Title of the workshop:: Connecting/Supporting/Dancing

A Skinner Release - Contact Improvisation intensive

Practicing Contact Improvisation (for me) begins with listening inward, listening to the body as it surrenders to gravity. It begins by observing and turning to the mind of the body. The listening and observing can become the practice of connecting. Connecting first to ourselves, then to others. When the connection is established, there is support. The support can be offered by listening, touching, seeing, and being seen. Support can come from a partner, the group, the material, the guided focus, or the Earth. The dancing seemingly can unfold when connection and support create a safe environment. Dancing Contact Improvisation is entering the unknown, it is a dance in an ever-fresh, open-minded ready state. The moment is always unique. Every contact teaches something new.

In this intensive, the Skinner Releasing Technique (SRT*) will offer an exploratory framework for discovering Contact Improvisation. We will gently begin the classes alone or with a partner, and by listening to our inner sensations we will practice allowing and creating space to deepen into our inner landscape and explore our dance in solo form, in duets, and in trios. We will also play with the basics of CI, practicing identifying support, getting off the vertical line, modulating tone, and working with weight-sharing. We will also explore how to be safe and trusted while taking physical risks. We are going to enter the dance in different ways and challenge ourselves in extended duets.

The Skinner Releasing Technique (SRT) is a somatic dance technique, a unique approach to dance training, that has been developed by Joan Skinner.
SRT has a process like nature, where one can practice letting go, allowing and being ready to respond to any impulse. By letting go of habitual holding patterns in the body one can find ease and economy while moving, can experience being moved by a given image and discover a possible state of being where the dance and the dancer can become one.
The pedagogy involves image guided floor work, hands-on partner studies and movement studies to rediscover our natural alignment, improve strength and flexibility. The technique connects our physicality with our imagination and it integrates technical growth with creative process.
I am fascinated by the delicate progression of the classes, the sophistication of it is poetic language, the carefully build material and the specific, broad yet deep work that has enough space for individual thoughts and feelings. Its practice can be a beneficial study for dancers, actors, musicians and for all movers who wish to discover themselves as a whole and being ready to be born in the dance.   

 

Konstantinos Gerardos is a dancer teacher, choreographer and the artistic director of VIS MOTRIX DANCE COMPANY, which is based in Thessaloniki/Greece. He runs VIS MOTRIX PERFORMANCE STUDIO, a space for contemporary dance, performance and theatre in Thessaloniki and he is the creator and educational director of ReDance, an educational program in contemporary dance and performance for actors and dancers.

He started dancing at the National School of Dance in Athens when he was 11 years old. He continued his studies at the Morianova Professional Dance School and graduated from the Professional Dance School of Stavroupoli in Thessaloniki.

Between 1989 and 2004 he danced for the Thessaloniki Dance Theatre (National Theatre of Northern Greece). In 2001 he won the 1^st prize at the National Awards for Dance for his interpretation as ‘Bluebeard’ at the performance of the same name, directed by K. Rigos. In 2012 he was invited by the ‘Machinenoisy Dance Company’ based in Vancouver, Canada to dance at the performance ‘Romantic Old Horses’ directed by Peter Bingham. His career as a dancer has continued until today.
In 2001, he founded his own company, ‘VIS MOTRIX DANCE COMPANY’ based at the Vis Motrix Performance Studio in Thessaloniki and has been creating and directing its performances (In Dreams, Safety Distance, Pessoas, In Between, Nocturne, Void, Dark Matter(s) and others) in Greece and abroad (Great Britain, Germany, Spain). In May 2015 Konstantinos Gerardos directed the performance ‘TAN’ for the Thessaloniki Dance Theater (National Theatre of Northern Greece). He has also worked as an actor for the ‘Nees Morfes’ Theatre Company and as a choreographer for theatre and opera and has been subsidized for his work by the Greek Ministry of Culture.
During his work as a dancer and choreographer for the past 30 years, Konstantinos Gerardos has also developed a great teaching experience in classical and contemporary dance, improvisation and Contact Improvisation, Partnering, Ensemble Improvisation, composition, choreography and performance in professional dance schools and acting schools. He has taught improvisation and choreography at the Dance and Performance course at the University of Lincoln in England and workshops in contemporary dance and contact improvisation in Spain, Germany, Israel and Canada. He has collaborated with Chris Aiken, Angie Houser Kirstie Simpson, Nita Little, Ray Chung, Eckhard Muller, Gregor Weber, Thomas Mettler, Yaniv Mintzer and many others.

 

 

 

LEANING TO THE UNKNOWN

KEY WORDS: CI – SKILLS - IMPROVISATION

There many reasons to improvise: warming up, creating specific movement for choreography, bonding groups of people together, exploring new movement qualities, achieving a particular somatic state, creating a performance. In this intensive, we will attend to the use of improvisation as material to enrich our contact improvisation skills and improve the quality of touch and movement in contact with another dancer.
During our work together, we will zoom into the tangible body and its physiology, skin, soft tissue, muscles and bones to inspire our dance. Working solo and in contact we will clarify their role in our personal way of moving and in contact improvisation. Isometric positions will clarify the use of our muscles and playing with the soft tissue of our bodies solo and in contact will enrich the sensitivity of our perception through the skin. We will study the architecture, function and movement qualities of specific body parts like the spine, the hip joints, the torso, the pelvis or the extremities to improve our skills when we are in contact with our partner. Exploring different ways of rolling, sliding, on or off the floor and using the floor as well as a partner to support our travelling through space will bring light and clarify our relationship with space, time and gravity.
Starting from the known we will find the tracks to the unknown, starting from the familiar and the reliable we will travel to the unanticipated and the unpredictable. Starting from our own bodies (solo) we will investigate the elements of improvisation that will help us to improve our improvisational awareness, the ability of listening, not only to our own body but also our partner's body and to experience a dance that is born from our mutual surrendering to each other using improvisation as a tool.

 

 

 

 

Sveta Bird (Ukraine) Professional dancer, performer, dance teacher, modern dance choreographer, teacher and organizer various events of contact improvisation. Certified massage therapist (Chiang Mai School, Thailand), modeling designer (polymer clay crafting), economic degree.

Over 20 years of regular practice in different dance techniques. Working with several dance groups and show ballets in Kiev (Ukraine) including P.Virsky Ukrainian National Folk Dance Ensemble.

Dance background and experience cover various dance styles, from academic (classical, folk dance, modern, modern jazz, contemporary, contact improvisation), subcultural (hip-hop, salsa, strip plastic, tango, etc.) to Butoh dance theatre.

Performed in various international projects, including the ones with Ruslan Santah (Ukraine), Andrew Harwood (USA), Benno Voorham (Sweden), Steve Butts (Ireland) and others.

12 years of regular practicing, teaching and performing of contact improvisation in different countries (Ukraine, Russia,Spain, Germany, Finland, Poland, Moldova, Brazil, China, Malaysia and others.)

Exploring and practicing different approaches to movement such as authentic movement technique, axis syllabus system, release technique, body-mind centering, hatha yoga, acro-yoga, Laban movement analysis.

Organizer of Kyiv International Festival of Contact Improvisation in Ukraine during the years 2009-2017. Teacher and activist of Kiev (since 2008), Moscow (since 2012) and Bucharest (since 2016) CI communities.

 

 

Title of the workshop: Essence in preSense

 

 In recent years, in my contact improvisation classes, I have paid more attention to the place where our attention is located, in the moment of movement or rest of our physical bodies.

When (and if) I managed to return and collect my  attention to myself, then from there I can start to notice and observe how I can consciously choose to dance and live in a larger size than the boundaries of my skin and live in embodied experience of the state and feeling that we are not separate from a partner or the floor, or everything that we touch with our attention.

It's about being present in the moment. 

 

 

 

Ippokratis Veneris, teacher, dancer, choreographer, deepen and studies dance and other arts for more than 20 years. In his lessons of contact inserts elements from the various disciplines that has studied extensively over the years as: floorwork, release technique, experiential anatomy, applied anatomy, dupuy technique, acrobalance, martial arts, afro dance, ballet, alexander technic, chi kung, dance theatre and much more.

 – In the past collaborated with the UNIVERSITY OF ROME “Roma 3”, department of “Philosophy of Education” giving lectures about “Pedagogy, C.I. and personal researches on teaching”.

- for two years he received an open scholarship in Brussels (PARTS-ROSAS Dance Company) and in Rome by the region of Lazio to proceed with his research on dance theater projects. His original works (“Buongiorno Amore”, “Afroditi”, presented at Olympic theatre and Theatre Greco) combine together elements of theatre and dance.

 – Is professor in the theatre school “il Cantiere Teatrale”.

- 2018 award: His work as choreography director for the Pina Bausch "The Nelken line in Rome". An international project of 25 dancers of 11 different countries. Receives the second award of Lazio Film Festival Commission.

– In March of 2014 he was a guest together with Giulio Tremonti (former Italian Minister of Economy), Romano Prodi (the former Italian prime minister and former president of the European community), Ermanno Olmi (film director) in the TV peogram “the wind whistles” of Gad Lerner for Repubblica television and for the art channel Effe tv.

– Has collaborated -teaching and making shows of improvisation- with the Italian National Organization of Theater.

– Teaches regularly twice a week Contact Improvisation developing his own method.

– Teaches in different places around Europe.

– Has collaborated with Roberto Castello-Aldes for “Narrate” premium UBU as the best dance theatre production of the year in Italy and many others.

– In 2011 decided to stop making shows and concentrate his energies on the research about the human nature and the wisdom of our bodies.

– Co-founder of CORE an association of choreographers of central Italy to promote the rights of the live performing arts

– Co-founder of RomaContact a collective of dancers who promote and give shows of improvisation and Contact Improvisation.

– Organized the last 10 years many events of art and workshops inviting teachers from all Europe.

– Lives in Rome where graduate at school “l’officina” where study release technique, Dupuy technique, contact improvisation, instant improvisation and composition.

– As a choreographer, dancer and improviser has organized and participated at different events, in the last ten years.

– Has studied with many choreographers and participating at numerous workshops of physical-theatre, contemporary dance, choreographic composition and contact improvisation.

Theme of the lab: Yin & Yang

In this workshop we will work on some technical tools of Contact Impro and on the connection of Contact Impro and Yin & Yang approach.
Receive and give, the receiver that becomes a giver, mind and body e-motions, masculine and femminine,
"Can we be both Yin?", "Can we be both Yang?". What can come out?
What about left and right side brain function?
Fantasy and concreteness, how and where they meet? Where  can bring this approach?
Embrace (us and others), surrender, been transformed through the dance, through the meeting with ourselves and others, ready to flow and get into the energetic flow
of the present moment.
There is something unic been in the momenum, fugacioous and eternal in the same time. It smells like real life to me.
Let's explore all those ideas in these meetings 

Shakima Garunts (Latvia-Ukraine) Artist performer musician.

In my work, I use various meditations, shamanic techniques, breathing practices, and qigong techniques. One of my favorites is Sufi circles. Thanks to this simple and miraculous meditation, you can feel your axis literally in a few minutes and feel a connection with the living moment, feel that the whole world revolves around us, and we are the "center of the golden compass." These are lines you can read from the master and founder of Sufi teaching Rumi by reading his poetry and contemplating the beauty of the world, we open up to seeing this beauty within ourselves.

During the classes, we will use various exercises and songs from different traditions, including Sufi circle chanting, Sufi jibrish, improvisational singing, and Tai Chi sound. We will experience chanting Sufi zikrs and observe how sound makes our body lighter and more transparent. Conscious sound is not just a set of techniques, but a path to self-discovery of our amazing sounding nature and a way to self-expression. And of course, through attentive listening to each other, we will unite in a single circle of one sounding organism

Christianna Strbik Giaume is an improvisation movement facilitator, performance artist, and yoga instructor.

Received her master degree in dance education from CUNY Hunter College in New York. While a student, they produced their first work Hum...(A Movement Gallery), an interactive site-specific piece performed in NYC. The piece explored noise pollution and its effects on the human condition by working with vibrations of sound through movement patterns. During their research Christianna was introduced to somatics, the study of visible sound which informs their artistic practice today. Since then, they have created interactive performance pieces in intimate settings and well as post-COVID online performances for Zoom. They have gained recognition for their academic and creative achievements by the National Honors Society for Dance Arts and created Rudolf Laban’s movement sentence choirs with the Dance Education Laboratory in NYC. They have also had the honour of performing Slantboard with Simone Forti and the Table of Silence Project with the Buglisi Dance Company.

Her focus is on producing work for interactive site-specific spaces using improvisation method which also informs their teaching practice. Inspiration for their work came from working as a building deconstruction and historical salvage crew member at Repurpose Savannah, a non-profit company, providing body awareness and toning exercises for the employees in the field.

After studying methods of deconstruction and applying them to movement, Christianna then traveled to India to study yoga. Inspired by the ancient masters of movement and philosophy, Christianna is currently researching the similarities between ancient yogic practices and intuitive movement that allow us to become more in balance with the Earth. Their experience in diverse fields has lead the consistent evolution of a movement research practice in order to form an artistic and teaching method by offering research-based classes to the public. Christianna recently attended a residency at ImPulsTanz hosted by Defne Erdur investigating the concept of “MA" (a Japanese concept of empty space) and touch. They are further developing their practice by attending festivals and symposiums around Europe hosted by international dance professionals. 

Christianna is currently studying and researching contact improvisation with Eszter Gal in Budapest, Hungary. 

A nomadic artist and student who enjoys traveling and collaborating with artists all over the world, Christianna is dedicated to expanding their artistic and teaching vocabulary through channeling wisdom from various forms of movement from modern to ancient.

 Theme of the lab:  Regenerative Yoga and Movement.

In this class we will come together to listen to our bodies needs through gentle yoga practices and movement inspired by the Contemplative Dance practice by Barbara Dilley. Participants will be guided through simple breathwork techniques and postures that balance the mind and body. The practice will conclude by inviting participants to tune into the senses through an intuitive movement meditation.

Title of the workshop: Exploring through Body-Mind Centering®

In this intensive we will observe the movement of the bodies of the Body-Mind Centering point of view (BMC®).

The two practices, Contact Improvisation and BMC have a long history and tradition in inspiring and informing each other. BMC is usually included to understand and develop CI principles.

During this workshop we will put the BMC at the center of our explorations and the connection with contact improvisation. Working also on the support of the organs and the way in which they are linked to the skeleton and our muscles will be at the center of our research.

 

Matthieu Gaudeau Dancer-Teacher of the Alexander Technique.

He worked as a performer from 1997-2015 within live performance companies and collectives. 

He started training in the Alexander Technique in 2009 and began to rethink his teaching and pedagogy based on the principles of inhibition and directed attention.

He is passionate about the organization of the human gesture and the relationship between attention and posture.

He works with people suffering from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease and participates in the ICI and ICrEA projects (dance and neurosciences, C.N.R.S national center for scientific research); as a founding member, he plays a central role in the development of experimental protocols around attention and joint attention.

He regularly collaborates with others to open up the practice (Mandoline Whittlese-Authentic Movement, Emma Bigé-Philosophy, Asaf Bachrach-Science and Philosophy, Loic Santiago-Systema).

He is co-organizer of the Rencontres Internationales de Contact Improvisation in Paris.

 

 

 

 

  

Title of the workshop: Suspension in action

La contact improvisation è un meraviglioso mezzo di disorientamento e quindi di apprendimento. Ci permette di rivisitare alcune costanti del movimento umano come la gravità, il tatto, il supporto, l'orientamento, sotto l'angolo della necessità e non della tecnica. Attraverso un gioco di abbandono alla gravità e un tocco condiviso, diventiamo testimoni attivi del nostro stesso sistema di equilibrio, coordinamento e organizzazione. Ciò che si approfondisce nella pratica della Contact Improvisation è la possibilità di rimanere in questa “meraviglia del de-fare/ri-fare” in azione, dove si intrecciano forze di sostegno e una relazione di sostegno con il nostro ambiente e il nostro partner.

Da qualche anno sono affascinato dal tono, dalle sue variazioni, dalla sua musicalità; è un affascinante crocevia per avvicinarsi all'unità psico-fisica tanto cara alle pratiche somatiche. Gran parte del lavoro della Tecnica Alexander consiste nel percepire nell'attività il nostro livello di reattività e nel sospendere il nostro modo singolare e abituale di rispondere a determinati stimoli.

Questo tempo di sospensione ci permette di mettere in evidenza il modo in cui siamo organizzati nel momento in relazione al nostro appoggio (il terreno o il partner) ma anche alla gravità (le forze che ci organizzano) e a come viviamo la nostra verticalità (dialogo tra queste forze di sostegno e il nostro orientamento, le nostre relazioni) e tutto questo si esprime attraverso il tono. Ed è proprio con questo tono che dialoghiamo in Contact Improvisation. Noto che osservandolo e sviluppando la sua "lettura" diventa gradualmente un territorio condiviso dove le forze e gli orientamenti in gioco nel duetto (comfort e assunzione di rischi) possono essere organizzati ma anche previsti.

Questa sospensione (attiva) consente un "tempo aperto" in cui l'ascolto (accoglienza) e il lasciarsi andare sono articolati con precisione, due gesti specifici dell'improvvisazione del contatto.

Propongo quindi di esplorare questo particolare spazio di sospensione (inibizione nel linguaggio della Tecnica di Alexander) per vedere come sia una porta ovvia verso un disfacimento - e per avvicinarsi alla "tecnica", non come elementi da raggiungere ma come percorsi in cui “lasciarsi esplorare”.

 

For some years now, I have been fascinated by tone, its variations, its musicality; it is a fascinating crossroads for approaching the psycho-physical unity so dear to somatic practices. A large part of the work of the Alexander Technique is to perceive in activity our level of reactivity and to suspend our singular and habitual way of responding to certain stimuli.

This time of suspension allows us to highlight the way we are organized in the moment in relation to our support (the ground or partner) but also to gravity (the forces that organize us) and how we live our verticality (dialogue between these support forces and our orientation, our relationships) and all this is expressed through tone. And it is precisely with this tone that we dialogue in Contact Improvisation. I notice that by observing it and developing its "reading" it gradually becomes a shared territory where the forces and orientations at stake in the duet (comfort and risk-taking) can be organized but also predicted.

This (active) suspension allows for an "open time" where listening (welcoming) and letting go are precisely articulated, two gestures specific to contact improvisation.

I therefore propose to explore this particular space of suspension (inhibition in the language of the Alexander Technique) to see how it is an obvious gateway to an undoing - and to approach the "technique",  not as elements to be reached but as paths in which to "let oneself be explored".

 

 

 

 

 

Teti Nikolopoulou è una danzatrice, coreografa, ricercatrice, insegnante di danza e di educazione fisica, con un approccio somatico alla coreografia e all'educazione alla danza.

Teti, dopo la laurea in Educazione Fisica alla Kapodestrian University di Atene e la danza alla Kontaxaki Professional Dance School, ha preso lezioni presso lo studio Movement Research, lo studio Merce Cunningham, lo studio Paul Taylor e lo studio Alvin Ailey, a New York City e al Laban Center, Londra. Tra gli altri, ha frequentato lezioni e seminari di tecniche di crelease e improvvisazione con David Zabrano, Thomas Mettler, Gwen Welliver, Maxine Heppner e Axis Syllabus con Frey Faust, Timos Zechas e altri.

Dal 2000 si è formata in contact improvisation (CI) con Christina Klissiouni e ha partecipato a seminari di pratica con Nancy Stark Smith, Nitta Little, Daniel Lepkoff, Benno Voorham, Chariiet Morissey e altri.

È stata premiata come giovane coreografa e ha ricevuto borse di studio dal Ministero della Cultura nel 2005, 2007, 2017-18, 2018-19 e 2021-22.

Ha un dottorato di ricerca in materia di contact improvisation (https://www.didaktorika.gr/eadd/handle/10442/51162).

Insegna cotact imèrovisation da più di 18 anni. Tiene lezioni e conferenze sull'approccio somatico alla danza in diverse scuole di danza professionali in Grecia. È stata insegnante ospite nel festival internazionale dicontact improvisation di Friburgo nel 2019.

Dal 2017 è coreografa in Anima – soma dance company (1992) specializzata in creazione di danza e archiviazione di danza ed è finanziata dal Ministero della Cultura in Grecia. La compania abbraccia la sua visione e vuole comunicare e diffondere il suo approccio incarnato.

 

Spettacoli

You always unbalance me 2022, extracts https://youtu.be/VtQ2C6gOKWc

Gift/present 2019, extracts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6foaJKpsVEE

 infinities 2017-18- teaser https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuXwiW-bnW4&feature=youtu.be

 Meet me there, 2016, teaser https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjhOomepNxo&feature=youtu.be

 Roots 2015, teaser https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Byj-b6nTEzA

Ιsolated, 2010, teaser https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k21eo7xTgXs

Knots 2011, full piece https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spCopN1TgP4

 

 

 

 

Title of the workshop: From our roots to flying together

In this class we will focus on support on the ground (earth and other’s bodies) and how gravity opens paths for rising, for expanding in space and for moving softly and efficiently. These two opposing forces, support, and expansion, provide ways to contact the others, to roll to the points of contact and to function as one integrated system. These “constantly moving roots” are the anchors that enable us to “fly” towards each other.

With instructions that derive from somatic practices and holistic approach we focus on the awareness and the presence of the partners bodies. We thus add in our explorations the inner workings of human action and inter-action. When and how one transitions from the conscious to the non-conscious, from the body to the mind, from the inner to the outer self and from me to us, are the subjects of this work.

 

 

Ippokratis Veneris, teacher, dancer, choreographer, deepen and studies dance and other arts for more than 20 years. In his lessons of contact inserts elements from the various disciplines that has studied extensively over the years as: floorwork, release technique, experiential anatomy, applied anatomy, dupuy technique, acrobalance, martial arts, afro dance, ballet, alexander technic, chi kung, dance theatre and much more.

 – In the past collaborated with the UNIVERSITY OF ROME “Roma 3”, department of “Philosophy of Education” giving lectures about “Pedagogy, C.I. and personal researches on teaching”.

- for two years he received an open scholarship in Brussels (PARTS-ROSAS Dance Company) and in Rome by the region of Lazio to proceed with his research on dance theater projects. His original works (“Buongiorno Amore”, “Afroditi”, presented at Olympic theatre and Theatre Greco) combine together elements of theatre and dance.

 – Is professor in the theatre school “il Cantiere Teatrale”.

- 2018 award: His work as choreography director for the Pina Bausch "The Nelken line in Rome". An international project of 25 dancers of 11 different countries. Receives the second award of Lazio Film Festival Commission.

– In March of 2014 he was a guest together with Giulio Tremonti (former Italian Minister of Economy), Romano Prodi (the former Italian prime minister and former president of the European community), Ermanno Olmi (film director) in the TV peogram “the wind whistles” of Gad Lerner for Repubblica television and for the art channel Effe tv.

– Has collaborated -teaching and making shows of improvisation- with the Italian National Organization of Theater.

– Teaches regularly twice a week Contact Improvisation developing his own method.

– Teaches in different places around Europe.

– Has collaborated with Roberto Castello-Aldes for “Narrate” premium UBU as the best dance theatre production of the year in Italy and many others.

– In 2011 decided to stop making shows and concentrate his energies on the research about the human nature and the wisdom of our bodies.

– Co-founder of CORE an association of choreographers of central Italy to promote the rights of the live performing arts

– Co-founder of RomaContact a collective of dancers who promote and give shows of improvisation and Contact Improvisation.

– Organized the last 10 years many events of art and workshops inviting teachers from all Europe.

– Lives in Rome where graduate at school “l’officina” where study release technique, Dupuy technique, contact improvisation, instant improvisation and composition.

– As a choreographer, dancer and improviser has organized and participated at different events, in the last ten years.

– Has studied with many choreographers and participating at numerous workshops of physical-theatre, contemporary dance, choreographic composition and contact improvisation.

Theme of the lab: Blow in in the wind

in this lab, using some dance and contact impro principles that I have elaborated in the past years, we will explore how to dance, as solo, duets and trios, in a light, effortless and organic mode.

Through various exercises and games we will deepen on how to use in a proper way the gravity, the organic movements, the applied dance anatomy, the breath and the partnering engineering.

Using those principles we will explore the topics:

How can we offer our presence to our partners, being available and open physically, mentally and energetically connected. We will work on how to be in the present -here and now- and in listening to ourselves and our partners. We will explore, while we dance and improvise, how to accept and how to offer and become our meeting, an open, fluid and communicative dance; become our dance a real meeting and a journey.

A dance and a meeting that is blowin in the wind, blowin in the intecconection with the partners and the space.

Aliki Dourmazer is a physical Theatre and voice teacher, a performer, director and vocalist. She was born in Thessaloniki, Greece. She has a Bachelor Degree in ‘Theatre Studies’, specializing in Physical Theatre and a Master of Arts Degree (Distinction) in 'Ensemble Physical Theatre: Training and Performance' University of Huddersfield, Great Britain.

She was trained by Phillip Zarrilli in Psychophysical Theatre (Huddersfield and Wales) and in Ritual Theatre by Nicolas Nunez (Mexico) "Anthropocosmic Theatre".
She is largely influenced by her extensive training on Ensemble Physical Theatre Training & Improvisation.

She worked as a Physical Theater teacher, in the Movement course, at the Drama School of the State Theatre of Northern Greece (2018-2020).

She has been continuously teaching Physical Theatre and Voice since 1999 in Athens, Thessaloniki, The National Theatre of Northern Greece, Komotini, Lesvos, Crete (GR), Larnaka (Cyprus), University of Huddersfield, University of Oldham(UK), Geneva (CH), Pisa (Italy) Budapest (HU), Wurzburg (Germany).

She was one of the founding members of the International Ensemble DUENDE with Artistic director John Britton and worked as a performer, a vocalist and voice trainer in DUENDE productions and residencies until 2017. DUENDE run 3 year (2012-14) intensive Training and Performance Project at the Drama Department in the University of Huddersfield where she participated as ‘Voice and Performance’ teacher and director.
She was also a Voice and Singing teacher in the ‘Duende School of Ensemble Physical Theatre’ Athens (2015- 2017).
In 2014 she founded her own school of Physical theatre & Performance ‘Present Being Performer Laboratory - Physical Theatre Education’ in Thessaloniki, for professionals and amateur artists. She is the artistic director and lead teacher, collaborating also with contemporary dance, acrobatics and yoga teachers. Each academic year completes with staged performances by each student group. The school has staged 8 different productions with ensemble and solo performances.

She has been working in the theatrical field since 1999 as an actress, performer and director in Physical Theatre and has taken part in Theatre & Art Festivals in Greece : mainly in Athens, Thessaloniki, Lesvos, Crete and the UK.

She is the director of the ‘Present Being Ensemble’ with theatrical productions that connect physical theatre, dance and song.

Invited by TEDx University of Macedonia at the pre-event 'Tangram', she led the workshop 'Present Being Performer - revealing our psychosomatic intelligence'.
Her last theatrical research project was the Solo Performance 'MEDuLA', based on Medea by Euripides, touring in Geneva, Athens, Thessaloniki.

Her latest Ensemble production as director and writer was the peripatetic performance in the Museum of Byzantine Art, Thessaloniki ‘The Word from Above’, a collaboration between physical theatre performers, dancers and musicians, based on texts by N. Kazantzakis and H.Miller, designed specifically for the museum within the events for Year of Kazantzakis. (2017) In 2019 she became a member of a new artistic collaboration with the project 'Eutopia' in Thessaloniki.

Her latest artistic works as a creator are the multimedia performance ‘ANAMESA’ based on a Smyrnaean traditional song, in collaboration with the filmmaker George Alexakis, for the 55th Dimitria Thessaloniki Festival. And the Solo Performance ‘Rebirth’ in collaboration with Panagiotis Tsakiris in the composition and live performance of music at the Festival ‘Psychotherapist, Artist, Spectator’ in Thessaloniki. She also participated as a performer in the Performance ‘Spit your Fire’ as a tribute to the artist Joseph Beuys, (direct. Polyxeni Spyropoulou), at the Momus Experimental Arts Center.

She is a representative of the Greek participation with her Physical theatre Training method and a co-organizer in the European Erasmus Program ‘Cour’Age’ (2022-23).

https://www.facebook.com/PhysicalTheatreandVoiceAlikiDourmazer

https://www.facebook.com/presentbeingperformer/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWQ1lH8hLYI0pzOHFJvdA6w

Title  of the lab: 'The invisible made visible’ Ensemble Physical Theatre

- Ensemble Physical Theatre & Voice

We are training ourselves in ‘Ensemble Physical Theatre’ to reveal the invisible communication through the corporeal expression. The dynamic of the Ensemble reinforcing the dynamic of Self, combined with the exploration of the vocal dynamics of the performer as a constantly energetic part of his expressive means. We engage in the practice of discovering our physical expressive tools through kinetic improvisations and we aslo activate an organic connection between our body and voice, between movement and sound.

Τhe physical practice is focusing on the following:

- Practical Study and re-assembling of the perceptional process of stimuli – impulse - physical reaction – expression. 

- Duet and group Improvisation of a continuous Flow of authentic, in the moment expression. 

- We promote a continuous internal interaction between 'inner' and 'outer' stimuli in the performance. We cultivate the alert presence of the performer in the ‘here and now 'of the action, in a continuous flow of interaction with all members of the ensemble.  

The Vocal Practice includes :

- Τοols for preparation and rediscovery of our personal sound in relation to our inner physical structures with core principle the pleasure in the process :

Warming up of the body, face and vocal instruments as the tools of discovery of our unique voice / Group circle vocal improvisation / - Direct connection and activation between body and voice, impulse – reaction through movement and voicing.

- Physical and vocal improvisation in pairs, small and big groups.

- Effortless, flowing physical and vocal expression so as to promote an open, without obstacles body of the performer.

YOGA FESTIVAL WORKSHOPS

Flowing in the nature - The ecological body mind

Flowing in the nature and the ecological body mind will be the general theme on which will deepen the teachers of the yoga festival. Workshops will take place in stage and in nature.

Gabi Dal Ponte (Brazil - Acroyoga, Iyengar) is a Yoga practitioner since 2002 and became a teacher back in 2007.

YOGA AND ACROYOGA TRAININGS

AYURVEDIC YOGA MASSAGE TRAINING, São Paulo, Brasil 2005 

IYENGAR YOGA 500 HOUR TEACHER TRAINING, São Paulo, Brasil 2005 - 2007

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF AYURVEDA 200 HOUR INTENSIVE TRAINING, Kerala, India 2006

TRIYOGA 690 HOUR TEACHER TRAINING, LEVEL I, London, England 2009 - 2011

ACROYOGA INTERNATIONAL TEACHER TRAINING, LEVEL I, San Diego, USA

ACROYOGA INTERNATIONAL TEACHER TRAINING, LEVEL II, Chalkida, Greece

STUDIO MILE END 100 HOUR ADVANCED YOGA TEACHER TRAINING, Montréal, Canada

Notable events and workshops:

● AcroYoga Festival do Brasil - Alexânia, Brasil - March 2018

● 1o Encontro Internacional de AcroYoga em São Paulo - São Paulo, Brasil - May 2019

● AcroYoga International Festival - San Diego, USA - August 2015

● AcroYoga International Festival - Rio de Janeiro, Brasil - June 2017

● AcroYoga International Festival - Rio de Janeiro, Brasil - June 2018

● AcroYoga Workshop - Lisbon & Sagres, Portugal - August 2018

● AcroYoga International Festival - Chalkida, Greece - September 2018

● AcroYoga International Foundations Immersion - Brasilia, Brasil - November 2019

● AcroYoga 6-week Beginner’s Course - Paris, France - March to April 2022

 Lisa Donnadieu, (France - Hatha flow, Partner yoga, alignment yoga) is a French & Swedish 500h certified yoga teacher trained in Hatha & Vinyasa Yoga in New York and Ashtanga in Mysuru, India. 

During her studies (master degree in international business and design thinking), she kept practicing yoga with renowned teachers in the cities where she lived : New York, Portland OR, Melbourne and Paris. 

She studied acting at l’Atelier Blanche Salant in Paris and improv at the Barrow Group Theatre Company in New York.

She has been practicing yoga for over ten years all over the world, including India where she goes regularly to deepen her practice in
multiple places and ashram as 300h in Mysore, India with Ramesh.
Lisa Is also a certified sound healer. Mexico. Sound Therapy. January 202.

Lisa teaches yoga full time in Paris and has hosted more than twenty workshops and holistic multisensorial retreats in France and Morocco.
Prqctice Karma Yoga called also Yoga of the Action through various  solidarity and charity projects. She also created an eco-label, YLĀ, to promote natural yoga mats and enlighten Indian crafts.


Her classes are inspired by a dance background as modern, ballet and jazz and of her current last 3 years studies at the Chinese school of performing arts (contortion & balancing).
She believes in the power of hands-on-adjustments and offers a lot of assist allowing a greater awareness of the body and a better understanding of the asanas.
Het Yoga classes are focused on the precision of alignment associated with dynamic and fluid movements harmonized by the breath.
Lisa is also inspired by Yin and add Pilates and Barre au Sol sequences to strengthen muscle work, adapting above all to the experience and energy of the day to accompany him in more complex asanas
https://www.yogaaveclisa.com


HATHA FLOW
A fusion of Hatha Yoga & Vinyasa Flow: Start the day with a mindful & dynamic class focused on alignments, Ujjayi breath and core activation. We will play around with balancing poses, variations & transitions.

PARTNER YOGA
This practice allows two people to relate to one another through assisted postures. You will feel the weight of your partner during the class as if you were receiving constant adjustments. From stretching your levels of trust to strengthening your communication, we will be communicating mostly nonverbally to deepen our body-awareness.

Ippokratis Veneris, (Acro & Partner dance). teacher, dancer, choreographer, deepen and studies dance and other arts for more than 20 years. In his lessons of contact inserts elements from the various disciplines that has studied extensively over the years as: floorwork, release technique, experiential anatomy, applied anatomy, dupuy technique, acrobalance, martial arts, afro dance, ballet, alexander technic, chi kung, dance theatre and much more.

 – In the past collaborated with the UNIVERSITY OF ROME “Roma 3”, department of “Philosophy of Education” giving lectures about “Pedagogy, C.I. and personal researches on teaching”.

- for two years he received an open scholarship in Brussels (PARTS-ROSAS Dance Company) and in Rome by the region of Lazio to proceed with his research on dance theater projects. His original works (“Buongiorno Amore”, “Afroditi”, presented at Olympic theatre and Theatre Greco) combine together elements of theatre and dance.

 – Is professor in the theatre school “il Cantiere Teatrale”.

- 2018 award: His work as choreography director for the Pina Bausch "The Nelken line in Rome". An international project of 25 dancers of 11 different countries. Receives the second award of Lazio Film Festival Commission.

– In March of 2014 he was a guest together with Giulio Tremonti (former Italian Minister of Economy), Romano Prodi (the former Italian prime minister and former president of the European community), Ermanno Olmi (film director) in the TV peogram “the wind whistles” of Gad Lerner for Repubblica television and for the art channel Effe tv. 

– Has collaborated -teaching and making shows of improvisation- with the Italian National Organization of Theater.

– Teaches regularly twice a week Contact Improvisation developing his own method.

– Teaches in different places around Europe.

– Has collaborated with Roberto Castello-Aldes for “Narrate” premium UBU as the best dance theatre production of the year in Italy and many others.

– In 2011 decided to stop making shows and concentrate his energies on the research about the human nature and the wisdom of our bodies.

– Co-founder of CORE an association of choreographers of central Italy to promote the rights of the live performing arts

– Co-founder of RomaContact a collective of dancers who promote and give shows of improvisation and Contact Improvisation.

– Organized the last 10 years many events of art and workshops inviting teachers from all Europe.

– Lives in Rome where graduate at school “l’officina” where study release technique, Dupuy technique, contact improvisation, instant improvisation and composition.

– As a choreographer, dancer and improviser has organized and participated at different events, in the last ten years.

– Has studied with many choreographers and participating at numerous workshops of physical-theatre, contemporary dance, choreographic composition and contact improvisation.

Thomas Croc is a Chi Kung, Kung Fu and Meditation Instructor, originally from south France.

He has been practicing and researching Martial Arts since 2010, starting with Karate as a fiery teenager and transitioning to the more soft and subtle arts of Kung Fu in his later years.

In 2017 his journey broug him to the Nam Yang Kung Fu Retreat School in Thailand, where scholars can devote themselves to Kung Fu in a monastic way and train whole year long. There he spent 2 years living and practicing daily with Master Iain Armstrong, a legend in the Kung Fu world.

Thomas is specialized in Traditional Shaolin Kung Fu, which is very complete and includes Soft and Hard Chi Kung (Qigong) practices, the White Crane Internal Form, Tiger Crane Combination Kung Fu, Shaolin Weapons, Meditation, Theory and Philosophy and more.

The Kung Fu tradition of the Nam Yang School originates from the Shaolin Monks of southern China, which was preserved through the Communist Rise in China by a few Masters that fled to Singapore.

Thomas is devoted to preserving and passing on the Shaolin Arts in their authentic form. He offers the possibility to learn  the Arts in classes, seminars and intensive retreats.

Since 2020 Thomas lives in Greece with his life partner and son and offers regular classes as well as intensive Retreats in special locations where students can immerse in the daily practice of Chi Kung and Kung Fu.

 He is in the process of creating an official Nam Yang Kung Fu school in Greece.

He still travels to Thailand to meet his master and deepen his understanding and practice in the Ancient Arts.

 To learn more, visit his webpage www.crockungfu.com

Title of the workshop: Tonus Awareness or how to be clear and soft in Improvisation

In Contact Improvisation we are faced with the challenges of dancing with a body that is responsive, reflexive and sends clear messages. We need a mind that is awake and intuitive, and we thrive on subtle and reflexive communication.

In my dancing I notice that I am most efficient at these challenges, when I am in a state of „released tonus – acute awareness“. This seemingly contradictory state plays an important role in the training of the healthy and powerful dancer I am interested to see on stage, in the workshop, in daily life.

How do we work within a soft tonus and articulate ourselves in strong, clear movements and intentions? In times of high risk, but also in times of boredom or „in between states of unclarity“?, I am exploring on how to activate my potential of presence and intuitive knowledge of the body.

In this intensive we will investigate different approaches to achieve this state:

• Conscious breath and its effectiveness on movement qualities

• Touch qualities and how it relates to our tonus

• Accessing fascia and extending it into movement and contact

• Relating to the three dimensional possibilities of the spine

• Attending to the relationship between the pelvic and the shoulder girdle

• Being in contact with my partner through different states of attention

• Extending my range of motion and staying within my boundaries

• Taking risks and staying calm

We will work with Contemporary Dance Improvisation, Contact Improvisation, Feldenkrais® Principles, Bodywork from different methods, Applied Anatomy and in solos, duets, trios and group formations.

Defne Erdur (TR/FR) is trained in Contemporary Dance (PhD), Sociology (MA), Intermodel Expressive Art Therapy, Body Therapies (Deep Tissue Release, Trigger Point & Movement, Integrative Craniosacral Therapy), Meditation, and Trauma Healing (Somatic Experiencing, Integral Somatic Psychology). 

In 2016 she completed her PhD thesis in Turkey (DANCE EDUCATION ON THE TRANSITIVE LINE BETWEEN LIFE AND ART: Contributions of the Technique, Methodology and Pedagogy of Contact Improvisation to the Physical, Artistic and Psycho-social Development of Amateur Dancers). In 2017 she co-published mindthedance.com: A Guide/Movement to Document Contemporary Dance/ Movement Teaching, as an outcome of the REFLEX Europe Project of idocde.net

Besides her private practice, she has been regularly teaching at ImPulsTanz Vienna International Dance Festival, MSGSU Istanbul State Conservatory, CI-Turkey, ElimSende and ÇATI Associations. She also gives her workshops (Hunting Gathering Cultivating, Every Body Knows, Embodying Time, and Embodying Consent) around the world (Tanzhaus Zurich, Konservatorium Wien, Mandala İstanbul, Kuala Lumpur, Vienna, Berlin and Freiburg CI Festivals…), working with different populations (professional and amateur movers, therapists, women, and migrant children and youth).

Her movement teaching practice is mostly informed by her intensive trainings with Simone Forti, Julyen Hamilton, John Britton, Nancy Stark Smith, Daniel Lepkoff, Kirstie Simson, Nita Little, Frey Faust, Keith Hennessy, Aydın Teker, Marcia Plevin and Julia Buckroyd.

Title of the workshop: Consent Improvisation

— getting back to touch, reclaiming contact with care

After a long, precarious period of witnessing our own inner movements and surviving small, confined spaces for moving, maybe witnessing others via online platforms we will now meet in opening bodies in open spaces!

As always, we will all be coming from different places and shades of sensitivity. But now, more than ever, calls for more attention to our differences and deeper study of what touch entails. Therefore, I will be inviting us all to find calm and focus, and delicately touch —physically, mentally, emotionally, politically— upon issues relating to touch in our CI dancing.

We will be studying the different forces that pass through our bodies, in order to master them when they arise in the dance. We will work towards finding their dance — sense, understand, accept and communicate with our bodies where we were at and where we would wish to go and learn (maybe un-learn and re-learn) to listen to the responses of our partners.

We will be studying through many questions:
Can we seriously study the sliding scale between a “yes” and a “no”? Can we inquire: “how we know”, “how, when, why our answers change”, “when we are able to answer, when we are confused and/or unable to communicate clearly”, “when we are able or unable to read others”, “how can we develop physical and verbal language to express our ever changing choices”? In other words, “How can we develop skills to be aware and able to sense our physical states and how they are informed of our mental, emotional and chemical states; how they take shape in and around our dances? How can we become the masters and not the victims of our own choices and our partner's choices in any given moment? How can we move towards developing instant, multi-layered compositions with each other that let us stay in the dance for the dance?

Konstantinos Gerardos  is a dancer, choreographer and artistic director of VIS MOTRIX DANCE COMPANY, based in Thessaloniki, Greece. He is also the educational director of ReDANCE, an intensive training program on dance and performance for dancers and actors. He performs with the National Theatre of Northern Greece since 1989, and has collaborated with the Nees Morfes Theatre from 1997 until 2004 as head of kinesiology and actor.

Currently, he is a professor of the faculty in the National Theatre of Northern Greece Drama School, of the “Andreas Voutsinas” Higher Drama School and of the Matziari Dance School.

In his work as a dancer and choreographer for the past 28 years, Konstantinos Gerardos has developed a great teaching experience in contemporary dance, improvisation and Contact Improvisation, Partnering, Ensemble Improvisation, composition, choreography and performance in Greece and abroad (England, Germany, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Canada). His work uses gravity and momentum to promote natural and organic movement and has led to the development of his own contemporary dance teaching method, called ‘FLOW IN MOTION’.

He studied at the State School of Dance in Athens and graduated from the Higher Professional School of Dance in Stavropol (Russia).

Title of the workshop:

THE SUPPORTIVE BODY

In this intensive workshop we will work the strategies that can help us to connect with our partner/s, and support the movement that in born from the contact. How my body is supported ? How can I support my partner? How am I supporting the dance? These are the main questions not to be answered but to improvise and dance with them. 

Ippokratis Veneris, teacher, dancer, choreographer, deepen and studies dance and other arts for more than 20 years. In his lessons of contact inserts elements from the various disciplines that has studied extensively over the years as: floorwork, release technique, experiential anatomy, applied anatomy, dupuy technique, acrobalance, martial arts, afro dance, ballet, alexander technic, chi kung, dance theatre and much more.

 – In the past collaborated with the UNIVERSITY OF ROME “Roma 3”, department of “Philosophy of Education” giving lectures about “Pedagogy, C.I. and personal researches on teaching”.

- for two years he received an open scholarship in Brussels (PARTS-ROSAS Dance Company) and in Rome by the region of Lazio to proceed with his research on dance theater projects. His original works (“Buongiorno Amore”, “Afroditi”, presented at Olympic theatre and Theatre Greco) combine together elements of theatre and dance.

 – Is professor in the theatre school “il Cantiere Teatrale”.

- 2018 award: His work as choreography director for the Pina Bausch "The Nelken line in Rome". An international project of 25 dancers of 11 different countries. Receives the second award of Lazio Film Festival Commission.

– In March of 2014 he was a guest together with Giulio Tremonti (former Italian Minister of Economy), Romano Prodi (the former Italian prime minister and former president of the European community), Ermanno Olmi (film director) in the TV peogram “the wind whistles” of Gad Lerner for Repubblica television and for the art channel Effe tv.

– Has collaborated -teaching and making shows of improvisation- with the Italian National Organization of Theater.

– Teaches regularly twice a week Contact Improvisation developing his own method.

– Teaches in different places around Europe.

– Has collaborated with Roberto Castello-Aldes for “Narrate” premium UBU as the best dance theatre production of the year in Italy and many others.

– In 2011 decided to stop making shows and concentrate his energies on the research about the human nature and the wisdom of our bodies.

– Co-founder of CORE an association of choreographers of central Italy to promote the rights of the live performing arts

– Co-founder of RomaContact a collective of dancers who promote and give shows of improvisation and Contact Improvisation.

– Organized the last 10 years many events of art and workshops inviting teachers from all Europe.

– Lives in Rome where graduate at school “l’officina” where study release technique, Dupuy technique, contact improvisation, instant improvisation and composition.

– As a choreographer, dancer and improviser has organized and participated at different events, in the last ten years.

– Has studied with many choreographers and participating at numerous workshops of physical-theatre, contemporary dance, choreographic composition and contact improvisation.

Theme of the lab: Blowin in the wind - Blowin in and out

in this lab, using some dance and contact impro principles that I have elaborated in the past years, we will explore how to dance, as solo, duets and trios, in a light, effortless and organic mode.

Through various exercises and games we will deepen on how to use in a proper way the gravity, the organic movements, the applied dance anatomy, the breath and the partnering engineering.

Using those principles we will explore the topics:

How can we offer our presence to our partners, being available and open physically, mentally and energetically connected. We will work on how to be in the present -here and now- and in listening to ourselves and our partners. We will explore, while we dance and improvise, how to accept and how to offer and become our meeting, an open, fluid and communicative dance; become our dance a real meeting and a journey.

A dance and a meeting that is blowin in the wind, blowin in the intecconection with the partners and the space.

Nefeli Stamatogiannopoulou has participated in many kinds of performances, theatrical plays and films as a composer, performer or director. She is a nominated composer and an improviser. She has presented her work at the Short Film Festival in Drama, the Aeschylean Festival in Eleusina, the Performing Arts festival in Limnos, the theatre of Neos Kosmos, the Athens Concert Hall: Megaron, the National Theatre’s Experimental stage, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center, the NEZ festival in India, Athens-Epidaurus Festival, the Kadikoy Teatr, Art Festival Berlin, the Grotowski Institute etc. She is collaborating with a lot of universal artistic groups, most of all with the Duende ensemble, Milena Principle, Teatr Andra. She is the founding member of the musical group Spooky RedRum, the research artistic group Oν OFF and Ov Off Studio. She participated in masterclasses – intensive schools, on physical theatre and voice under the supervision of Grotowski Institute, the Song of the Goat Theatre, L.I.S.P.A., Linklater Voice Center and others. She finished her postgraduate studies at the department of Composition for film, theatre and performing arts of the Ionian University, where she is a PhD candidate. She is exploring a lot - rhythm and voice- , composition and improvisation as an instructor. She is also a tutorial teacher at Ionian University.

https://vimeo.com/190125874

Theme of the lab: Performance, Ensemble improvisation:

Seminar about rhythm-voice and the melody of the body

The seminar is about the way a team can work like a well tuned orchestra, the importance of the group’s energy as a whole and how each member’s breaths, melody and pauses can “shine” through the ensemble.

Seminars objectives are:

Seminars objectives are:

- Exercise of voice (speech, song, melody) and its release

- The rhythm of body, mind and pause as an active command

- Sensitivity and listening to others through relationships with the group and partners

- Physical approach to voice

- Rhythmic resonance of the body

-To recognise the musicality of text and movement

It would be useful if all participants know very well a text of 10-20 lines.

The text may be theatrical, poem, song, newspaper article, traditional or any text inspiring you.

POST FESTIVAL INFORMATIONS

Flowing in the nature - The ecological body mind

Flowing in the nature and the ecological body mind will be the general theme on which will deepen the teachers of the post festival. Workshops will take place in stage and in nature.

Workshops by Ippokratis Veneris, Roberto Bellatalla and Fabrizio Pellara.

Theme of the workshop: “the ecological body mind” by Ippokratis Veneris.

In this workshop we will work on the senses and the use of the mind. We will explore the use of the senses, the amplification of them, searching for a deeper connection with our body and our intuitive wisdom.

From this point we will pass on how to create an amplified way of perceiving, feeling, thinking and communicating, going to a deeper connection with ourselfs, with others, with the present, with our breath and with the breath of the nature, searching for a deeper and renewed connection with the universe, the universal nature of which we are part.

The aim will be on how learn to be more deeply present in our dances, our actions - interactions, sensations, connections.

Be connected..

Been more open on flowing in the receiving and giving of energy, beauty, love and joy.

Embracing and been embraced

Theme of of the workshop by Defne Erdur  Decompression Habitat

— telescoping awareness out into the world through connecting to the self in nature

During the festival we will be immersed in an amazing environment, and we will mostly be focusing on our bodies, other bodies and the dances that arises between them. The touch, the weight, the inner sensations with all their physical, emotional and mental reverberations may be overwhelming and call for care. Hence we will have the support of the facilitators to give frame to these dances.

And yet, as we arrive to the closure of the festival it may be a good idea to telescope our awareness outward and start paying more attention to the surrounding environment and get in contact with the other living and non-living beings around us. This way, we can be supported to decompress from the joyful load that we may have been accumulating in and around our dances with the other human beings. The outer environment, us being aware or not, will already be informing our bodies and inviting us to dive deeper into the layers of its presence and our own presence in accordance. Therefore, as a final gesture I would like to propose a transitional practice where we will move in and with nature.

During this work we will be working in solo, duet and group constellations where we will visit specific sites and relate to the place (and space) with different lenses and work with the outer and inner stimuli that arise in these encounters. With the help of self-reflective tools (i.e. writing, drawing, sounding etc.), along side our movements, we will be able to relate to our own unique presence and find resources for resilient, effortless transitioning back into the world out there, away from the contained festival environment.

Principles from Experiential Anatomy, Authentic Movement, Expressive Art Therapies and Contact Improvisation will be at our guidance towards an elevated flow, experiencing self-sufficient, self-satisfied and effortless bodies as we move along.

Title of the workshop: Tonus Awareness or how to be clear and soft in Improvisation

In Contact Improvisation we are faced with the challenges of dancing with a body that is responsive, reflexive and sends clear messages. We need a mind that is awake and intuitive, and we thrive on subtle and reflexive communication.

In my dancing I notice that I am most efficient at these challenges, when I am in a state of „released tonus – acute awareness“. This seemingly contradictory state plays an important role in the training of the healthy and powerful dancer I am interested to see on stage, in the workshop, in daily life.

How do we work within a soft tonus and articulate ourselves in strong, clear movements and intentions? In times of high risk, but also in times of boredom or „in between states of unclarity“?, I am exploring on how to activate my potential of presence and intuitive knowledge of the body.

In this intensive we will investigate different approaches to achieve this state:

• Conscious breath and its effectiveness on movement qualities

• Touch qualities and how it relates to our tonus

• Accessing fascia and extending it into movement and contact

• Relating to the three dimensional possibilities of the spine

• Attending to the relationship between the pelvic and the shoulder girdle

• Being in contact with my partner through different states of attention

• Extending my range of motion and staying within my boundaries

• Taking risks and staying calm

We will work with Contemporary Dance Improvisation, Contact Improvisation, Feldenkrais® Principles, Bodywork from different methods, Applied Anatomy and in solos, duets, trios and group formations.

Konstantinos Gerardos  is a dancer, choreographer and artistic director of VIS MOTRIX DANCE COMPANY, based in Thessaloniki, Greece. He is also the educational director of ReDANCE, an intensive training program on dance and performance for dancers and actors. He performs with the National Theatre of Northern Greece since 1989, and has collaborated with the Nees Morfes Theatre from 1997 until 2004 as head of kinesiology and actor.

Currently, he is a professor of the faculty in the National Theatre of Northern Greece Drama School, of the “Andreas Voutsinas” Higher Drama School and of the Matziari Dance School.

In his work as a dancer and choreographer for the past 28 years, Konstantinos Gerardos has developed a great teaching experience in contemporary dance, improvisation and Contact Improvisation, Partnering, Ensemble Improvisation, composition, choreography and performance in Greece and abroad (England, Germany, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Canada). His work uses gravity and momentum to promote natural and organic movement and has led to the development of his own contemporary dance teaching method, called ‘FLOW IN MOTION’.

He studied at the State School of Dance in Athens and graduated from the Higher Professional School of Dance in Stavropol (Russia).

Title of the workshop: Leaning to the invitation

One of the elements that always fascinates me in this form of modern dance is the ability to "share" the dance with your partner. In this festival we will explore the strategies that will help us to connect with our partner’s body and movement seeking the dance that is created through contact. Through the exercises as well as the dance, we will experience the fundamental principles of dynamic support that is created when we share our weight with the other body or bodies in space and time..

FABRIZIO PALLARA is a theater director, actor, scenographer, light designer, teacher.

Is artistic director of the theater company THEATER OF APPEARANCES based in Rome, Italy. He worked in the major Italian theaters, bringing on stage shows that he directed.

Is an artistic consultant and trainer of the CSS public theater of Friuli Venezia Giulia, has collaborated in the first edition of Romaeuropafestival KIDS in 2017 and still collaborates with the new artistic direction of the Teatro di Roma.

He collaborates with the European project Fabulamundi Playwriting Europe, with the PAV association for Scouting of contemporary dramaturgical texts aimed at new generations.

In 1999 he founded the theater company TEATRO DELLE APPARIZIONI with which he has created 25 shows till now, supervising the direction and the scenic installations, and more than 10 events including theater, music, dance and architecture in Italy and abroad.

Since 2000 he has been conducting theater workshops on storytelling techniques, sensory theater and puppet theater.

In the years of formation of the company develops an in-depth research on sensory theater and then focuses on visual and performative theater.

Since 2005, together with the Mexican director Shaday Larios, a research on puppet theater has begun in Barcelona, which will lead him to develop in the following years an interest in the field of theater for the new generations and of the tout public theater.

Among the company's award-winning shows are: "Uno" which wins the FIT 2008 prize (Lugano) and is a finalist in the “Extra” prize, signs of the new Italian scene (Forlì) and: "The tenacious lead soldier-a stage film" wins the Eolo Awards 2015, Award as Best Performance in Figure Theater.

In 2008 a monographic book was published on the ten years of the company's research entitled "Il Teatro delle apparizioni" curated by Letizia Bernazza, published by Publishing and Entertainment in 2008.

For two years, 2012 and 2013, he directed the project "Valle dei Ragazzi" shows, concerts, workshops and meetings at the Teatro Valle.

His training was enriched by the encounter with various masters and scholars of the theater such as Giancarlo Sammartano, Peter Brook, Franco Ruffini, Danio Manfredini, Eugenio Barba, Marco Baliani, just to name a few, and with teachers of life from various professional fields which with difficulty can be listed.

He graduated in 2007 with a thesis on a project for the direction of the Indian epic opera "Mahābhārata" at the DAMS of the University of Roma Tre.

His research continues today in experiences that see him as a director, set designer, actor, trainer, artistic director with one goal: to be amazed of life and the world and try to continue to be amazed by himself.

https://www.teatrodelleapparizioni.it/

Title of the workshop: The body and the things.

on the essence and the soul of the movement.

By their nature the natural elements such as earth, water, sand, stones and everyday objects are inanimate and in this condition they impose themselves with their characteristics: heavy, light, rough, smooth, hot, cold, sharp, soft, wet, dry ... Learning to confront the inanimate pushes to know one's own state of existence in the present, connects one with one's deep sensations to feel and reconnect with the “grade zero” of one's self.

This laboratory is about how to sensibilise dancers to the contact with objects and natural elements and through them to develop the quality of movement, the ability to stay in the here and now and to go beyond the known. Participants will be driven on a path of manipulation through impro games that will lead to discovering unexplored areas of themselves. Single, couple and group improvisations in which the objects and the elements will be themes and stimuli.

In the last phase of the workshop we will work on the look, the observation of who will improvise will be an opportunity to understand how an object can stimulate an abstract choreography bringing us beyond the known codes.

A laboratory on the essence, on the soul of the movement and on the wonder of discovering ourselves different from what we expect. The soul is like a breath, it is necessary to learn the silence and the small to make it dance.

Ippokratis Veneris, teacher, dancer, choreographer, deepen and studies dance and other arts for more than 20 years. In his lessons of contact inserts elements from the various disciplines that has studied extensively over the years as: floorwork, release technique, experiential anatomy, applied anatomy, dupuy technique, acrobalance, martial arts, afro dance, ballet, alexander technic, chi kung, dance theatre and much more.

 – In the past collaborated with the UNIVERSITY OF ROME “Roma 3”, department of “Philosophy of Education” giving lectures about “Pedagogy, C.I. and personal researches on teaching”.

- for two years he received an open scholarship in Brussels (PARTS-ROSAS Dance Company) and in Rome by the region of Lazio to proceed with his research on dance theater projects. His original works (“Buongiorno Amore”, “Afroditi”, presented at Olympic theatre and Theatre Greco) combine together elements of theatre and dance.

 – Is professor in the theatre school “il Cantiere Teatrale”.

- 2018 award: His work as choreography director for the Pina Bausch "The Nelken line in Rome". An international project of 25 dancers of 11 different countries. Receives the second award of Lazio Film Festival Commission.

– In March of 2014 he was a guest together with Giulio Tremonti (former Italian Minister of Economy), Romano Prodi (the former Italian prime minister and former president of the European community), Ermanno Olmi (film director) in the TV peogram “the wind whistles” of Gad Lerner for Repubblica television and for the art channel Effe tv.

– Has collaborated -teaching and making shows of improvisation- with the Italian National Organization of Theater.

– Teaches regularly twice a week Contact Improvisation developing his own method.

– Teaches in different places around Europe.

– Has collaborated with Roberto Castello-Aldes for “Narrate” premium UBU as the best dance theatre production of the year in Italy and many others.

– In 2011 decided to stop making shows and concentrate his energies on the research about the human nature and the wisdom of our bodies.

– Co-founder of CORE an association of choreographers of central Italy to promote the rights of the live performing arts

– Co-founder of RomaContact a collective of dancers who promote and give shows of improvisation and Contact Improvisation.

– Organized the last 10 years many events of art and workshops inviting teachers from all Europe.

– Lives in Rome where graduate at school “l’officina” where study release technique, Dupuy technique, contact improvisation, instant improvisation and composition.

– As a choreographer, dancer and improviser has organized and participated at different events, in the last ten years.

– Has studied with many choreographers and participating at numerous workshops of physical-theatre, contemporary dance, choreographic composition and contact improvisation.

Theme of the lab: Blowin in the wind - Blowin in and out

in this lab, using some dance and contact impro principles that I have elaborated in the past years, we will explore how to dance, as solo, duets and trios, in a light, effortless and organic mode.

Through various exercises and games we will deepen on how to use in a proper way the gravity, the organic movements, the applied dance anatomy, the breath and the partnering engineering.

Using those principles we will explore the topics:

How can we offer our presence to our partners, being available and open physically, mentally and energetically connected. We will work on how to be in the present -here and now- and in listening to ourselves and our partners. We will explore, while we dance and improvise, how to accept and how to offer and become our meeting, an open, fluid and communicative dance; become our dance a real meeting and a journey.

A dance and a meeting that is blowin in the wind, blowin in the intecconection with the partners and the space.

Roberto Bellatalla lived in London from 1978 to 2003, double bass player active on the british and european jazz and improvised music scene, has played extensively, toured and recorded with Elton Dean, Nick Evans, Keith Tippett, Louis Moholo, Mark Sanders, Alan Wilkinson, Evan Parker, Paul Dunmall, Paul Rutherford, Tony Marsh, Paul Rogers, Marcio Mattos, Maggie Nichols, Radu Malfatti, Tristan Honsinger, Sean Bergin, Steve Noble, Billy Jenkins and many others: Member of the band “Dreamtime”, from 1983 to 2006 and of “Louis Moholo’s Viva la Black”. He writes and performs for theatre, poetry and dance and is involved in didactic activities for children, adults and disabled people. He plays with the trio led by guitarist Mike Cooper, “Truth in the Abstract Blues”, performs solo concerts and with a variety of small acoustic or electro-acoustic ensembles of improvised music. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Bellatalla

Theme of the lab of R.Bellatalla: “Found objects: workshop of sonic reinterpretation”

Bring an object with you that produces a sound (a bunch of keys, a book, a plastic bag, a jar) or we will find it on the spot.

In the workshop we will be encouraged to listen with attention objects chosen randomly creating ways to play based on ergonomics, gestures and structured experimentation.

Everyday objects transformed into sound objects.

The sense of sound is related to interiority and is therefore able to evoke an instinctive and profound expressivity and an instant creativity. If you do not want to bring an object then you’ll be the object item-body. The trial will be accompanied by simple exercises and practices of movement, voice, spatial orientation, imitation and literacy.

POST FESTIVAL INFORMATIONS

Flowing in the nature - The ecological body mind

Flowing in the nature and the ecological body mind will be the general theme on which will deepen the teachers of the post festival. Workshops will take place in stage and in nature.

Workshops by Ippokratis Veneris, Roberto Bellatalla and Fabrizio Pellara.

Theme of the workshop: “the ecological body mind” by Ippokratis Veneris and the presence of Fabrizio Pallara.

In this workshop we will work on the senses and the use of the mind. We will explore the use of the senses, the amplification of them, searching for a deeper connection with our body and our intuitive wisdom.

From this point we will pass on how to create an amplified way of perceiving, feeling, thinking and communicating, going to a deeper connection with ourselfs, with others, with the present, with our breath and with the breath of the nature, searching for a deeper and renewed connection with the universe, the universal nature of which we are part.

The aim will be on how learn to be more deeply present in our dances, our actions - interactions, sensations, connections.

Be connected..

Been more open on flowing in the receiving and giving of energy, beauty, love and joy.

Embracing and been embraced

Theme of of the workshop by Roberto Bellatalla: Resonance

All the celestial bodies of the universe vibrate, emitting and receiving radio waves, which in the infinite space they propagate, meet and collide, creating new forms, new sounds, new relationships. In the small, on our planet, these same conditions of "resonance" are reproduced involving everything.

Receiving - Filling up - Releasing, are the main phases in creative dynamics.

In our journey towards the awareness of other relational spaces, in this laboratory we will be accompanied by "unconventional" tools, borrowed from nature, from trees to stones, water and wind, and our body, which is at the time same source of sound and movement.

The breathing and movement exercises, together with the use of musical instruments provided by nature, are aimed of creating a different awareness of the environment in which we live, of the functioning of our being within it and of the infinite possibilities we have to create spaces of expression and creative communication, respecting the nature of which we are a part.

Title of the workshop: Expanding the body, embracing the core

Embryological we develop in continuous movement: migrating, folding and unfolding, expanding, spiralling and creating space. In Contact Improvisation all these various phases of our early development is inherent and exemplary modelled. While we move we constantly receive information from our internal and external world, an environment that shapes and is shaped by our experience.

One unique aspect in this physical landscape is the support of the fascia. A meshwork reaching deep into the self and out to collective, shifting compressions and tensions in a dynamic system, a tensegrity scheme.

Fascia is strong connective tissue found throughout the body and wraps all our muscles, organs and every other tissue and participates in every body movement. Up till recently fascia has been thought of as merely packing material around other tissues. Through my own research over the last decade and proven by the latest scientific discoveries we take a fresh attempt that fascia not only plays an essential role in muscular force transmission but is also a sensing organ, actually our richest and most important in terms of body perception.

This course will be an embodied exploration of different aspects of the fascia and tissues venturing into unknown territory with various structures and strategies for dance and improvisation. How we perceive, filter, reject, use and accept, has a major influence on our instantaneous composition and how our senses create our environment. Working from the cellular expanding out we will examine how we inhabit new realms of consciousness offering diverse layers to our movement qualities, perception and movement action.

Ippokratis Veneris, teacher, dancer, choreographer, deepen and studies dance and other arts for more than 20 years. In his lessons of contact inserts elements from the various disciplines that has studied extensively over the years as: floorwork, release technique, experiential anatomy, applied anatomy, dupuy technique, acrobalance, martial arts, afro dance, ballet, alexander technic, dance theatre and much more.

 – In 2011 he collaborated with the UNIVERSITY OF ROME “Roma 3”, department of “Philosophy of Education” giving lectures about “Pedagogy, C.I. and personal researches on teaching”.

- In 2009 and 2010 he received an open scholarship in Brussels (PARTS-ROSAS Dance Company) and in Rome by the region of Lazio to proceed with his research. His original works (“Buongiorno Amore”, “Afroditi”, presented at Olympic theatre and Theatre Greco) combine together elements of theatre and dance.

 – Is professor in the theatre school “il Cantiere Teatrale”.

- 2018. Choreography trainer for the Pina Bausch "The Nelken line in Rome". An international project of 25 dancers of 11 different countries. Soon online the first artistic video and the documentary.

– In March of 2014 he was a guest together with Giulio Tremonti (former Italian Minister of Economy), Romano Prodi (the former Italian prime minister and former president of the European community), Ermanno Olmi (film director) in the TV show “the wind whistles” of Gad Lerner for Repubblica television and for the art channel Effe tv.

– Has collaborated -teaching and making shows of improvisation- with the Italian National Organization of Theatre.

– Teaches regularly twice a week Contact Improvisation developinghis own method.

– Teaches in different places around Europe.

– Has collaborated with Roberto Castello-Aldes for “Narrate” premium UBU as the best dance theatre production of the year in Italy and many others.

– In 2011 decided to stop making shows and concentrate his energies on the research about the human nature and the wisdom of our bodies.

– Co-founder of CORE an association of choreographers of central Italy to promote the rights of the live performing arts

– Co-founder of RomaContact a collective of dancers who promote and give shows of improvisation and Contact Improvisation.

– Organized the last 8 years many events of art and workshops inviting teachers from all Europe.

– Lives in Rome where graduate at school “l’officina” where study release technique, Dupuy technique, contact improvisation, instant improvisation and composition.

– As a choreographer, dancer and improviser has organized and participated at different events, in the last ten years.

– Has studied with many choreographers and participating at numerous workshops of physical-theatre, contemporary dance, choreographic composition and contact improvisation.

Theme of the lab: Blowin in the wind - Blowin in and out

in this lab, using some dance and contact impro principles that I have elaborated in the past years, we will explore how to dance, as solo, duets and trios, in a light, effortless and organic mode.

Through various exercises we will deepen on how to use in a proper way the gravity, the organic movements, the applied dance anatomy, the breath and the partnering engineering.

Using those principles we will explore the topics:

How can we offer our presence to our partners, being available and open physically, mentally and energetically connected. We will work on how to be in the present -here and now- and in listening to ourselves and our partners. We will explore, while we dance and improvise, how to accept and how to offer and become our meeting, an open, fluid and communicative dance; become our dance a real meeting and a journey.

A dance and a meeting that is blowin in the wind, blowin in the intecconection with the partners and the space.

Tamara Maksymenko

Pedagogical activity: 2008-2009 teacher of contact improvisation at the school "Potoki" (Dnepropetrovsk)

2009-2014 teacher of Contemporary dance and contact improvisation studio "Bomond" (Novomoskovsk)

2014-2017 Teacher, founder, head of school "High Dance COmpany" (Dnepropetrovsk)

2012 - contact improvisation teacher in the international festival in Crimea - MORE CI

2012-2014 teacher of Contact Improvisation and Contemporary in Shantambala on the CI festivals

2014-2016 teacher in the international festival - PushOK

 2016-2017 - freelance teacher in plural intensives in Ukraine, Poland, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Russia

2017-2018 - teacher in Innsbruck of contemporary dance and contact improvisation

Education:

1994-2002 School "Other Dances"

2002-2010 School "Potoki"

2007-2010 Dnipropetrovsk National University O.Gonchara , Department of Sociology

2015-2017July - in the physical training institute in the Intragna (Switzerland) at the Thomas Mattler.

2016 - Dnepropetrovsk Medical Institute of Traditional and Alternative Medicine, a specialty - the bodily therapist.

Experience as a dancer in companies: Denis Borodickiy Dance Company; Potoki E.Bydnickoy; Lebanon shooting MTV, LBC, Future TV; Bomond dance studio. 

Works:

with Belkin Daniel and Olga Ganzina - "Where next"

with the dancers of the theater-dance company “Potoki” and “Breeze” - "IMHO"

duet with Anatoli Lyaskalo - "Point off ...".  “Potoki” - "True story about a woman", "New life", "Femminile" , "together or separately", “The Mirror”, co-organizer of Anton Ovchinnikov project “Duel. 5 solo” .

Worked with such creators like a freelance dancer: Celine Kit Sais (Frances), Benno Voorham (Sweden), Otto Akkanen (Finland), Ekhard Muller and Dani Schwartz (France), Alexandra Soshnikova and Sergey Golovnya (Moldova), Ruslan Baranov (Kiev), with Boroditskiy Denis (Moscow), Christina Shishkareva (Kiev), had experience with Sharlotta Ruth (Sweden) in a Swedish-Ukrainian project "MOVE" and Andriyashkin Alexander (Russia), Lyudmila Mova, Olga Kebas, Andrew Harwood, Robert Anderson, Ester Gal. Currently co-operates with Thomas Mattler (Switzerland) in projects of physical theater, Tamar Raban and Ernesto Levi (Israel) is going a performance “Shulhan Aruch”.

Founder of Motion Mode Dance Theatre

Cultural figure of Ukraine, organizer of the international festival PerFEST 2017-2018 

Is working on “6th day” project presented in Innsbruck 26 th of April 2018  http://www.brux.at/produktionen/the-6th-day/

dance extract: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYm1S-qsqJQ&t=10s

Site: mmdt.co.ua  

Title of the workshop: 3D dance

My focus of research in this workshops will be on connection between floor, partner and sky.

Three layers of dancing, will be proposed plenty patterns for solo dance, informations on how to meet, in a soft way, different partners, how to fly and fall together, how to be clear in liftings.

I want to concentrate on the technique of dance in gentle approach. I would like to integrate all my experience of plural bodywork techniques to this workshop which will help to dance anatomically right, soft and athletic.

Thekla Gaiti 

Thekla is an actress, singer and performer.

She graduated from Veaki Drama School, the National Music Conservatoire (contemporary singing department) and the DUENDE School of Ensemble Physical Theatre and since 2001 she has been working with Greek and international directors, producers, singers and composers in theatre and cinema productions and concerts. In her work as performer, she focuses on the relationship between the body and the objects in space.

She has participated as a model in conceptual photography projects, several of which have been awarded in International Photography Contests.

She is an Associate Artist of DUENDE, an international collaboration of artists committed to Ensemble performance, teaching a physical approach to voice and the DUENDE performing technique of Ensemble Physical Theatre “Self-With-Others”. 

She was founding member and singer of “Klein Mein” music band, with which she had the opportunity to sing along with famous Greek artists touring Greece in big and small concerts and TV appearances.

www.theklagaiti.com

Theme of the Ensemble Physical Theatre workshop:

From “I” to “We”: Attempts of ensemble-ness

No one can really answer what ensemble is. We can sense it when it’s not there but yet can we say what it is?
“An ensemble is not commanded into existence. I cannot make you ensemble, nor you make me so. Ensemble emerges from the relationship of each individual to each other individual. We cannot impose our will on others and expect a relationship of mutual give-and-take to emerge”.
(Britton John: Encountering Ensemble, London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2013)

The workshop will navigate us through some of the core principles of Self-WithOthers, John Britton’s psychophysical approach to training performers in the contextmof ensemble.
During the 3 days we will explore together strategies that will allow us to connect with ourselves and the others, perceiving ensemble as a constantly evolving andmdynamic relationship between the performers that is being formed and changed each moment.
We will focus on opening and activating our senses in order to bring our body andmmind in every action, through solo, pair and group work based on fixed and improvisational structures. We will also be encouraged to notice our persomal waysmof thinking and moving and acknowledge the distractions and obstacles that blocks the free-flow of internal and external impulses.
The principles that underlie this work will function as helpful tools to encourage us to pursue pleasure in our work, exchange positive feedback, react fearlessly to each other and to our own live experience, cultivate presence, liveness and efficiency in our body-mind.

Roberto Bellatalla lived in London from 1978 to 2003, double bass player active on the british and european jazz and improvised music scene, has played extensively, toured and recorded with Elton Dean, Nick Evans, Keith Tippett, Louis Moholo, Mark Sanders, Alan Wilkinson, Evan Parker, Paul Dunmall, Paul Rutherford, Tony Marsh, Paul Rogers, Marcio Mattos, Maggie Nichols, Radu Malfatti, Tristan Honsinger, Sean Bergin, Steve Noble, Billy Jenkins and many others: Member of the band “Dreamtime”, from 1983 to 2006 and of “Louis Moholo’s Viva la Black”. He writes and performs for theatre, poetry and dance and is involved in didactic activities for children, adults and disabled people. He plays with the trio led by guitarist Mike Cooper, “Truth in the Abstract Blues”, performs solo concerts and with a variety of small acoustic or electro-acoustic ensembles of improvised music. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Bellatalla

Theme of the lab of R.Bellatalla: “Found objects: workshop of sonic reinterpretation”

Bring an object with you that produces a sound (a bunch of keys, a book, a plastic bag, a jar) or we will find it on the spot.

In the workshop we will be encouraged to listen with attention objects chosen randomly creating ways to play based on ergonomics, gestures and structured experimentation.

Everyday objects transformed into sound objects.

The sense of sound is related to interiority and is therefore able to evoke an instinctive and profound expressivity and an instant creativity. If you do not want to bring an object then you’ll be the object item-body. The trial will be accompanied by simple exercises and practices of movement, voice, spatial orientation, imitation and literacy.

Title of the workshop: Imagining a Moving Body

This workshop will play with ongoing interests I have in how perception, imagination, physiology and physics are in a constant interplay in human movement. We will work with images and exercises that shift the ways in which we experience our bodies as we move.

I’m influenced by Steve Paxton’s Material for the Spine, by Lisa Nelson’s preparations for Tuning Scores, Contact Improvisation, and by my own current and collaborative researches into movement and mind/body relationships.

The sessions will be a combination of practical exercises and improvisational scores. We will work individually, with a partner or partners, and as a group; building a shared body of information as we go along so that we can explore an easy interplay between each other and the spaces that we work in.

The work cultivates a readiness and availability in the body to the different possibilities that arise as we move. Deep listening is encouraged as a means of tapping into what’s there – in our bodies, in the environment and in our interactions with others. We use the accumulating information we discover as a resource for our dancing.

The workshops are a place for discovery and for the enthusiasm for movement that our discoveries might encourage. I’m interested in how the body thinks, in the role of the imagination in our experience of movement and in the potential to take an experiential ride in my own body as I move; I’m curious about what I can learn from it as I take in the view.

I see our ability to actively participate in and play with our own perception and experience of ourselves and our environments as one of the greatest freedoms we have.

The body is a work of the imagination.

I want to see how far we can go.

Come along and take the ride!

Christina Klissiouni (GR) Is an international dance teacher, performer, choreographer and founder of Helix dance company. She is also a body-psychotherapist and shiatsu practitioner. She is based in Athens. Her work is a 30 year-long exploration of movement/dance study based on Somatics & CI. She started her practice in CI in 1987 studying with the first generation of teachers in NYC (1986-90). Besides her training as a contemporary dancer (Merce Cunningham technique), very early on in her studies, she started exploring BMC, Alexander technique, Yoga, Authentic movement, Kinetic awareness, Skinner releasing and other practices that deeply informed her dance practice based on experiential anatomy. Improvisation has always been the foundation of her work. She runs her studio Present Body in the center of Athens since 2009, teaches and performs in numerous festivals/venues in Europe, USA, Asia cultivating “contact” based on awareness, on all levels.

She has co-taught intensive workshops and/or performances with Nita Little, Ray Chung, Ka Rustler, Mary Prestidge, Nien Mari Chatz, Angela Doniy, Shahar Dor, Saliq Savage and many others. She has been deeply influenced by the teachings of master teacher of contemplative movement- ritualistic performance and awareness practice based on Vipassana meditation and improvisation-Suprapto Syryodarmo from Indonesia.

Recently she taught intensive workshops for the second time at Freiburg CI festival(2014), at Israeli CI festival(2014), in Nantes, London, at Grenoble festival(2015), in Tubingen(Germany), Oslo, Budapest improv. festival, St. Petersberg solo festival, and numerous other venues. www.presentbody.com

Title of the workshop: Moving Roots to Flying 
The earth is constantly present and available providing us with support when we discover functional tools in order to move at ease. We often interfere unconsciously to this natural relationship with gravity. The way we resist to the force that attracts our body down to the earth, as well as to levity, creates our personal habits and the experience of oneself. Holding unnecessary tensions repeatedly defines the way we communicate with our posture in the world. Our perception of reality is shaped by the level of awareness, the sense of flow, we encounter in stillness and in movement. During this class we will practice primarily in slow pace, sensing and feeling our body through floor work exercises. We discover support and coordination through the connection of our breath, inner movement and developmental movements. Our intention is aiming to connect and integrate our centre to our periphery; to be in this process. Our work with gravity develops flow as we play with alignment, connections, movement in stability. Organically structured physical work lead us to improvisational scores. Free form dancing with presence opens up the explorative mind, inspiration, consequently creative physical dialogues with each other. Our dance may surprise us while we may discover that awakening to our roots can bring us the joy of suspension and flying. Dancing close to nature we open up our sensory and motor perception, our imagination and playfulness, our curiosity mind, to the external factors of space/time in the environment. In this way we have a chance to extend our possibilities of expression in a safe way that offers us a reflection and understanding of our being through contemplative movement and interaction. Open to all levels.

Antonella Voce (Linklater method) Graduated from “Laboratory Exercises Performing Rome” directed by Gigi Proietti.

– In 2010, after completing a three-year course in Germany, he qualified as a teacher Linklater, the method of the liberation of the natural voice.

– From 1994 to 2004 he worked as an actress, and as an assistant in the seminaries of Giancarlo Sepe.

– He worked in the theater as an actress and singer with various directors, composers, actors, singers including: Milva, Mario Scaccia, Massimo Ranieri, Gino Landi; Joseph Patrons Griffi, Bussotti.

– Work as an actress and singer in important theater and film productions and television Among the most important included: Cinema “OTHELLO” – Directed by Franco Zeffirelli, “COMMISSIONER THE CAT” directed by Dino Risi Television “STRAPAROLE” on texts by C.Zavattini. directed by Gregory U. “ACTOR MY LOVE” at Rai, variety, directed by A.Falqui “A LIKE ALICE” at Rai, variety, white spirit of A.Falqui “READY RAFFAELLA? ….” at Rai directed by G. Boncompagni Theatre “BARNUM” musical of Stewart Coleman with Ottavia Piccolo and Massimo Ranieri. Directed by Bob Schwab and E.Coltorti – 1987-2000 shows directed by Claudio Carafoli “SISSY” operetta Marischka and Kreisler. Directed by Gino Landi Teatro Comunale Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste – 1996-2000 shows directed by Alessandro Fadrizi

– collaborates with Maestro Fausto Razzi in contemporary music

– He works as an actress-singer with the “Dance Company and Entertainment Rome Mimma Testa “directed by Stefanella Testa.

– Collaborate with Maestro Marco Schiavoni as an interpreter in the soundtracks of major national and international dance companies

– From 1978 to 1980 he sang as a soprano in “Female Chamber Choir” conducted by Maestro Pablo Colino. From 1982 to 1995 he studied singing privately with soprano Maria Rohrmann

– currently teaches regularly Linklater method in various theater schools in Rome: “Cantiere Teatrale”, private school of theater directed by Giovanni Carta “Cassiopea” directed by Tenderness Factor “Stage Academy” directed by Patrik Rossi Gastaldi.

Subject of the workshop: Linklater method - “Voice of Freedom”

The Linklater method assumes that everyone has a voice that can express the infinite variety of emotions, the complexity of moods and nuances of thoughts he experiences. This is our natural voice, the voice that is in us “by birth”. This voice however is in the course of our life shaped and conditioned by external influences and personal choices about the image we want to give of ourselves. The result is the voice we know, our familiar voice. Our familiar voice could be at the mercy of tensions in life and have learned to conceal rather than to reveal our thoughts and our feelings. With the Linklater method we work on how to regain the use of our natural voice to enable the transmission of our inner world (of the emotions and the imagination) to anyone who will listen. The natural voice allows us to reveal – not to describe – the nuances of thought and feeling. But it will only be releasing our voice strains of habit that we could put it at the service of a free communication. Through a series of exercises aimed at freeing, develop and enhance the natural voice, the Linklater method provides a clear vision of its operation and in the wider context of interpersonal communication and in professional use. The method offers a detailed set of exercises that combine images, imagination and technical information. Who wants to learn them will arrive to an understanding of the psycho-physiology of his voice. The exercises are divided into a detailed structure and carefully designed, developed in the following steps:

Body: the spine, support the natural breath.

The breath: free the breath, the rhythm of breathing involuntary.

The touch sound: the initial vibrations. Expansion vibration, freeing the body of tension.

Channel: jaw, tongue, soft palate.

The scale of the resonators: chest, mouth, teeth.

Respiratory capacity: diaphragm, intercostal, pelvic floor.

The scale of the resonators: sinuses, nose and skull.

Extension: three or four octaves of notes speak.

Articulation: articulators shape the item in question.

Theme of the lab: Listen and comunicate, give and receive, accept and offer

How can I give, offer my presence to my partner being available and open physically , mentally , energetically to communicate. We will work on how to be present -here and now- and in listening to ourselves and our partners. We will explore, while we dance and improvise, how to accept and how to offer and become our meeting, an open, fluid and communicative dance; become our dance a real meeting and a journey.

The keywords in these meetings will be: energy, freedom, openness, acceptance, emptiness-fullness.

Roberto Bellatalla lived in London from 1978 to 2003, double bass player active on the british and european jazz and improvised music scene, has played extensively, toured and recorded with Elton Dean, Nick Evans, Keith Tippett, Louis Moholo, Mark Sanders, Alan Wilkinson, Evan Parker, Paul Dunmall, Paul Rutherford, Tony Marsh, Paul Rogers, Marcio Mattos, Maggie Nichols, Radu Malfatti, Tristan Honsinger, Sean Bergin, Steve Noble, Billy Jenkins and many others: Member of the band “Dreamtime”, from 1983 to 2006 and of “Louis Moholo’s Viva la Black”. He writes and performs for theatre, poetry and dance and is involved in didactic activities for children, adults and disabled people. He plays with the trio led by guitarist Mike Cooper, “Truth in the Abstract Blues”, performs solo concerts and with a variety of small acoustic or electro-acoustic ensembles of improvised music.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Bellatalla

Theme of the workshop: “who moves whom?”

Deepening the relationship between dance and live music, free improvisation. In this laboratory the goal will be to explore the best possible system of improvisation, the more combinations existong, searching for listening, understanding and complicity between contact dancers and musicians.

Stella Topalidou is a Feldenkrais and Shiatsu practitioner-teacher and performer and is based in Thessaloniki, Greece. She is also a psychologist and social researcher. She studied Psychology in Thessaloniki and Social Science Research Methods (MSc) in Edinburgh, Scotland and has completed a 3-year professional training in Shiatsu and a 4-year professional training in the Feldenkrais method. She is interested in the relationship between movement, the body and the self and she is the founder of 'Uplift Somatics: Shiatsu & Feldenkrais', offering group classes and private sessions in Thessaloniki. She regularly teaches a variety of subjects including psychology, Shiatsu and Feldenkrais to groups of various backgrounds and ages, including athletes, dancers, actors, musicians and people over 60.

She has studied contemporary dance, improvisation, performance and contact improvisation with Konstantinos Gerardos and various teachers around the world (Pilobolus Dance-Theater, Benno Voorham, Nancy Stark-Smith, Ray Chung, Masaki Iwana and others). She is interested in all kinds of movement, she has extensively explored Yoga and the Alexander Technique and she has been particularly influenced by the Taoist tradition through meditation, breathing, qigong and tai-chi as taught by Taoist Lineage master Bruce Frantzis (www.energyarts.com). She is a member of the dance-theatre group “Dodeka Dahtila” creating her own performance work in Thessaloniki.

Theme of the workshop: Psycho-kinetic adventures: playing with our nervous system, moving beyond our habits

a way out of the maze

mistakes: a part of learning

talking without words

sensing to understand

The Feldenkrais Method is a method of movement re-education, named after the man who developed it, Moshe Feldenkrais. It uses gentle movement and directed attention to improve range and easiness of movement and enhance human functioning.

In a Feldenkrais group class, the teacher verbally leads you in precisely structured movement explorations that involve thinking, sensing, moving, feeling and imagining.

By observing yourself and recognizing your mind and body’s habitual reactions to pressure, you will gain new alternatives in moving as well as increased mental awareness and creativity in all aspects of your everyday functioning as an individual and in your (moving or not) interaction with others.

In this workshop we will play with challenging our nervous system while solving movement puzzles looking for alternative ways to connect to ourselves. Through individual work, we will enjoy making mistakes, changing our perspective of looking at things, exploring unusual ways of moving and examine how a easier state of moving and being can influence our interaction with the others.

Think about small, slow and fun. Think about listening, allowing, giving up, waiting, sensing and exploring. Come with tolerance - for our never ending, insisting need to understand, accomplish, achieve and do more and more. And then challenge yourself to go slow and do less. We are designed to move – we can only be guided by pleasure. 

Title of the workshop: Imagining a Moving Body

This workshop will play with ongoing interests I have in how perception, imagination, physiology and physics are in a constant interplay in human movement. We will work with images and exercises that shift the ways in which we experience our bodies as we move.

I’m influenced by Steve Paxton’s Material for the Spine, by Lisa Nelson’s preparations for Tuning Scores, Contact Improvisation, and by my own current and collaborative researches into movement and mind/body relationships.

The sessions will be a combination of practical exercises and improvisational scores. We will work individually, with a partner or partners, and as a group; building a shared body of information as we go along so that we can explore an easy interplay between each other and the spaces that we work in.

The work cultivates a readiness and availability in the body to the different possibilities that arise as we move. Deep listening is encouraged as a means of tapping into what’s there – in our bodies, in the environment and in our interactions with others. We use the accumulating information we discover as a resource for our dancing.

The workshops are a place for discovery and for the enthusiasm for movement that our discoveries might encourage. I’m interested in how the body thinks, in the role of the imagination in our experience of movement and in the potential to take an experiential ride in my own body as I move; I’m curious about what I can learn from it as I take in the view.

I see our ability to actively participate in and play with our own perception and experience of ourselves and our environments as one of the greatest freedoms we have.

The body is a work of the imagination.

I want to see how far we can go.

Come along and take the ride!

Christina Klissiouni (GR) Is an international dance teacher, performer, choreographer and founder of Helix dance company. She is also a body-psychotherapist and shiatsu practitioner. She is based in Athens. Her work is a 30 year-long exploration of movement/dance study based on Somatics & CI. She started her practice in CI in 1987 studying with the first generation of teachers in NYC (1986-90). Besides her training as a contemporary dancer (Merce Cunningham technique), very early on in her studies, she started exploring BMC, Alexander technique, Yoga, Authentic movement, Kinetic awareness, Skinner releasing and other practices that deeply informed her dance practice based on experiential anatomy. Improvisation has always been the foundation of her work. She runs her studio Present Body in the center of Athens since 2009, teaches and performs in numerous festivals/venues in Europe, USA, Asia cultivating “contact” based on awareness, on all levels.

She has co-taught intensive workshops and/or performances with Nita Little, Ray Chung, Ka Rustler, Mary Prestidge, Nien Mari Chatz, Angela Doniy, Shahar Dor, Saliq Savage and many others. She has been deeply influenced by the teachings of master teacher of contemplative movement- ritualistic performance and awareness practice based on Vipassana meditation and improvisation-Suprapto Syryodarmo from Indonesia.

Recently she taught intensive workshops for the second time at Freiburg CI festival(2014), at Israeli CI festival(2014), in Nantes, London, at Grenoble festival(2015), in Tubingen(Germany), Oslo, Budapest improv. festival, St. Petersberg solo festival, and numerous other venues. www.presentbody.com

Title of the workshop: Moving Roots to Flying 
The earth is constantly present and available providing us with support when we discover functional tools in order to move at ease. We often interfere unconsciously to this natural relationship with gravity. The way we resist to the force that attracts our body down to the earth, as well as to levity, creates our personal habits and the experience of oneself. Holding unnecessary tensions repeatedly defines the way we communicate with our posture in the world. Our perception of reality is shaped by the level of awareness, the sense of flow, we encounter in stillness and in movement. During this class we will practice primarily in slow pace, sensing and feeling our body through floor work exercises. We discover support and coordination through the connection of our breath, inner movement and developmental movements. Our intention is aiming to connect and integrate our centre to our periphery; to be in this process. Our work with gravity develops flow as we play with alignment, connections, movement in stability. Organically structured physical work lead us to improvisational scores. Free form dancing with presence opens up the explorative mind, inspiration, consequently creative physical dialogues with each other. Our dance may surprise us while we may discover that awakening to our roots can bring us the joy of suspension and flying. Dancing close to nature we open up our sensory and motor perception, our imagination and playfulness, our curiosity mind, to the external factors of space/time in the environment. In this way we have a chance to extend our possibilities of expression in a safe way that offers us a reflection and understanding of our being through contemplative movement and interaction. Open to all levels.

Antonella Voce (Linklater method) Graduated from “Laboratory Exercises Performing Rome” directed by Gigi Proietti.

– In 2010, after completing a three-year course in Germany, he qualified as a teacher Linklater, the method of the liberation of the natural voice.

– From 1994 to 2004 he worked as an actress, and as an assistant in the seminaries of Giancarlo Sepe.

– He worked in the theater as an actress and singer with various directors, composers, actors, singers including: Milva, Mario Scaccia, Massimo Ranieri, Gino Landi; Joseph Patrons Griffi, Bussotti.

– Work as an actress and singer in important theater and film productions and television Among the most important included: Cinema “OTHELLO” – Directed by Franco Zeffirelli, “COMMISSIONER THE CAT” directed by Dino Risi Television “STRAPAROLE” on texts by C.Zavattini. directed by Gregory U. “ACTOR MY LOVE” at Rai, variety, directed by A.Falqui “A LIKE ALICE” at Rai, variety, white spirit of A.Falqui “READY RAFFAELLA? ….” at Rai directed by G. Boncompagni Theatre “BARNUM” musical of Stewart Coleman with Ottavia Piccolo and Massimo Ranieri. Directed by Bob Schwab and E.Coltorti – 1987-2000 shows directed by Claudio Carafoli “SISSY” operetta Marischka and Kreisler. Directed by Gino Landi Teatro Comunale Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste – 1996-2000 shows directed by Alessandro Fadrizi

– collaborates with Maestro Fausto Razzi in contemporary music

– He works as an actress-singer with the “Dance Company and Entertainment Rome Mimma Testa “directed by Stefanella Testa.

– Collaborate with Maestro Marco Schiavoni as an interpreter in the soundtracks of major national and international dance companies

– From 1978 to 1980 he sang as a soprano in “Female Chamber Choir” conducted by Maestro Pablo Colino. From 1982 to 1995 he studied singing privately with soprano Maria Rohrmann

– currently teaches regularly Linklater method in various theater schools in Rome: “Cantiere Teatrale”, private school of theater directed by Giovanni Carta “Cassiopea” directed by Tenderness Factor “Stage Academy” directed by Patrik Rossi Gastaldi.

Subject of the workshop: Linklater method - “Voice of Freedom”

The Linklater method assumes that everyone has a voice that can express the infinite variety of emotions, the complexity of moods and nuances of thoughts he experiences. This is our natural voice, the voice that is in us “by birth”. This voice however is in the course of our life shaped and conditioned by external influences and personal choices about the image we want to give of ourselves. The result is the voice we know, our familiar voice. Our familiar voice could be at the mercy of tensions in life and have learned to conceal rather than to reveal our thoughts and our feelings. With the Linklater method we work on how to regain the use of our natural voice to enable the transmission of our inner world (of the emotions and the imagination) to anyone who will listen. The natural voice allows us to reveal – not to describe – the nuances of thought and feeling. But it will only be releasing our voice strains of habit that we could put it at the service of a free communication. Through a series of exercises aimed at freeing, develop and enhance the natural voice, the Linklater method provides a clear vision of its operation and in the wider context of interpersonal communication and in professional use. The method offers a detailed set of exercises that combine images, imagination and technical information. Who wants to learn them will arrive to an understanding of the psycho-physiology of his voice. The exercises are divided into a detailed structure and carefully designed, developed in the following steps:

Body: the spine, support the natural breath.

The breath: free the breath, the rhythm of breathing involuntary.

The touch sound: the initial vibrations. Expansion vibration, freeing the body of tension.

Channel: jaw, tongue, soft palate.

The scale of the resonators: chest, mouth, teeth.

Respiratory capacity: diaphragm, intercostal, pelvic floor.

The scale of the resonators: sinuses, nose and skull.

Extension: three or four octaves of notes speak.

Articulation: articulators shape the item in question.

Theme of the lab: Listen and comunicate, give and receive, accept and offer

How can I give, offer my presence to my partner being available and open physically , mentally , energetically to communicate. We will work on how to be present -here and now- and in listening to ourselves and our partners. We will explore, while we dance and improvise, how to accept and how to offer and become our meeting, an open, fluid and communicative dance; become our dance a real meeting and a journey.

The keywords in these meetings will be: energy, freedom, openness, acceptance, emptiness-fullness.

Roberto Bellatalla lived in London from 1978 to 2003, double bass player active on the british and european jazz and improvised music scene, has played extensively, toured and recorded with Elton Dean, Nick Evans, Keith Tippett, Louis Moholo, Mark Sanders, Alan Wilkinson, Evan Parker, Paul Dunmall, Paul Rutherford, Tony Marsh, Paul Rogers, Marcio Mattos, Maggie Nichols, Radu Malfatti, Tristan Honsinger, Sean Bergin, Steve Noble, Billy Jenkins and many others: Member of the band “Dreamtime”, from 1983 to 2006 and of “Louis Moholo’s Viva la Black”. He writes and performs for theatre, poetry and dance and is involved in didactic activities for children, adults and disabled people. He plays with the trio led by guitarist Mike Cooper, “Truth in the Abstract Blues”, performs solo concerts and with a variety of small acoustic or electro-acoustic ensembles of improvised music.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Bellatalla

Theme of the workshop: “who moves whom?”

Deepening the relationship between dance and live music, free improvisation. In this laboratory the goal will be to explore the best possible system of improvisation, the more combinations existong, searching for listening, understanding and complicity between contact dancers and musicians.

Stella Topalidou is a Feldenkrais and Shiatsu practitioner-teacher and performer and is based in Thessaloniki, Greece. She is also a psychologist and social researcher. She studied Psychology in Thessaloniki and Social Science Research Methods (MSc) in Edinburgh, Scotland and has completed a 3-year professional training in Shiatsu and a 4-year professional training in the Feldenkrais method. She is interested in the relationship between movement, the body and the self and she is the founder of 'Uplift Somatics: Shiatsu & Feldenkrais', offering group classes and private sessions in Thessaloniki. She regularly teaches a variety of subjects including psychology, Shiatsu and Feldenkrais to groups of various backgrounds and ages, including athletes, dancers, actors, musicians and people over 60.

She has studied contemporary dance, improvisation, performance and contact improvisation with Konstantinos Gerardos and various teachers around the world (Pilobolus Dance-Theater, Benno Voorham, Nancy Stark-Smith, Ray Chung, Masaki Iwana and others). She is interested in all kinds of movement, she has extensively explored Yoga and the Alexander Technique and she has been particularly influenced by the Taoist tradition through meditation, breathing, qigong and tai-chi as taught by Taoist Lineage master Bruce Frantzis (www.energyarts.com). She is a member of the dance-theatre group “Dodeka Dahtila” creating her own performance work in Thessaloniki.

Theme of the workshop: Psycho-kinetic adventures: playing with our nervous system, moving beyond our habits

a way out of the maze

mistakes: a part of learning

talking without words

sensing to understand

The Feldenkrais Method is a method of movement re-education, named after the man who developed it, Moshe Feldenkrais. It uses gentle movement and directed attention to improve range and easiness of movement and enhance human functioning.

In a Feldenkrais group class, the teacher verbally leads you in precisely structured movement explorations that involve thinking, sensing, moving, feeling and imagining.

By observing yourself and recognizing your mind and body’s habitual reactions to pressure, you will gain new alternatives in moving as well as increased mental awareness and creativity in all aspects of your everyday functioning as an individual and in your (moving or not) interaction with others.

In this workshop we will play with challenging our nervous system while solving movement puzzles looking for alternative ways to connect to ourselves. Through individual work, we will enjoy making mistakes, changing our perspective of looking at things, exploring unusual ways of moving and examine how a easier state of moving and being can influence our interaction with the others.

Think about small, slow and fun. Think about listening, allowing, giving up, waiting, sensing and exploring. Come with tolerance - for our never ending, insisting need to understand, accomplish, achieve and do more and more. And then challenge yourself to go slow and do less. We are designed to move – we can only be guided by pleasure. 

Title of the workshop: Exploring through Body-Mind Centering®

In this intensive we will observe the movement of the bodies of the Body-Mind Centering point of view (BMC®).

The two practices, Contact Improvisation and BMC have a long history and tradition in inspiring and informing each other. BMC is usually included to understand and develop CI principles.

During this workshop we will put the BMC at the center of our explorations and the connection with contact improvisation. Working also on the support of the organs and the way in which they are linked to the skeleton and our muscles will be at the center of our research.

 

Matthieu Gaudeau Dancer-Teacher of the Alexander Technique.

He worked as a performer from 1997-2015 within live performance companies and collectives. 

He started training in the Alexander Technique in 2009 and began to rethink his teaching and pedagogy based on the principles of inhibition and directed attention.

He is passionate about the organization of the human gesture and the relationship between attention and posture.

He works with people suffering from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease and participates in the ICI and ICrEA projects (dance and neurosciences, C.N.R.S national center for scientific research); as a founding member, he plays a central role in the development of experimental protocols around attention and joint attention.

He regularly collaborates with others to open up the practice (Mandoline Whittlese-Authentic Movement, Emma Bigé-Philosophy, Asaf Bachrach-Science and Philosophy, Loic Santiago-Systema).

He is co-organizer of the Rencontres Internationales de Contact Improvisation in Paris.

 

 

 

 

  

Title of the workshop: Suspension in action

La contact improvisation è un meraviglioso mezzo di disorientamento e quindi di apprendimento. Ci permette di rivisitare alcune costanti del movimento umano come la gravità, il tatto, il supporto, l'orientamento, sotto l'angolo della necessità e non della tecnica. Attraverso un gioco di abbandono alla gravità e un tocco condiviso, diventiamo testimoni attivi del nostro stesso sistema di equilibrio, coordinamento e organizzazione. Ciò che si approfondisce nella pratica della Contact Improvisation è la possibilità di rimanere in questa “meraviglia del de-fare/ri-fare” in azione, dove si intrecciano forze di sostegno e una relazione di sostegno con il nostro ambiente e il nostro partner.

Da qualche anno sono affascinato dal tono, dalle sue variazioni, dalla sua musicalità; è un affascinante crocevia per avvicinarsi all'unità psico-fisica tanto cara alle pratiche somatiche. Gran parte del lavoro della Tecnica Alexander consiste nel percepire nell'attività il nostro livello di reattività e nel sospendere il nostro modo singolare e abituale di rispondere a determinati stimoli.

Questo tempo di sospensione ci permette di mettere in evidenza il modo in cui siamo organizzati nel momento in relazione al nostro appoggio (il terreno o il partner) ma anche alla gravità (le forze che ci organizzano) e a come viviamo la nostra verticalità (dialogo tra queste forze di sostegno e il nostro orientamento, le nostre relazioni) e tutto questo si esprime attraverso il tono. Ed è proprio con questo tono che dialoghiamo in Contact Improvisation. Noto che osservandolo e sviluppando la sua "lettura" diventa gradualmente un territorio condiviso dove le forze e gli orientamenti in gioco nel duetto (comfort e assunzione di rischi) possono essere organizzati ma anche previsti.

Questa sospensione (attiva) consente un "tempo aperto" in cui l'ascolto (accoglienza) e il lasciarsi andare sono articolati con precisione, due gesti specifici dell'improvvisazione del contatto.

Propongo quindi di esplorare questo particolare spazio di sospensione (inibizione nel linguaggio della Tecnica di Alexander) per vedere come sia una porta ovvia verso un disfacimento - e per avvicinarsi alla "tecnica", non come elementi da raggiungere ma come percorsi in cui “lasciarsi esplorare”.

 

For some years now, I have been fascinated by tone, its variations, its musicality; it is a fascinating crossroads for approaching the psycho-physical unity so dear to somatic practices. A large part of the work of the Alexander Technique is to perceive in activity our level of reactivity and to suspend our singular and habitual way of responding to certain stimuli.

This time of suspension allows us to highlight the way we are organized in the moment in relation to our support (the ground or partner) but also to gravity (the forces that organize us) and how we live our verticality (dialogue between these support forces and our orientation, our relationships) and all this is expressed through tone. And it is precisely with this tone that we dialogue in Contact Improvisation. I notice that by observing it and developing its "reading" it gradually becomes a shared territory where the forces and orientations at stake in the duet (comfort and risk-taking) can be organized but also predicted.

This (active) suspension allows for an "open time" where listening (welcoming) and letting go are precisely articulated, two gestures specific to contact improvisation.

I therefore propose to explore this particular space of suspension (inhibition in the language of the Alexander Technique) to see how it is an obvious gateway to an undoing - and to approach the "technique",  not as elements to be reached but as paths in which to "let oneself be explored".

 

 

 

 

 

Teti Nikolopoulou è una danzatrice, coreografa, ricercatrice, insegnante di danza e di educazione fisica, con un approccio somatico alla coreografia e all'educazione alla danza.

Teti, dopo la laurea in Educazione Fisica alla Kapodestrian University di Atene e la danza alla Kontaxaki Professional Dance School, ha preso lezioni presso lo studio Movement Research, lo studio Merce Cunningham, lo studio Paul Taylor e lo studio Alvin Ailey, a New York City e al Laban Center, Londra. Tra gli altri, ha frequentato lezioni e seminari di tecniche di crelease e improvvisazione con David Zabrano, Thomas Mettler, Gwen Welliver, Maxine Heppner e Axis Syllabus con Frey Faust, Timos Zechas e altri.

Dal 2000 si è formata in contact improvisation (CI) con Christina Klissiouni e ha partecipato a seminari di pratica con Nancy Stark Smith, Nitta Little, Daniel Lepkoff, Benno Voorham, Chariiet Morissey e altri.

È stata premiata come giovane coreografa e ha ricevuto borse di studio dal Ministero della Cultura nel 2005, 2007, 2017-18, 2018-19 e 2021-22.

Ha un dottorato di ricerca in materia di contact improvisation (https://www.didaktorika.gr/eadd/handle/10442/51162).

Insegna cotact imèrovisation da più di 18 anni. Tiene lezioni e conferenze sull'approccio somatico alla danza in diverse scuole di danza professionali in Grecia. È stata insegnante ospite nel festival internazionale dicontact improvisation di Friburgo nel 2019.

Dal 2017 è coreografa in Anima – soma dance company (1992) specializzata in creazione di danza e archiviazione di danza ed è finanziata dal Ministero della Cultura in Grecia. La compania abbraccia la sua visione e vuole comunicare e diffondere il suo approccio incarnato.

 

Spettacoli

You always unbalance me 2022, extracts https://youtu.be/VtQ2C6gOKWc

Gift/present 2019, extracts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6foaJKpsVEE

 infinities 2017-18- teaser https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuXwiW-bnW4&feature=youtu.be

 Meet me there, 2016, teaser https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjhOomepNxo&feature=youtu.be

 Roots 2015, teaser https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Byj-b6nTEzA

Ιsolated, 2010, teaser https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k21eo7xTgXs

Knots 2011, full piece https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spCopN1TgP4

 

 

 

 

Title of the workshop: From our roots to flying together

In this class we will focus on support on the ground (earth and other’s bodies) and how gravity opens paths for rising, for expanding in space and for moving softly and efficiently. These two opposing forces, support, and expansion, provide ways to contact the others, to roll to the points of contact and to function as one integrated system. These “constantly moving roots” are the anchors that enable us to “fly” towards each other.

With instructions that derive from somatic practices and holistic approach we focus on the awareness and the presence of the partners bodies. We thus add in our explorations the inner workings of human action and inter-action. When and how one transitions from the conscious to the non-conscious, from the body to the mind, from the inner to the outer self and from me to us, are the subjects of this work.

 

 

Ippokratis Veneris, teacher, dancer, choreographer, deepen and studies dance and other arts for more than 20 years. In his lessons of contact inserts elements from the various disciplines that has studied extensively over the years as: floorwork, release technique, experiential anatomy, applied anatomy, dupuy technique, acrobalance, martial arts, afro dance, ballet, alexander technic, chi kung, dance theatre and much more.

 – In the past collaborated with the UNIVERSITY OF ROME “Roma 3”, department of “Philosophy of Education” giving lectures about “Pedagogy, C.I. and personal researches on teaching”.

- for two years he received an open scholarship in Brussels (PARTS-ROSAS Dance Company) and in Rome by the region of Lazio to proceed with his research on dance theater projects. His original works (“Buongiorno Amore”, “Afroditi”, presented at Olympic theatre and Theatre Greco) combine together elements of theatre and dance.

 – Is professor in the theatre school “il Cantiere Teatrale”.

- 2018 award: His work as choreography director for the Pina Bausch "The Nelken line in Rome". An international project of 25 dancers of 11 different countries. Receives the second award of Lazio Film Festival Commission.

– In March of 2014 he was a guest together with Giulio Tremonti (former Italian Minister of Economy), Romano Prodi (the former Italian prime minister and former president of the European community), Ermanno Olmi (film director) in the TV peogram “the wind whistles” of Gad Lerner for Repubblica television and for the art channel Effe tv.

– Has collaborated -teaching and making shows of improvisation- with the Italian National Organization of Theater.

– Teaches regularly twice a week Contact Improvisation developing his own method.

– Teaches in different places around Europe.

– Has collaborated with Roberto Castello-Aldes for “Narrate” premium UBU as the best dance theatre production of the year in Italy and many others.

– In 2011 decided to stop making shows and concentrate his energies on the research about the human nature and the wisdom of our bodies.

– Co-founder of CORE an association of choreographers of central Italy to promote the rights of the live performing arts

– Co-founder of RomaContact a collective of dancers who promote and give shows of improvisation and Contact Improvisation.

– Organized the last 10 years many events of art and workshops inviting teachers from all Europe.

– Lives in Rome where graduate at school “l’officina” where study release technique, Dupuy technique, contact improvisation, instant improvisation and composition.

– As a choreographer, dancer and improviser has organized and participated at different events, in the last ten years.

– Has studied with many choreographers and participating at numerous workshops of physical-theatre, contemporary dance, choreographic composition and contact improvisation.

Theme of the lab: Blow in in the wind

in this lab, using some dance and contact impro principles that I have elaborated in the past years, we will explore how to dance, as solo, duets and trios, in a light, effortless and organic mode.

Through various exercises and games we will deepen on how to use in a proper way the gravity, the organic movements, the applied dance anatomy, the breath and the partnering engineering.

Using those principles we will explore the topics:

How can we offer our presence to our partners, being available and open physically, mentally and energetically connected. We will work on how to be in the present -here and now- and in listening to ourselves and our partners. We will explore, while we dance and improvise, how to accept and how to offer and become our meeting, an open, fluid and communicative dance; become our dance a real meeting and a journey.

A dance and a meeting that is blowin in the wind, blowin in the intecconection with the partners and the space.

Aliki Dourmazer is a physical Theatre and voice teacher, a performer, director and vocalist. She was born in Thessaloniki, Greece. She has a Bachelor Degree in ‘Theatre Studies’, specializing in Physical Theatre and a Master of Arts Degree (Distinction) in 'Ensemble Physical Theatre: Training and Performance' University of Huddersfield, Great Britain.

She was trained by Phillip Zarrilli in Psychophysical Theatre (Huddersfield and Wales) and in Ritual Theatre by Nicolas Nunez (Mexico) "Anthropocosmic Theatre".
She is largely influenced by her extensive training on Ensemble Physical Theatre Training & Improvisation.

She worked as a Physical Theater teacher, in the Movement course, at the Drama School of the State Theatre of Northern Greece (2018-2020).

She has been continuously teaching Physical Theatre and Voice since 1999 in Athens, Thessaloniki, The National Theatre of Northern Greece, Komotini, Lesvos, Crete (GR), Larnaka (Cyprus), University of Huddersfield, University of Oldham(UK), Geneva (CH), Pisa (Italy) Budapest (HU), Wurzburg (Germany).

She was one of the founding members of the International Ensemble DUENDE with Artistic director John Britton and worked as a performer, a vocalist and voice trainer in DUENDE productions and residencies until 2017. DUENDE run 3 year (2012-14) intensive Training and Performance Project at the Drama Department in the University of Huddersfield where she participated as ‘Voice and Performance’ teacher and director.
She was also a Voice and Singing teacher in the ‘Duende School of Ensemble Physical Theatre’ Athens (2015- 2017).
In 2014 she founded her own school of Physical theatre & Performance ‘Present Being Performer Laboratory - Physical Theatre Education’ in Thessaloniki, for professionals and amateur artists. She is the artistic director and lead teacher, collaborating also with contemporary dance, acrobatics and yoga teachers. Each academic year completes with staged performances by each student group. The school has staged 8 different productions with ensemble and solo performances.

She has been working in the theatrical field since 1999 as an actress, performer and director in Physical Theatre and has taken part in Theatre & Art Festivals in Greece : mainly in Athens, Thessaloniki, Lesvos, Crete and the UK.

She is the director of the ‘Present Being Ensemble’ with theatrical productions that connect physical theatre, dance and song.

Invited by TEDx University of Macedonia at the pre-event 'Tangram', she led the workshop 'Present Being Performer - revealing our psychosomatic intelligence'.
Her last theatrical research project was the Solo Performance 'MEDuLA', based on Medea by Euripides, touring in Geneva, Athens, Thessaloniki.

Her latest Ensemble production as director and writer was the peripatetic performance in the Museum of Byzantine Art, Thessaloniki ‘The Word from Above’, a collaboration between physical theatre performers, dancers and musicians, based on texts by N. Kazantzakis and H.Miller, designed specifically for the museum within the events for Year of Kazantzakis. (2017) In 2019 she became a member of a new artistic collaboration with the project 'Eutopia' in Thessaloniki.

Her latest artistic works as a creator are the multimedia performance ‘ANAMESA’ based on a Smyrnaean traditional song, in collaboration with the filmmaker George Alexakis, for the 55th Dimitria Thessaloniki Festival. And the Solo Performance ‘Rebirth’ in collaboration with Panagiotis Tsakiris in the composition and live performance of music at the Festival ‘Psychotherapist, Artist, Spectator’ in Thessaloniki. She also participated as a performer in the Performance ‘Spit your Fire’ as a tribute to the artist Joseph Beuys, (direct. Polyxeni Spyropoulou), at the Momus Experimental Arts Center.

She is a representative of the Greek participation with her Physical theatre Training method and a co-organizer in the European Erasmus Program ‘Cour’Age’ (2022-23).

https://www.facebook.com/PhysicalTheatreandVoiceAlikiDourmazer

https://www.facebook.com/presentbeingperformer/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWQ1lH8hLYI0pzOHFJvdA6w

Title  of the lab: 'The invisible made visible’ Ensemble Physical Theatre

- Ensemble Physical Theatre & Voice

We are training ourselves in ‘Ensemble Physical Theatre’ to reveal the invisible communication through the corporeal expression. The dynamic of the Ensemble reinforcing the dynamic of Self, combined with the exploration of the vocal dynamics of the performer as a constantly energetic part of his expressive means. We engage in the practice of discovering our physical expressive tools through kinetic improvisations and we aslo activate an organic connection between our body and voice, between movement and sound.

Τhe physical practice is focusing on the following:

- Practical Study and re-assembling of the perceptional process of stimuli – impulse - physical reaction – expression. 

- Duet and group Improvisation of a continuous Flow of authentic, in the moment expression. 

- We promote a continuous internal interaction between 'inner' and 'outer' stimuli in the performance. We cultivate the alert presence of the performer in the ‘here and now 'of the action, in a continuous flow of interaction with all members of the ensemble.  

The Vocal Practice includes :

- Τοols for preparation and rediscovery of our personal sound in relation to our inner physical structures with core principle the pleasure in the process :

Warming up of the body, face and vocal instruments as the tools of discovery of our unique voice / Group circle vocal improvisation / - Direct connection and activation between body and voice, impulse – reaction through movement and voicing.

- Physical and vocal improvisation in pairs, small and big groups.

- Effortless, flowing physical and vocal expression so as to promote an open, without obstacles body of the performer.

YOGA FESTIVAL WORKSHOPS

Flowing in the nature - The ecological body mind

Flowing in the nature and the ecological body mind will be the general theme on which will deepen the teachers of the yoga festival. Workshops will take place in stage and in nature.

Gabi Dal Ponte (Brazil - Acroyoga, Iyengar) is a Yoga practitioner since 2002 and became a teacher back in 2007.

YOGA AND ACROYOGA TRAININGS

AYURVEDIC YOGA MASSAGE TRAINING, São Paulo, Brasil 2005 

IYENGAR YOGA 500 HOUR TEACHER TRAINING, São Paulo, Brasil 2005 - 2007

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF AYURVEDA 200 HOUR INTENSIVE TRAINING, Kerala, India 2006

TRIYOGA 690 HOUR TEACHER TRAINING, LEVEL I, London, England 2009 - 2011

ACROYOGA INTERNATIONAL TEACHER TRAINING, LEVEL I, San Diego, USA

ACROYOGA INTERNATIONAL TEACHER TRAINING, LEVEL II, Chalkida, Greece

STUDIO MILE END 100 HOUR ADVANCED YOGA TEACHER TRAINING, Montréal, Canada

Notable events and workshops:

● AcroYoga Festival do Brasil - Alexânia, Brasil - March 2018

● 1o Encontro Internacional de AcroYoga em São Paulo - São Paulo, Brasil - May 2019

● AcroYoga International Festival - San Diego, USA - August 2015

● AcroYoga International Festival - Rio de Janeiro, Brasil - June 2017

● AcroYoga International Festival - Rio de Janeiro, Brasil - June 2018

● AcroYoga Workshop - Lisbon & Sagres, Portugal - August 2018

● AcroYoga International Festival - Chalkida, Greece - September 2018

● AcroYoga International Foundations Immersion - Brasilia, Brasil - November 2019

● AcroYoga 6-week Beginner’s Course - Paris, France - March to April 2022

 Lisa Donnadieu, (France - Hatha flow, Partner yoga, alignment yoga) is a French & Swedish 500h certified yoga teacher trained in Hatha & Vinyasa Yoga in New York and Ashtanga in Mysuru, India. 

During her studies (master degree in international business and design thinking), she kept practicing yoga with renowned teachers in the cities where she lived : New York, Portland OR, Melbourne and Paris. 

She studied acting at l’Atelier Blanche Salant in Paris and improv at the Barrow Group Theatre Company in New York.

She has been practicing yoga for over ten years all over the world, including India where she goes regularly to deepen her practice in
multiple places and ashram as 300h in Mysore, India with Ramesh.
Lisa Is also a certified sound healer. Mexico. Sound Therapy. January 202.

Lisa teaches yoga full time in Paris and has hosted more than twenty workshops and holistic multisensorial retreats in France and Morocco.
Prqctice Karma Yoga called also Yoga of the Action through various  solidarity and charity projects. She also created an eco-label, YLĀ, to promote natural yoga mats and enlighten Indian crafts.


Her classes are inspired by a dance background as modern, ballet and jazz and of her current last 3 years studies at the Chinese school of performing arts (contortion & balancing).
She believes in the power of hands-on-adjustments and offers a lot of assist allowing a greater awareness of the body and a better understanding of the asanas.
Het Yoga classes are focused on the precision of alignment associated with dynamic and fluid movements harmonized by the breath.
Lisa is also inspired by Yin and add Pilates and Barre au Sol sequences to strengthen muscle work, adapting above all to the experience and energy of the day to accompany him in more complex asanas
https://www.yogaaveclisa.com


HATHA FLOW
A fusion of Hatha Yoga & Vinyasa Flow: Start the day with a mindful & dynamic class focused on alignments, Ujjayi breath and core activation. We will play around with balancing poses, variations & transitions.

PARTNER YOGA
This practice allows two people to relate to one another through assisted postures. You will feel the weight of your partner during the class as if you were receiving constant adjustments. From stretching your levels of trust to strengthening your communication, we will be communicating mostly nonverbally to deepen our body-awareness.

Ippokratis Veneris, (Acro & Partner dance). teacher, dancer, choreographer, deepen and studies dance and other arts for more than 20 years. In his lessons of contact inserts elements from the various disciplines that has studied extensively over the years as: floorwork, release technique, experiential anatomy, applied anatomy, dupuy technique, acrobalance, martial arts, afro dance, ballet, alexander technic, chi kung, dance theatre and much more.

 – In the past collaborated with the UNIVERSITY OF ROME “Roma 3”, department of “Philosophy of Education” giving lectures about “Pedagogy, C.I. and personal researches on teaching”.

- for two years he received an open scholarship in Brussels (PARTS-ROSAS Dance Company) and in Rome by the region of Lazio to proceed with his research on dance theater projects. His original works (“Buongiorno Amore”, “Afroditi”, presented at Olympic theatre and Theatre Greco) combine together elements of theatre and dance.

 – Is professor in the theatre school “il Cantiere Teatrale”.

- 2018 award: His work as choreography director for the Pina Bausch "The Nelken line in Rome". An international project of 25 dancers of 11 different countries. Receives the second award of Lazio Film Festival Commission.

– In March of 2014 he was a guest together with Giulio Tremonti (former Italian Minister of Economy), Romano Prodi (the former Italian prime minister and former president of the European community), Ermanno Olmi (film director) in the TV peogram “the wind whistles” of Gad Lerner for Repubblica television and for the art channel Effe tv. 

– Has collaborated -teaching and making shows of improvisation- with the Italian National Organization of Theater.

– Teaches regularly twice a week Contact Improvisation developing his own method.

– Teaches in different places around Europe.

– Has collaborated with Roberto Castello-Aldes for “Narrate” premium UBU as the best dance theatre production of the year in Italy and many others.

– In 2011 decided to stop making shows and concentrate his energies on the research about the human nature and the wisdom of our bodies.

– Co-founder of CORE an association of choreographers of central Italy to promote the rights of the live performing arts

– Co-founder of RomaContact a collective of dancers who promote and give shows of improvisation and Contact Improvisation.

– Organized the last 10 years many events of art and workshops inviting teachers from all Europe.

– Lives in Rome where graduate at school “l’officina” where study release technique, Dupuy technique, contact improvisation, instant improvisation and composition.

– As a choreographer, dancer and improviser has organized and participated at different events, in the last ten years.

– Has studied with many choreographers and participating at numerous workshops of physical-theatre, contemporary dance, choreographic composition and contact improvisation.

Thomas Croc is a Chi Kung, Kung Fu and Meditation Instructor, originally from south France.

He has been practicing and researching Martial Arts since 2010, starting with Karate as a fiery teenager and transitioning to the more soft and subtle arts of Kung Fu in his later years.

In 2017 his journey broug him to the Nam Yang Kung Fu Retreat School in Thailand, where scholars can devote themselves to Kung Fu in a monastic way and train whole year long. There he spent 2 years living and practicing daily with Master Iain Armstrong, a legend in the Kung Fu world.

Thomas is specialized in Traditional Shaolin Kung Fu, which is very complete and includes Soft and Hard Chi Kung (Qigong) practices, the White Crane Internal Form, Tiger Crane Combination Kung Fu, Shaolin Weapons, Meditation, Theory and Philosophy and more.

The Kung Fu tradition of the Nam Yang School originates from the Shaolin Monks of southern China, which was preserved through the Communist Rise in China by a few Masters that fled to Singapore.

Thomas is devoted to preserving and passing on the Shaolin Arts in their authentic form. He offers the possibility to learn  the Arts in classes, seminars and intensive retreats.

Since 2020 Thomas lives in Greece with his life partner and son and offers regular classes as well as intensive Retreats in special locations where students can immerse in the daily practice of Chi Kung and Kung Fu.

 He is in the process of creating an official Nam Yang Kung Fu school in Greece.

He still travels to Thailand to meet his master and deepen his understanding and practice in the Ancient Arts.

 To learn more, visit his webpage www.crockungfu.com