Contact Improvisation for Feldenkrais Practitioners … and others
Contact Improvisation (CI) arose in the early ’70s as one of a number of dance practices that revolutionised the world of contemporary dance by placing the somatic experience of the dancers at the heart of choreographic processes. It’s also a lot of fun to do. And in its near fifty year lifetime has grown to become a popular social dance form practiced all around the world.
The basic form of CI is a duet where two bodies, united through touch, move as if sharing a common centre. Though the original intention of the form was to foreground the reflex actions that occur when bodies move freely together at speed, the training and preparation for CI consists largely of calm, slow and peaceful exercises intended by its creator as a “re-eduction of the senses”.
In this short workshop, Malcolm will share some of these preparatory CI exercises that introduce the sensory language from which the dance of CI could grow. The work is playful and fun and not particularly physically demanding so suitable for anyone who can stand on their own two feet (and with adaptations to anyone who can sit up!).
For Feldenkrais practitioners, CI shines a light differently on many issues we deal with in teaching Functional Integration, for example: feeling through the structure of another person; tracking the shifting base of support of oneself and another while moving together; self-use and minimising muscular effort while in contact with another.
The workshop would also serve as an introduction to CI as a dance form for anyone seeking a clear introduction to the principles from a respected and experienced practitioner of the form.
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Malcolm Manning discovered both CI and the Feldenkrais Method in November 1991. He went on to be a respected teacher in the field of contemporary dance and currently teaches in both the Danish and Finnish national schools of performing arts. He also helped found and develop the one-year Dance And Somatics education at ISLO in Joensuu, Finland which aims to offer non-professional dancers the opportunity to integrate dance and somatic practices to other working situations. For more visit www.movetolearn.com
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Where: Tavastkliniken, Västgötagränd 19, Stockholm Söder
When: Sunday 8th October 2017 from 10.00-17.00
Cost: 1100SEK
Booking: email me
