'Unearthing' starts with a dance master class

The main event isn’t until the first of next month, but Zap McConnell’s latest dance theater project is so much more than just one event.

“The Unearthing” includes a series of free events and workshops — one on Sunday — that all culminate in the grand staged production that runs Feb. 1-12 at the Ix.

To put it in McConnell’s terms, it is “a cross-genre performance, art installation and workshop series.” It will raise awareness, raise funds and rise again as part of an exchange-based dance festival in Mexico.

This weekend, however, the focus is on one part of the whole — a dance master class at McGuffey Art Center.

Dancers and musicians from “The Unearthing” will be on hand from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday to welcome community members of all dance levels. From 1 to 3 p.m. there will be a movement class, followed by an improvisation/composition class from 3 to 5.

Participants may elect to come to the second half only, although organizers suggest that dancers arrive already warmed up.

Sunday’s workshop is the second of three free classes.

The first workshop, “IDentity community laboratory: borders of culture/borders of self takes,” was held last week the Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative. The third, “Speakers from Appalachia “Fighting to Protect Our Home,” will be Jan. 22.

All three weave into McConnell’s vision for “The Unearthing.”

The classes also focus on topics ranging from local energy use to U.S./Mexican border issues. McConnell addresses the challenges through dance, music and art.

It is an ambitious project. It’s a combination of international exchange of ideas and talent, a sculpture installation, a dance theater performance, an art sale fundraiser and, of course, the workshop series.

McConnell, who studied at the North Carolina School of Arts, is known locally for a decade of innovative work with Zen Monkey Project. She also has served as the artist in residence at Universidad de los Americas in Puebla, Mexico.

She is merging both of her experiences into “The Unearthing.”

Dancers and musicians from the U.S. and Mexico are part of the project. So is the audience. Attendees who come to see performance at the Ix will get a chance to interact with the performers as they walk through a world of sculptural installations. University of Virginia students and local artists will fill the old warehouse with some 20 sculptures.

All of the art will be for sale, with half of the proceeds earmarked for two activist groups in Virginia and West Virginia — Heartwood and I Love Mountains.

Oh, the productions also will be aided by bicycle power. Plus, there will be a seed planting and a post-show salon, catered by Harvest Moon.

Check out the website to reserve tickets to the show, or come this weekend for a free class.