Swim Week | Dr. Jane Katz

Dr. Jane Katz, a renowned educator, physical fitness innovator and author, brings to the Ranch many years experience in water fitness. Jane will help you improve the way you swim, and show you how to have fun workouts in the water. As a member of the 1964 U.S. Synchronized Swimming Performance Team in Tokyo, she helped pioneer the acceptance of synchronized swimming as an Olympic event. In 1994, she won the FINA World Masters Solo Synchronized Swimming Championship, and the 400-meter Freestyle Championship in Montreal. In 1998, she won the U.S. Masters National Swimming Championship in the 100 and 200-yard backstroke, and in May 1999, Dr. Katz received the Outstanding Aquatic Achievement Award from the International Swimming Hall of Fame. A former professor of Physical Education at the City University of New York, she currently teaches fitness and swimming to New York City police and firefighters at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Dr. Katz developed the aquatic program W.E.T. (Water Exercise Techniques) to aid her rehabilitation after being injured in a car accident in 1979. On the Web: www.globalaquatics.com.

Nia ® Shamantra and Drumming | Saffire Bouchelion

Nia is a body-mind-emotion-spirit fitness and lifestyle practice where we use expressive movement, the body's way, to create wellness throughout the whole being. It is cardiovascular for the physical body and cleansing for the soul. Through conscious movement, Nia reminds us that pleasure is a choice the body prefers and is an act of self-love. By being present in the body now, Nia cultivates the joy of movement, which naturally leads to self-healing, a key ingredient of holistic fitness.

Saffire Bouchelion is a black belt Nia instructor who has been practicing Nia for 14 years. He is also a professional performer and musician who has been featured on over 38 CDs. Saffire co-founded two experimental dance companies in 1986 and 1989, and has performed with the Danell Hellander Dance Company and Mergence Dance Theater. He was co-director of the Ecstatic Choir for seven years, five at Naropa University, and has taught drumming, vocal, Nia, and Shamantra workshops throughout the US, Europe, and Mexico. Distilling his life experiences and integrating his knowledge of the body, rhythm and voice, Saffire has also developed a Nia-based workshop he calls Shamantra.

Shamantra

The work is based on the fact that it has been scientifically proven that sounding (vocalizing) and movement together is exponentially more healing than either by themselves. Play is much more enjoyable and easier on the body than work. On this creative and playful percussive journey we will focus on expanding your personal power through the rhythmic connection you make with your body, mind, emotions and spirit. These concepts together with Nia, yoga, floorplay, sounding, and exploring vocal/movement expression that moves beyond the mind, are the roots of the Shamantra experience. It is deep sacred play for adults, designed to help individuals remember the natural, joyous rhythms of their heart and voice.

Concert | Jason Vieaux and Julien Labro

Jason Vieaux, "among the elite of today's classical guitarists" (Gramophone), is the classical guitarist that goes beyond the classical. He has earned a reputation for putting his expressive gifts and virtuosity at the service of a remarkably wide range of music, and his schedule of recital, concerto, chamber music, teaching and recording commitments is distinguished with return engagements throughout the U.S. and abroad. This year, Vieaux’s performance invitations have included returns to the Caramoor Festival, New York's 92nd Street Y "Guitar Marathon", the Elgin Symphony and others. Numerous highlights for 2012-2013 include concertos with the symphonies of Houston, Toronto, Spokane, Augusta (GA) and Silicon Valley, a performance of the Lukas Foss Concerto for the New Hampshire Music Festival, duo recitals with acclaimed harpist Yolanda Kondonassis and accordion/bandoneon virtuoso Julien Labro, solo recitals in Austin, at the Mannes School of Music and California’s La Guitarra Festival, and another Curtis On Tour sojourn, this time to South America.

In May 2012, the Jason Vieaux Guitar Academy was launched in partnership with ArtistWorks Inc., an unprecedented technological interface that provides a one-on-one online study exchange between Vieaux and guitar students around the world. For more information, visit www.jasonvieaux.com; Jason can be found tweeting @JasonVieaux.

Julien Labro is a rising international star in both classical music and jazz. Born in Marseilles, France, he has played with symphony orchestras and jazz bands. In 2005, he took first prize in the Art Van Damme International Jazz Accordion Competition in Dallas, the Vivian Stolaruk International Entertainment Award in Detroit, and (as part of an all-star ensemble) first prize in the Heineken Jazz Starquest.

A child prodigy, Labro was graduated from Marseille Conservatory of Music by age 15. He won a quick succession of international awards, including first prize in the Coupe Mondiale in 1996 and the Castelfidardo Competitions in 1997. After sweeping first place in the Marcel Azzola, Jo Privat, and Medard Ferrero competitions in 1995 and 1998, Labro began studying under acclaimed accordion maestro Peter Soave. The association with Soave resulted in the opportunity for Labro to fulfill his dream of moving to the United States.

Under Soave’s tutelage, he has mastered the bayan (classical accordion) and its repertoire, and discovered the bandoneón (tango accordion). In 2005, he graduated with a Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies from Wayne State University, and is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Music Composition.