DENMARK — “Dancing, for us, isn’t about learning a specific set of graceful movements,” says dancer Cookie Harrist, “It’s about exploring the vast language of the body.” Harrist and co-director Delaney McDonough run the local contemporary dance company, Hio Ridge Dance, through the Denmark Arts Center where the have been resident artists for two years.

This fall, the dancers are offering a series of dance classes throughout the Lakes Region. “We design the classes so each participant can engage with the material at their level and pace,”McDonough said, “but we continuously introduce new tools so students can expand their creative and physical range.”

For kids, Hio Ridge Dance teaches weekly through Pequawket Kids’ Association at C.A. Snow School. The class, on Mondays from 4 to 5 p.m., is open to all kindergarteners-through-fifth-graders of MSAD 72. Students will have the opportunity to invent new dance moves, collaborate on a music video, and play games with friends. To register, visit www.pka.msad72.org.

 On Wednesdays from 5:30 to 7 pm at the Denmark Arts Center, Hio Ridge Dance teaches an open modern class, inviting everyone, no matter age or ability, to come explore movement together. In this class, the group is lead in uncovering and utilizing each participant’s creative and physical strengths. With prompts and guidance, students will work together to build original choreography that challenges and inspires each individual. 

For more information, and other class listings, visit www.hioridgedance.com.