teachers + class descriptions
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ATALI
STAFFLER
(Switzerland/Thailand),
born in Switzerland, is a dancer,
choreographer, and teacher, with a background in a wide range of dance
styles
and a specialization in modern dance. She has been focusing on contact
improvisation for the past three years. As a certified in
Laban/Bartenieff
Movement Analyst, she helps people with injuries and trains dancers to
use
their bodies more efficiently. She has been teaching since 2008 and
currently trains
students at the Chiang Mai Royal Ballet Academy for competitions. As an
MSW
mental health therapist, she works at integrating movement in treatment.
Class #1: The Art
of Choreographing and
Performing
“Dances without purpose have false starts
and stops." – Hanya Holm
…True or false? An overview of
underlying choreographing principles that are also found and used
throughout
the arts. Principles will be presented, discussed and explored through
movement
using contact and/or individual improvisation.
“I'm not interested in a group of people
with
some sort of incredible homogeny, a group that can do the movement I
want. I'm
interested in people who can take the movement somewhere.”
– Graeme Murphy
Don't all movement go somewhere? What does Murphy mean? Discussion and movement practice of
what qualities are required to
allow for strong performances.
Class #2: How are bodies meant to
move?
A
functional approach of movement and body use through
personal guided exploration and collaborative work. The work will
include core
engagement and inner connectivity with the limbs and the environment as
a way
to increase strength and safety.
Class #3: Letting Senses and the
Environment Inform Dances
An exploration of our senses in dance
and how
they can be sources for creativity and also as informative tools about
our
partner and our environment.
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DAVID LIM (Malaysia)
has been practicing and
teaching contact improvisation since 2005. He has studied the dance
form with luminaries such as Nancy Stark Smith, KJ Holmes, Martin
Keogh, Martin Hughes, Alejandro Rolandi, and Joerg Hassman, and his
investigation into contact improvisation is informed by movement
approaches such as Alexander Technique, Body-Mind Centering, and
Ideokinesis.
As
performer/choreographer, his works have been shown at Cloth & Clef,
Short
& Sweet Dance Malaysia, Dancebox FUSED, Malaysia-Japan Video Art
Exchange,
Sama-sama Guesthouse Mini Alternative Art Festival, MAP Arts
Festival, Multimedia University's Research Creation Exhibition,
and
SiCKL's Improv Lab @ FINDARS.
Class #1: Like Honey Dripping
Using
the analogy of dripping honey as a visual and
tactile aid, we shall explore the concepts of flowing and falling. We
will
start with basic rolling techniques that will help us fall
safer and yet with more graceful abandon. We shall also study the
concept of pouring, which will help us “fall” safely and securely onto
our partners, and the concept of
sloughing, which utilizes friction and weight transfer in order to
assist in slowing
our descent. We will then put it all together in the attempt to enter a
flowing state of
dance.
Class #2: Dancing in the Dark
To
dance contact is to dance in the unknown. Via a series of scores, we
shall bring into focus our ability to stay in the present moment, and
to make
room for our dances to continually surprise us. At some point, we shall
also utilize
blindfolds, exploring what it’s like to heighten our non-sight senses.
Class #3: Flying with Grace
We
shall practice skills for lifting and being lifted, emphasizing
a solid yet mobile base and a secure yet relaxed flyer. These shall be
taught in a safe and fun atmosphere. An intermediate skill level
in contact improvisation is required.
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MATTHEW HEYS
(Australia/Singapore) holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Acting from Lasalle
College of the Arts Singapore. He has been studying, practicing &
teaching Contact Improvisation since 2006. Matthew has
studied with the likes of Ang Gey Pin, Stephen Waugh, David Lim, Alejandro Rolandi, and
Olive Bieringa.
His approach to Contact Improvisation is
influenced by his study and interest in other movement approaches such as Lecoq,
Michael Checkhov, Grotowski,
Kalaripayattu and other Asian theatre forms.
Class #1: Feeling the Wave
Gabrielle Roth
says that “between the feet and the head are a billion different
possibilities”. My workshop aims to help one release themselves from
their physical bonds of the past – freeing oneself to explore new
patterns of movement as they arise whilst developing a conscious
relationship to them. ‘Feeling the Wave’ is a metaphor referring to
the ceaseless exchange of energy and movement that exists in all of us
– and if we can develop a perpetual awareness of that – there is
endless potential to be explored. Most of the work will be done solo to
develop this self awareness – to be later taken into duets.
Class #2: Dancing in the Dark
To
dance contact is to dance in the unknown. Via a series of scores, we
shall bring into focus our ability to stay in the present moment, and
to make
room for our dances to continually surprise us. At some point, we shall
also utilize
blindfolds, exploring what it’s like to heighten our non-sight senses.
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