Another side of Arts & Lectures outreach is masterclasses by visiting artists. KT Nelson, founding member and co-director of San Francisco’s ODC Dance gave one to a lucky few at the Santa Barbara Dance Network. It was an energetic and freewheeling class in which Ms. Nelson created a framework upon which the participants were set free to improvise, giving pointers and encouragement along the way and empowering the creative process in the dancers, who usually are assiduously following the dictates of another’s vision. So, another way of imparting knowledge, or teaching, is to provide the building blocks and technique as well as a glimpse into the harder to explain process of creating something interesting of your own.
