Our beginner Graham technique classes feature several experienced instructor options. Please review the instructor methods and teaching styles detailed below to select an instructor whose approach and philosophy best align with your personal learning needs and preferences.
Instructor 1: Cara McManus
Cara McManus holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance and Comparative Literature from Fordham University and the Ailey School, as well as a Master of Arts degree in English Literature from CCNY. Her professional dance experience spans two years with Graham II and four years with the Martha Graham Dance Company. Currently, she maintains an active performance career with the Caterina Rago Dance Company, Tabula Rasa Dance Theater, and Lydia Johnson Dance. Throughout her career, she has also performed with the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, The Pantos Project, Joshua Beamish and MOVETHECOMPANY, and appeared in Beau Bree Rhee's "Shadow of the Sea," a commissioned work presented at the Kitchen. Cara has taught Graham technique classes and master classes at numerous schools and summer intensives throughout the Northeast, working with students of all ages and levels.
Class Description: Cara's Graham technique class draws extensively from her advanced studies under acclaimed Graham masters at the Ailey School and the Graham School, including Christine Dakin, Jacqulyn Buglisi, Denise Vale, and Peggy Lyman. Her instruction also incorporates insights gained from performing and rehearsing with the Martha Graham Dance Company. Each class begins with traditional floorwork that emphasizes breath and spiral movement, using vivid imagery to activate these essential processes. The class progresses to standing exercises that develop from proper spinal alignment and articulation, concluding with choreographed combinations that integrate the fundamental elements of Graham technique into cohesive dance sequences. Throughout the class, particular emphasis is placed on refining movement quality, with detailed individual feedback provided to each student.
Schedule: Sundays 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Instructor 2: Caterina Rago
Caterina Rago serves as the Artistic Director and Choreographer of CRDANCE, which she established in 2007. She also founded and directs the company's international educational initiative, Tecniche Di Danza Moderna. A native of Italy, Rago is a principal dancer with CRDANCE. She joined the Martha Graham Dance Company in 2009 after completing its Professional Training Program and has maintained her commitment to advancing modern dance education and artistry. Throughout her distinguished career, Rago has received choreographic commissions from prestigious institutions, including the Steffi Nossen Dance Foundation, Accademia Nazionale di Danza, Alvin Ailey/Fordham, Wagner College, Marymount Manhattan College, and Peridance Center, where she currently serves on the faculty. Rago also teaches at the Joffrey Ballet School and was recognized as an Emerging Choreographer for MET Dance Company in Houston. Notably, she restaged Martha Graham's 1935 masterwork "Panorama" for Accademia Nazionale Di Danza at Rome's prestigious "Soirees Dans" festival and reconstructed Karole Armitage's "American Dream" for the Ravello Festival. Rago's contributions to modern dance are distinctive for their ambitious presentation of complex original works rooted in Italian cultural history while simultaneously reinterpreting ballet for contemporary audiences.
Class Description: Graham technique is fundamentally rooted in the principles of contraction and release, emphasizing powerful movement originating from the core with the limbs responding to the core's directional impulse. The technique relies on "contraction and release" mechanics and strategically employs different body parts in opposition to one another, creating dynamic spirals that generate dramatic tension and visual interest. The Graham technique also incorporates deliberate, heightened exaggerations of naturally occurring movements to expand expressive range and artistic communication. This approach creates distinctive movement vocabulary that distinguishes modern dance from other forms.
Schedule: Mondays 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM; Tuesdays 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM
