Musical Theatre West is celebrating and recognizing National Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 – Oct. 15) with this Master Class. Led by interdisciplinary artist and international dance educator Grasan Kingsberry, this musical theater dance class will be a fun exploration of the styles, techniques, and vernacular of Hispanic culture. Elements of salsa, cha-cha-cha and hip-hop will encompass the combination using music from In the Heights. MTW and its Education-Outreach department values the importance of arts education which, in tandem, also reflects the importance and necessity for cultural awareness within the arts and community.
This class is for grades 6th-12 with skill levels from advanced-beginning to intermediate, and above.
About our Master Class Teaching Artist
Grasan Kingsberry is originally from Charlotte, NC, Grasan is a Daytime Emmy®, Grammy®, ACCA, and Regional BroadwayWorld Award-winning artist. After receiving a BFA from The Juilliard School, he went on to appear in 11 Broadway productions. He was featured in the 2018 Tony Award® best revival Once On This Island. He was a part of workshopping and developing the 2005 original Broadway cast as well as the 2015 Tony, Grammy, and Emmy winning revival of The Color Purple. Other Broadway shows include Motown, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Leap of Faith, On A Clear Day You Can See Forever, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Finian’s Rainbow, Catch Me If You Can, and Aida. Regional theater roles include Something Rotten! [William Shakespeare]; Musical Theatre West; In The Heights [Benny]; Music Theatre of Wichita (2019 Regional BroadwayWorld Award), Annie [H. Morgenthau]; Hollywood Bowl, One Night In Miami [Sam Cooke]; Center Stage, Dreamgirls [Curtis]; NorthShore. TV: “Mozart in the Jungle,” “Smash,” “Royal Pains,” “All My Children,” “Today Show,” “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” “The Late Show with David Letterman,” and “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Film: “The Aerialist” (2019), and “I Am Legend” with Will Smith. He has worked with countless notable artists such as Beyoncé, Michelle Williams, Deborah Cox, Toni Braxton, Jennifer Hudson, Jennifer Holliday, John Lithgow, Harry Connick, Jr., Alan Menken, Matthew Broderick, Kelli O’Hara, and Wynton Marsalis. Aside from his fruitful career as a performer, Grasan is an international teacher and mentor and currently serves as a Lecturer in Dance for Musical Theater at USC Kaufman. He is also the Co-founder of {subject to change}, a gender-neutral streetwear clothing brand, and the Co-owner of a basenji named Kayode.