DCF PROUDLY PRESENTS A SERIES OF MASTER CLASSES, TAUGHT BY ACCOMPLISHED CHICAGO LOCAL PRACTITIONERS IN DIVERSE FIELDS OF DANCE. OUR CLASSES ARE LED BY THE SAME EXCEPTIONAL INSTRUCTORS, ARTISTS, AND CHOREOGRAPHERS WHO PERFORM AND PRESENT THEIR WORK AT THE FESTIVAL. FOR ALL DANCERS AGES 13 AND UP, OUR MASTER CLASS SERIES PROVIDES A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR DANCERS TO LEARN FROM THE BEST IN THE INDUSTRY FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE!
Noelle Kayser
Noelle Kayser is an award-winning choreographer, director, and multi-disciplinary performer based in Chicago. She is the inaugural resident choreographer for Open Space, a Whim W’him Choreographic Shindig winner, a BalletX Choreographic Fellow, a Jacob’s Pillow Ann and Weston Hick’s Choreography Fellow and a Ballet Collective Commission for Developing Choreographers recipient. Noelle has created work for companies including Dance Aspen, Visceral Dance Chicago, and SALT among many others. She has served as a Ballet Mistress at the Lyric Opera and is currently the Artistic Liaison for South Chicago Dance Theatre. Noelle was named one of NewCity Magazines, “The 50 People Who Really Perform for Chicago”. Noelle’s short dance film “dust”—produced by Open Space—has been screened in Germany, Sweden, Greece, South Korea, Mexico, Italy, London, and throughout the US.
In addition to her choreographic work, Noelle has performed works by Gustavo Ramírez Sansano, Ihsan Rustem, Wen Wei Wang, Danielle Agami, Robyn Mineko Williams, and Alice Klock, among others. She has had the privilege of dancing with companies such as NW Dance Project and Visceral Dance Chicago among others. As an actor, Noelle has narrated 16 audiobooks for Audible, appeared in advertising campaigns, and performed in numerous stage productions. Most recently, she won the 2024 Jeff Award for Best Ensemble for her performance as Selene in The Penelopiad at The Goodman Theatre, and starred in Anna Long’s short film Death in the Desert (Best Actress in a Short at the Idyllwild Film Festival & Best Short Drama at the Breckenridge Film Festival).
Contemporary
Noelle Kayser
3:00-4:00 PM
Ballet
Seyong Kim
4:00-5:00 PM
Release Based Contemporary
Kara Brody
5:00-6:00 PM