Duncan Dance Workshop
Lisbon, Portugal -with Mary Sano
June 4 (Wed.) ~ 9 (Mon.), 2025
Photo: Mary Sano and her students/dancers Alexandra Zeidan and Julie Dubois in Lisbon (April, 2023)
In this workshop, Mary Sano will share core concepts and technique of Duncan Dance, and introduce choreography of Isadora Duncan from the Chopin and Brahms repertoire. She will also introduce students to her original work ‘Isadora’s Choros’, a dance-theater series which seeks the origins of performing arts from ancient Greece; evoking and expressing the true dance envisioned by Isadora Duncan (1877-1927), who felt that the Choros of tragedy is the true essence of the dance because contemporary music had lost its synchronicity with natural rhythms, poetry, and movement; as was once expressed by the Choros. Since the first performance of the series ‘Isadora’s Choros: A Return to Harmony’ in 2020, Sano and her collaborators have presented ‘Love and Tragedy’ (2021), ‘Life and Death’ (2024), and ‘Pandora’s Hope’ on March 1, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan.
Showing/performance: Sunday, June 8 at 6 pm.
Fees: 400 € (6 days), 70 € per day
Mary Sano is a third generation Duncan dancer and protégé of Mignon Garland, who studied and toured with Irma and Anna Duncan. Sano has established studios in Tokyo and San Francisco, and is recognized as one of the world’s foremost interpreters of Duncan choreography. She has been performing and teaching traditional Duncan choreography as well as her original work for over 25 years in the US, Japan, and Europe.
Schedule of the Workshops: At Polo Cultural Gaivotas, Boavista
Address: R. das Gaivotas 8, 1200-202 Lisboa, Portugal
June 4, 5, 6, 9 (Weekday Schedule)
2 ~ 4 pm – Duncan dance concepts and technique (25 €)
4 ~ 6 pm – Choreography (learning Duncan choreography from Chopin & Brahms repertoire) (25 €)
6 ~ 7 pm – Supper break
7 ~ 9 pm – Reading/research for Isadora’s Choros project (25 €)
June 7, 8 (Weekend Masterclass Schedule)
Saturday, June 7
10:30 ~ 1:30 pm – Masterclass 1: Duncan Dance Technique (30 €)
1:30 ~ 2:30 pm – Lunch break
2:30 ~ 5:30 pm – Masterclass 2: Choreography of Isadora Duncan (30 €)
Sunday, June 8
10:30 ~ 1:30 pm – Masterclass 1: Duncan Dance Technique (30 €)
1:30 ~ 2:30 pm – Lunch break
2:30 ~ 5:30 pm – Masterclass 2: Choreography of Isadora Duncan (30 €)
Performance (June 8 at 6 pm)
Dancers: Alexandra Zeidan, Julie Dubois, and Mary Sano (directed by Mary Sano)
(Committed students/dancers are encouraged to perform)
6 pm ~ 7 pm – Open to the public (20 €)
Alexandra Zeidan is a modern dancer specializing in the Isadora Duncan technique under the guidance of world renowned dancer, Mary Sano. With a background in ballet from the Royal Academy of Dance in London and a degree in movement analysis, Alexandra brings a deep understanding of the body’s mechanics and expression. She is a Gyrotonic trainer and studio owner in Lisbon and enjoys helping others discover strength, fluidity, and connection through motion.
Julie Dubois, dancer and choreographer specializing in modern and postmodern dance, discovered Isadora Duncan’s technique in 2018. In 2022, she created the solo Lisa\dora Duncan, exploring memory and filiation. She now teaches this technique while continuing to train with renowned Duncan dancers, notably Mary Sano, with whom she has had a special relationship since 2020.
Photo from the Palacio Pancas Palha in Lisbon, Portugal in April, 2023
Alexandra Zeidan on the right, Julie Dubois in the center and Mary Sano on the left