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S/OURCE winter intensive delivers training and wellness practice for ��������Ƶ dancers

Rest is an essential wellness practice for dancers, but diving quickly back into the studio following an extended break can be a challenge. Each year, a long winter break is followed by a quick acceleration to classes, auditions and performances for students in the School of Dance. Offered for the first time in 2025, a winter dance intensive with Asheville-based gave students the opportunity to engage in thoughtfully-curated classes to help prepare their bodies and minds for the semester ahead. 

“The break following fall semester has grown longer and longer,” explains Dean of Dance Endalyn T. Outlaw. “There was a real desire to put something in place that would help our students ease back into training and provide them with tools and skills around mindfulness, meditation and career readiness.” Through a close collaboration between Dean Outlaw, School of Dance faculty, the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts and the weeklong S/OURCE winter intensive was born. 

Groundwork

Alumna Mari Meade (B.F.A. Dance ’09, HS Dance ’06) and ballet faculty member Angelina Sansone first created a connection between Stewart and Owen and the School of Dance. Stewart taught during the Choreographic Institute and summer intensives before they began to lay the groundwork for S/OURCE. “It’s really a story of relationships, and it’s something we always return to,” explains Owen. “The company you keep is so important to your professional work, for everyone—but especially for dancers. We talk to students a lot about how key relationships are.” 

As planning began for the intensive, Stewart and Owen brought forth some key ideas for the curriculum, paired with inspiration from their own dancing. Additionally, both ��������Ƶ and Stewart/Owen Dance wanted to prioritize education around building sustainable careers. “There were important questions we wanted to answer there,” says Owen. “It was important to create content around preparing dancers for their lifestyle and not to focus on dance training alone.” 

The final structure for the intensive included contemporary and ballet classes, mindfulness practices, progressing ballet technique (PBT), professional development and cinedance—dancing for camera. Faculty members from both the School of Dance and the Preparatory Dance Program  Angelina Sansone, Patricia Casey (emeritus), April Ball and Alejandra Dore lent their expertise and guidance to the intensive. Adam Witmer (B.F.A. Filmmaking ’16) joined Stewart and Owen to lead Cinedance.

Discovery

During its pilot year, S/OURCE capped attendance at 30 students. The program was offered without charge, thanks to support from the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts. “Removing the financial barrier for students was important to us,” says Stewart. “As a small company we aren’t always able to eliminate those barriers, so it was like an answer to a dream we’ve had. That kind of relationship with an organization like the Kenan Institute for the Arts is everything to this kind of work.” 

“As an incubator and accelerator for projects and partnerships at the intersection of ��������Ƶ and the larger creative sector, the Kenan Institute for the Arts is increasingly focused on opportunities to build a more resilient cultural ecosystem,” says Executive Director Kevin Bitterman. “A thriving creative sector centers on the holistic well-being of artists—physically, mentally, and creatively—so they can sustain meaningful careers and lives. The S/OURCE winter intensive exemplifies this process for students at ��������Ƶ.”

Addy Harris (B.F.A. Dance ’25, H.S. Dance ’22) attended the intensive. Eager to jump-start her final semester of auditioning before graduation, she was motivated by the fact that the week was fully-funded. “It was a nice segway back into school,” she reflects, “and I really appreciated the fact that we were working with a North Carolina-based dance company as well.”

A highlight of the week for Harris was the opportunity to participate in mock auditions, which are not regularly offered within the School of Dance’s standard curriculum. “The instructors provided us with individual feedback,” she says, “and it was very insightful. I discovered many things I could apply to my work.”

Owen also identified mock auditions as a key differentiator of the residency. “We set out to make sure that every single student received personal feedback,” she says. “We wanted to meet them where they were, to see their interests and encourage them to ask questions and to be curious.” It sometimes felt daunting to respond personally to 30 students within the confines of a short intensive, but with Stewart and Owen teaching classes together one could focus on keeping the flow of class going while the other engaged with students one-on-one.

Outside of the studio, a professional development class was a critical opportunity for students, especially those in their fourth year like Harris, to prepare for life after conservatory. “It was exciting to see the material that [co-instructor Angelina Sansone] brought forward in a way that we didn’t have when we started our careers,” says Stewart. “We were able to give the students a guidebook to give them their best chance in their careers.”

We were able to give the students a guidebook to give them their best chance in their careers.

Gavin Stewart, Co-founder of the Stewart/Owen Dance Company

“We introduced dance for camera to give students new ideas around processes that are evolving and becoming more popular,” says Outlaw of the cinedance class. “Many auditions have moved to being on camera, and students must be prepared.” Cinedance also gave students a glimpse into making collaborative dance work, along with dance films and reels. 

Above all, classes highlighted the individuality of each artist. “There’s something about the name of the intensive,” says Stewart. “It’s from the source… and the source is you. There is an intrinsic value we each bring to the table, and it connects you to your humanity. We continue to look for ways in our approach to teaching to encourage that.”

Serendipity

Stewart and Owen found the intensive to be incredibly serendipitous, highlighting time and again an aligned vision between the School of Dance and their company. “We’ve been curious about applications of positive psychology in the dance world, and were able to see April [Ball] incorporate her background in that field into her ballet class,” recalls Stewart. Ball holds a B.A.A.S. in Leadership and Communications/Positive Psychology, which she often incorporates into her teachings. Meditation, led by Patricia [Casey], was another such moment. “She was diving deeper into concepts that we’ve introduced in small moments in class, but haven’t been able to dig into because our primary focus is technique,” he adds. 

The timing of S/OURCE was also serendipitous. The Asheville community that Stewart/Owen Dance Company calls home was deeply impacted by Hurricane Helene in the fall of 2024. As a result, they made the difficult decision to cancel their fall and spring seasons. The winter residency was already in its planning phase at the time, but Stewart and Owen weren’t able to be fully present for several weeks. “Our collaborators at ��������Ƶ kept the ball rolling and made it easy for us to do what we needed to do,” says Owen. “It felt like a gift to be able to shift our focus where it was needed during that time.”

Stewart/Owen Dance’s roots in Western North Carolina made for a perfect guest artist fit. “It’s nice to have the opportunity to collaborate within local and regional communities,” says Harris. “We often think about dance outside of this place… we think about big cities, big artistic hubs. But dance can be found everywhere, and working with Stewart/Owen was a wonderful example of that.”

In reflection, Outlaw is pleased with the outcomes of the intensive and hopes to do similar programming in the future: “Students must be mentally and physically ready, and they must be resilient and courageous. This week offered abundant opportunities to focus on these key areas and more.”

by Hannah Callaway

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