COUNTERTECHNIQUE®
with Kelsey Paschich
A Cooperative Workshop Hosted byARCOS, BLiPSWiTCH, Emily Rushing + Erica Saucedo
The Countertechnique® class is a contemporary dance technique class. It stretches, coordinates and strengthens the body, making the dancer sweat, build stamina and really move. The class starts with a recurring set of exercises, allowing dancers to investigate the Countertechnique® principles in detail. The second half of the class consists of changing components, working towards luscious movement combinations and jumping at the end. The Countertechnique® class results in dancers using less energy, losing their fear of taking risks and gaining speed in changing direction.
Kelsey Paschich is a versatile dance artist whose work bridges tradition and innovation. As a performer, she has a diverse 20-year international career with renowned companies and choreographers including The Moscow State Classical Ballet, DCDC2, Thodos Dance Chicago, River North Chicago Dance Company, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and more. She integrates dance and emerging technologies to cultivate new modes of choreography and performance. Her boundary-pushing interdisciplinary collaborations integrate dance with film, animation, and interactive media, creating immersive experiences presented globally. Her digital work has been screened in a variety of festivals across the U.S. and Europe.
As Assistant Professor of Innovation in Dance at Western Michigan University, Kelsey strives to cultivate the next generation of artists, using her classroom as a creative laboratory. Her work has been recognized through numerous awards and residencies including the WMU Presidential Innovation Professorship Award 2023, the Choreographic Coding Lab in Germany, and the Dancing Lab: Art Speaks 2.0 residency.
Holding an MFA from the University of New Mexico, a BFA from Point Park University, and as a Countertechnique® certified teacher, Kelsey’s breadth of experience across performance, choreography and scholarship informs her versatile, multi-faceted career. Her curiosity and bold vision reveal dance as a perpetually evolving art form which she continues to shape.
As Assistant Professor of Innovation in Dance at Western Michigan University, Kelsey strives to cultivate the next generation of artists, using her classroom as a creative laboratory. Her work has been recognized through numerous awards and residencies including the WMU Presidential Innovation Professorship Award 2023, the Choreographic Coding Lab in Germany, and the Dancing Lab: Art Speaks 2.0 residency.
Holding an MFA from the University of New Mexico, a BFA from Point Park University, and as a Countertechnique® certified teacher, Kelsey’s breadth of experience across performance, choreography and scholarship informs her versatile, multi-faceted career. Her curiosity and bold vision reveal dance as a perpetually evolving art form which she continues to shape.
