, professional artists, and those with a movement background who are looking for an entry point into contemporary dance and improvisation. Our community classes are primarily taught by dancers and members of the company, and occasionally are led by invited guests from both the Maine dance community and beyond. Check out our Instagram for weekly updates on teachers and class times.
Creation Lab:
Twice a year little house hosts a week-long Creation Lab at Mechanics Hall. During the Creation Lab dancers take contemporary technique classes, learn little house repertoire, and are engaged in a creative process where we develop and make a choreographic score. Participants have the opportunity to perform at the end of the week in the format of an informal studio sharing for parents, friends, and community members. The Creation Lab is geared towards dance and performance artists who have a solid foundation in their training and are looking to expand their performance practice and explore methods of creation and improvisation. During Creation Lab we open up the morning classes to members of the community who want to attend but cannot commit to the full week. There is no formal application or audition process to attend. Scholarships and sliding scale rates are available, please reach out for more information.
Workshops for All-Levels:
We periodically offer workshops in addition to our regular open class programming. These workshops are often supported by community partners such as Maine Mechanics’ Hall and Casco Bay Movers. These workshops are specifically designed to be accessible for anyone, regardless of prior dance or movement experience. Folks are encouraged to take care of their bodies and move with curiosity and openness.
little house creates:
little house creates is a yearly performance event where collaborators from the little house community create and present original works. little house provides the dancers with the resources for rehearsals, marketing, and production support. Throughout the process the dancers are mentored and given feedback on their work. In 2023 and 2024 the presentation of little house creates was supported by SPACE Gallery.