Award-winning professor and dance coach Vincas Greene will give a class at the University of Idaho Friday, Sept. 29.
Greene, founding director of Vytal Movement Dance Company in Spokane, said he hopes to bring a new form of dance to the community and inspire students to pursue their passions.
“I want them to become curious about dance,” Greene said. “I want them to understand the culture in the western dance world.”
Greene modern dance class, based in the Merce Cunningham technique, will go from 11:30 a.m. to 1:20 p.m. in the Physical Education Building room 110. Melanie Meenan, a UI dance professor, said Greene is “a dynamic dance professor” who’s experienced success in his career as an instructor.
Greene said dance is an old tradition, and has been integrated into multiple areas of fine arts. Greene said he originally began dancing out of curiosity, but dance became more important to him.
“I enjoyed moving and what could be done with the body,” Greene said. “It became part of me. If I don’t dance, my life isn’t good. It became an essential part of me.”
Greene said through dance, he also learned to appreciate the human body, to work hard, to think critically, to take into account different perspectives and to respect the variety of ways people contribute to the world.
“If I were to give any of the University of Idaho dance students advice it would be to get many experiences and listen to the people very carefully with experience,” Greene said. “Experiment with the knowledge you receive. Work hard and appreciate the time you get out of it.”
Meenan said part of inviting Greene and other guest dancers to the university is to give dance students access to different professional perspectives. She said this helps connect them to their future careers.
“In terms of inspiring the dance students, hearing lots of different stories is very important,” Meenan said.
Cecil Milliken can be reached at [email protected]