Guided Improvisation Jam w/ Live DJ

Designed for professional dancers and anyone interested in movement exploration, this guided improvisation experience invites participants to investigate, follow, challenge, and transform their natural movement impulses. Through a series of facilitated prompts and scores, we'll explore presence, curiosity, connection, and creative risk-taking both individually and in relationship with others.

Accompanied by a live DJ set, the class creates a dynamic environment for discovery, expression, and embodied listening. Whether you're a seasoned improviser or simply curious about moving in new ways, you'll find space to explore without the pressure of learning choreography.

Bring water, wear comfortable clothing, and come with a willingness to be present, experiment, and connect.

The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. For assistance, please contact 512-974-3917 or Relay Texas 7-1-1. For more information or to request a language interpreter, please call Austin 3-1-1 or 512-974-2000.

This project has been financed in part by the City of Austin's Elevate Grant Program.

About The Instructor: Laura Merkel graduated summa cum laude from Hofstra University with a B.A. in Dance Performance. After graduation, she spent several years in New York City performing with modern and jazz dance companies while deepening her studies in yoga and Pilates.

In 2016, Laura relocated to Austin, Texas, and joined Dance Waterloo, where she has performed as a dancer, choreographer, teaching artist, and bodyworker. Beyond her work with Dance Waterloo, she teaches young dancers at Dance Xplosion and operates her own online fitness business, Laura Merkel Fitness.

In 2019, Laura collaborated with fellow Dance Waterloo artist Rachael Hulse to create the two-hour dance installation Save/Reload as part of Revolve Austin. Laura is grateful to call Austin's vibrant dance community home.

About The DJ: Morgan Teel is a choreographer, curator, and emerging DJ based in Austin, Texas. As the Founder and Artistic Director of Dance Waterloo, she has spent more than a decade creating immersive experiences that invite audiences to lose themselves in the moment and reconnect with themselves through movement, music, and shared experience.

Her DJ sets blend driving techno, hypnotic rhythms, and atmospheric electronic music, balancing intensity with moments of release and reflection. Influenced by a lifelong fascination with movement, storytelling, and human behavior, Morgan approaches DJing as an opportunity to create environments where people can lose themselves to find themselves.

Long before stepping behind the decks, Morgan spent her weekends choreographing dances and recording the local radio station's Trance Hour onto cassette tapes so she could listen to it all week. Most recently, she served as the DJ for Lilly Wylde's dance production, Modern Myths.

Follow along at @itsmorganteel.