Presenting Work in Dresden

Juilliard’s quarterly choreographic workshops give any dance student who’s interested in participating the chance to develop their individual choreographic voice.

By Jordyn Hubbs

This summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to perform Don’t Let It Lie to You—a work I created as part of a Juilliard student choreographic workshop last year—in Dresden, Germany. I was there with fellow student Lounes Landri, who had just graduated, under the guidance of the Dance Division’s associate director, Mario Alberto Zambrano. We had been kindly invited by the Palucca University of Dance Dresden to its annual summer dance festival. The only independent university for dance in Germany, Palucca was founded in 1925 by German dancer Gret Palucca. It offers secondary, bachelor’s, and master’s programs and its students come from all over the world, including Italy, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Peru, and Bulgaria.

One wonderful component of the festival was the opportunities Lounes and I had to engage with students across the various Palucca programs. Taking ballet and Gaga classes together provided us insight into their training, and the subsequent discussions we had about all of our future plans were inspirational. When it came time to perform, we had the pleasure of presenting work (twice!) as did many of the students of the school alongside companies from around Germany and Europe, including members of the Semperoper Dresden, Frankfurt, and Leipzig dance companies. Not only was the dance beautiful, but the performances took place on an outdoor stage in the school’s courtyard. As such, the experience promoted a fluid blend of aestheticism and virtuosity, contextualized within the welcoming Palucca community.

In coming back to Juilliard for the fall semester, I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have been able to witness, and participate in, an artistic community across the Atlantic. I cannot wait to see which artistic communities Juilliard students have the opportunity to explore next, exchanging new art, culture, and memories.

Jordyn Hubbs is a third-year dancer