Residency has dances, discussion and classes

Gesel Mason, an award-winning choreographer and educator, will lead a master class at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in Culbreth Theater at the University of Virginia.

Observers can watch Mason lead a class of 30 to 35 dancers from UVa and the community.

Mason will be in residence through Jan. 17, and there will be other opportunities to catch her at work.

At 7 p.m. Jan. 16, Mason will present “Dialogues in Dance,” also in the Culbreth, using lecture and demonstration to offer a look into the creative process she has used in recent and upcoming projects.

She will address her works “No Boundaries” and “A Declaration of (In)Dependence: The Story of Sally Hemings.”  Mason will be joined by Cheles Rhynes, co-founder of Mason-Rhynes Productions and technical director of Gesel Mason Performance Projects.

She also will present her award-winning solo work “No Boundaries: Dancing the Vision of Contemporary Black Choreographers” at 8 p.m. Jan. 17 in the Culbreth.

The event will be followed by a discussion with Mason.

While in residency at UVa, Mason will teach classes for student actors to explore identity issues through improvisation, text and movement and work with student designers studying lighting, costume and production to share her creative design experience.

Her UVa residency is one of six performance sites this season for a MetLife-National Dance Project touring grant from the New England Foundation for the Arts.

Tickets for the Jan. 17 performance are $10, $5 for UVa students and staff members, and will go on sale Thursday.

Thursday’s master class is free to spectators. To learn more, call 924-3376.