Photo credit: Chris AikenJoin us for an interactive presentation with Chris Aiken, chair of the Smith College Dance Department. In this presentation, Professor Aiken will discuss how physical intelligence can be developed throughout life and is available to anyone. He will lead participants in simple movement and tuning activities designed to develop curiosity, awareness, skill, and connection. Drawing on a forty-year career as a dance performer and choreographer, and researcher of movement science, Professor Aiken will share insights and invite audience members to move together to have a gentle, embodied experience.
This is designed to be participative, but only if you want to! No prior dance training is required. Participants will need to complete the Accident Waiver and Release of Liability Form for the Center. Anyone who has been to a gym or studio should be familiar with this requirement. The link to the waiver will be in your RSVP confirmation.
Doors open at 5:30 pm. Light refreshments will be served after the presentation.
About Chris
Chris Aiken is an internationally recognized performer and teacher of dance improvisation and contact improvisation. His approach to dance-making and performance centers around the dynamic relation between perception and imagination, an eco-poetic approach to movement, dance-making, and improvising with others. Chris’s work has been influenced by years of study of ecological psychology, the Alexander Technique, Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis, myofascial physiology, motor learning and skill development, and the study of aesthetics and design. Chris has worked with many well-known improvisers, including Angie Hauser, Andrew Harwood, Ray Chung, Kirstie Simson, Steve Paxton, and Nancy Stark Smith.
Chris has received numerous awards for his work from foundations such as the Guggenheim Foundation, the Bush Foundation, the Jerome Foundation, and the Mass Cultural Council. His work with Angie Hauser has toured internationally and received support from the National Performance Network, i-dance (Asia), the Bates Dance Festival, the Florida Dance Festival, and the Seattle Festival of Dance Improvisation.
Chris is currently professor and chair of the department at Smith College. He received his MFA from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.
💡 Have questions or an idea for a future event?
We'd love to hear from you!
Email us at events@smithclubnyc.com.
📅 Thursday, November 6, 2025
6:00 PM ET
New York Center for Creativity & Dance
287 East 10th Street, New York, NY Studio 2
The cost is free. Attendance limited to 50 Smithie alums.
Not a member? We invite you to join or renew your membership!