URS STAUFFER (CH)
Urs Stauffer has been involved with Contact Improvisation since 1985 and is lucky to have been able to explore with some of the pioneers of this dance form. His journey took him to Berlin where he did an important part of his training in movement and dance. He first met Steve Paxton in 1989 and was deeply impressed by him. The year after he had for the first time the possibility to work with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen and knew right away that Body- Mind Centering® would be another lifetime project for him as well. He has been in contact with Steve until his recent passing away and continues to study with Bonnie, both of these two masters have been of great influence in his movement research.
Since more than 30 years he is travelling to many different places to share his work with professional and non professional people involved in dance and somatic approaches.
He is a Somatic Movement Educator and Practitioner certified by the school of Body-Mind Centering® and teaches Contact Improvisation with the personal agreement of Steve Paxton.
INTENSIVE: Moving With Others, Dancing Myself
A Workshop at the Confluence of Contact Improvisation and Body-Mind Centering®
During this workshop we will explore how Contact Improvisation and Body -Mind Centering® inform each other and are a great way to enjoy safe and satisfying dances. We will look at certain aspects such as the relation between form and fluidity, how the skeleton and the organs work together as a support system and explore cellular awareness as a way to communicate where thinking is too slow. Special attention will be given to the embryological process seen from a BMC® point of view as it holds very interesting information about the underlying movement in organisation of structure and spaces.
The workshop is accessible for everybody in normal physical condition.
No prior experience in one or the other technique is needed.
CHRISTINA KLISSIOUNI (GR)
Choreographer, Dancer, Somatic Movement educator, Body Psychotherapist, Gestalt and Trauma therapist, Shiatsu practitioner, Contemplative movement teacher from Athens, Greece.
Christina Klissiouni is a movement/Somatics/dance/contact improvisation educator focusing on the embodiment of movement with the aim of developing mindfulness and awareness through improvisation/movement awareness practice. Her work expands in exploring performance tools as well as healing practices. For the past 40 years, she supports the individuals’ evolution towards self-expression, being in contact with one’s self, allowing change and transformation in a creative and therapeutic process.
She studied contemporary dance, Contact Improvisation, Somatic practices, Developmental Movement in New York City from 1986-1991 being taught by the pioneers and founders of CI, and other modules such as Alexander technique, Body-Mind Centering, Authentic movement and Voice.
She introduced Contact Improvisation practice and Somatic work in Greece in 1990-1. She belongs to the second generation of Contact Improvisation teachers being recognized by the international community. She is an active member, being invited to teach and perform at the most prominent festivals and venues in Europe, US and Asia.
Since 1991, she has developed her own methodology in the training of the dancer/performer as well as the amateur who is interested in self-development and training of body-mind practice.
Since 1997, Suprapto Suryodarmo (Indonesia) has been a very important mentor, collaborator, friend and spiritual teacher for me. The study of meditative movement connects human creative expression based on self-awareness; through free-form practice (Amerta Movement) the mover discovers ways to bring a sense of spirituality and religiosity in his/her physical dialogues interacting with the environment. The process of self-mirroring where mind - body - emotions – imagination and instinct integrate, supports transformation and self-healing.
For 25 years now, she has been working simultaneously as a Body and Movement Psychotherapist. She is an active member of PESOPS and EABP (European Association of Body Psychotherapists). She has been trained at the E.I.N.A. (Psychoanalytic approach Wilhelm Reich center in Athens, Greece. She completed 2 two-year Master Courses with the distinguished trainers-therapists, Alberto Torre (Italy) and Barry Simmons (Gestalt technique). She has also been trained as a Body Psychotherapy supervisor by Jenovino Ferri (Italy).
INTENSIVE: Being in Contact, Being Mirrored Through Touch
In this 9 hour workshop we explore the meditative aspect of Contact Improvisation focusing on listening to the inner witness, as we make contact with the environment. How to connect with the inner sensations and the movement that arises, as well as with the outer space and the physical dialogues that we create as we interact with the others.
In the practice we aim towards experiencing a sense of deep relaxation through contemplative movement that allows ourselves to feel pleasure, to move with safety, while stretching our boundaries. Simultaneously, we creatively become more aware of ourselves as we dance in a free form movement that mirrors our different states of being, our movement patterns and the ways we place ourselves in the space, consciously and mostly, unconsciously. When the mind gains greater clarity and connection with the body, we feel more present, unified, alive and in flow.
The tools and practices we use are:
• The principles of Contact Improvisation practice.
• The meditative movement according to the Amerta Movement practice developed by Master Teacher Suprapto Suryodarmo from Indonesia, since the 90s.
• Improvisation and scores of improvisation to explore the elements of nature in relation to space, time and energy.
• The connection with our breath and our vocal expression.
• Authentic movement, connecting with the inner observer and sharing with the group.
• Hands on work, activating and relaxing the body.
• Structures to support feedback in sharing the experience with safety and trust.
The aim of the workshop is:
• To listen to our body and its impulses, to open up ourselves in becoming more receptive to welcome what occurs in our body and connect to its wisdom.
• To explore experientially our understanding of what contact means to us.
• To cultivate the inner observer while moving.
• To expand our attention as we are in motion.
• To experience our authentic material through movement improvisation, sensing, feeling and acting in relation to nature and the others.
• To experiment with sound, movement and voice; to get inspired and creatively express the poetics of movement.
• To allow ourselves to take risks in a safe space.
• The sharing of personal experience with the group.
ZUZANNA BUKOWSKI (DE/PL)
Zuzanna Bukowski started dancing at the age of 4 and continued her embodiment practices through martial arts, ballet, yoga, modern dance, and Axis Syllabus. She has been deepening her embodiment practice under the influence of various international contact improvisation and contemporary dance teachers.
Currently, she is deeply interested in applying movement principles highlighted by the Axis Syllabus into the practice of contact improvisation, as well as the Underscore structure. She is passionate about the impact of connection between body and mind, which she continues to discover through her work in coaching, IT, and dance.
Teaching dance, co-organizing the Thailand Contact & Movement Arts Festival, Warsaw CI Flow Festival and working as an IT Consultant gives her the balance between headspace and movement art.
WORKSHOP: Moving Me , Moving You – Solo into CI
In this workshop we will dive into the world of researching our own movement patterns and breaking those, before we get into contact with one another. We will focus on different CI principles using the lens of the Axis Syllabus to refine our movements and create more potentiality in our moving structures. Exploring those alone, in specific patterns and partner work shall deepen the understanding of the concepts.
We will dive deeper into the concepts of landing pads, tensegrity and how our bones are moving in the body. Asking questions like: How can meeting the floor be a soft experience? How can biodynamics make our moves smooth and strong at the same time? And how can we keep our own flow while moving with someone else? We will jump, roll, research, soften, listen to good music and have fun with great music. We’ll also incorporate choreographic patterns to smoothly transition into solo movement, ensuring a mix of learning and fun throughout the workshop.
SVETA BIRD (UA)
Sveta Bird (Svitlana Pashko) is a professional dancer, performer, choreographer, dance teacher, organizer of festivals and workshops of and about everything related to contact improvisation.
She has been dancing different styles and genres since she was 7 years old, and for the last 16 years she has dedicated herself to both exploring contact improvisation in depth and investigating many other body/movement practices.
CLASS: CI Fundamentals
This class will be focused at some of the Fundamental concepts of Contact Improvisation. The purpose would to learn or to experience in a new way how we can meet together in time and space on the dance floor. Certain physical patterns can help us learn how to enter into contact more naturally and smoothly and continue to dance in fluent way. We will address different ways of entering into contact and continuing to dance as duet or a trio while building trust and respecting the boundaries and the process of our partners. One of the fundamental principles of our practice will be using the contact point as door or access gate to mutual weight – moving multiple masses as one unit/entity.
The workshop is conducted in a way that makes it easy for beginners to join in the world of CI while at the same time inviting and allowing experienced dancers to approach movement and connection in a different way and explore even well known patterns through a new sensatory dimension.
CLASS: CI Technique: Move the Mass - Mind the Attention
One of the definitions of the CI practice which inspires our dance is that CI is a constant search for the easiest ways of shifting the masses in the space together. In order to be able to do that we need to know/feel/understand what is “mass” and where the mass is. Part of the workshop will be dedicated to playing with different ideas and concepts of the moving masses with a ongoing presence of the gravity force with which we need to learn how to cooperate.
To be able to move masses together we also need to be in connection with each other - most of the cases, in CI this happens through physical touch (but not only). Since Contact Improvisation is not just about body movement, it is also a lot about the movement of our attention while our body is in motion - during the class we will use different ways and approaches of looking at what touch can be. We will play with different qualities of it, we will trace our attention to the moment and/or observe how it traces us. Such physical entrance will bring us to metaphysical spaces where we let the dance happen.
MANUELA BLANCHARD (CH)
Dancer, WaterDance® teacher, Watsu® practitioner with a large experience in Healing Dance®, Manuela Blanchard has been teaching Contact & Dance Improvisation in Switzerland since 20 years. CI in water grew out of her wish to combine the interactive intelligence of contact improv with some techniques of aquatic bodywork. She was one of the first to share in international festivals (f.ex. Thai Water-Land that she co-grounded).
In 2017 she created "Aquatic Bodywaves", involving dance improvisation as a way to learn aquatic bodywork more playfully and intuitively than the classic water trainings. Her work links intimately emotional process and tantric tools to aquatic research.
Fascinated by fluidity, whether in human relationships or in body language, she likes to combine improvised dance with a search for a connection to one’s deepest nature. Her teaching supports everyone in their own discovery of vitality, authenticity, openness and presence.
Her enthusiasm for organic and expressive qualities of movement led her to explore Butoh, Authentic Movement, Body Mind Centering, Synchronized Swimming (intensively as a teenager) and Tango among many other artistic fields. She is also Esalen Massage practitioner with experience in emotion coaching process.
POOL CLASS
In this class you learn how to play with the resistance and dynamic of water, how to ground your feet and anchor your movements in order to make soft and clear propositions with a soft quality of touch. You transition between standing, catching the waves with your whole body, falling into motion and graceful flow.
You let the physical forces such as friction, buoyancy or inertia lead you into the unknown. As no one decides where to go, you engage deeply in a non verbal communication, where you listen to which dance wants to grow at the present moment.
In the subaquatic explorations, you are invited to relax and expand your breathing and experience an expansion of your consciousness. We will reach for inner stillness to reach a state, where we can bring our body and mind to explore freely in the water.
BEACH EXPLORATION
The dance will start with us being on the beach, opening up to the sand or stones embracing our shapes. We will go on an inward journey where we will explore the resonance of our body landscapes, in touch with the natural surroundings, each of which will suggest to us different movements qualities.
Alone and in a group, we will engage into a sensual and playful approach to our environment, moving from land to water, using our skin and our senses as interfaces and spaces to meet.
We will share dance, breathing, relaxation exercises and movement explorations. We will learn how to connect to someone floating in water and how to move together fluidly in this element. Observing the body language and deepening our ability to connect with ourselves and the other will be an important part of the process. There will be space for verbal exchange to integrate our feelings.
OLA HASIA (UA)
Viki-Ola Hasia- a Ukrainian & nomadic dance lover and dance teacher.
Contact Improvisation on land and in water, freediving, Axis Syllabus, Embodiment, ecological teaching, and trauma-aware work- has been her main research over recent years.
She combines and applies these at her workshops on CI in water.
WATER LAB: Effortlessness, Beyond Gravity
Immerse yourself in the beauty and magic of flowing freely and effortlessly. Dancing in water using the principles of effortlessness opens up a whole new world of possibilities for flow and play and enjoy freedom in water. Whether you are an absolute beginner or have plenty of experience in somatic practice, this workshop will allow you to go deeper and experience new ways of being in your body and connecting with others.
Contact Improvisation in water it's a spontaneous dance beyond the limits of weight and gravity. We allow the water to do the work. It is a process of relaxation and releasing unnecessary thoughts, letting go of rushing and doing... A deep experience of slowing down, and connecting with ourselves, through tenderness and care.
ELISABETH ANDRIO (GR)
Eli started her embodiment journey through yoga. In India she first discovered contact improvisation dance. She has been travelling the world exploring various movement and bodywork modalities as well as meditative practices. Her interest lies in the greater body mind realm, the potential for healing and living to our fullest.
Water is the element she feels most at home. She works as a water therapist and recently started the flying.pool.project on Corfu, a therapy pool dedicated to the aquatic arts. She is an avid water dancer that loves to let her dance be informed by the landscape, deep water dancing, shallow, in the sea, waterfalls, rivers, in the pool. She feels that part of her mission is to connect people to the magic of the water.
POOL LAB: Embryonic Journeys
In our pool water dancing sessions we will a journey into embryonic states. The warm and calm waters, a womb like environment are conducive to deep relaxation. We will explore movement that arises naturally and authentically. The intention is to move from a state of doing towards resting in the joy of beingness. In each session the will be invitations for various scores. No previous experience needed, come as you are, all of you is welcomed!
BEACH LAB: Amphibian Adventures
In our beach and sea session we will explore our amphibian nature. Savouring the warmth of the sand, the solidity of the ground, the movement of the sea. We will play with solo movement as well as with partners. Experiment with your CI vocabulary with changing degrees of gravity! No previous experience needed, bring your curiosity!
KATYA PODOPRIGORA (RU/HU)
Dancer, performer, coach, body work therapist.
I am dancing all my life on the ground, in the air, in the water and on the ice. I am in love with Contact Improvisation for 18 years now, and have studied many bodywork and improvisation techniques. I am a Watsu therapist and for many years practicing spontaneous massage. I have studied various somatic techniques, including Body Mind Centering and Skinner Release Therapy. Currently I live, work and dance in Budapest and Moscow.
LAB: Authentic Movement in Nature
The Authentic Movement lab will be about unique possibility to be in contact with nature without looking for something specific or having a purpose. We will work in pairs where one person (the mover) will be given plenty of time with closed eyes to dive into their inner world and the present moment, and from this state perhaps something will appear: the desire to explore, dance or surrender. Their partner will give their focused attention to support the mover and witness whatever may arise in the moment. This lab will be a unique possibility to come back to the roots of our own existence and to explore in a safe way different aspects of the self.
LAB: Letting Go – Relational Bodywork Process
The session will be about exploring the physical aspects of our bodies. We will be looking for possibilities through gentle touch of the partner to let go, relax unnecessary tensions and release our weight into the ground. Through gentle work with a partner or in trio we will record into our systems new patterns of body awareness: skin, liquid, muscles and bone structures. You do not need to have any experience of body work or massage. Come with open eyes and hearts.
WATER LAB: Melting Into The Water
The session will be about exploring the physical and emotional aspects of our bodies in contact with water and with each other. We will be looking for possibilities through light movements and floating to let go, relax unnecessary tensions and release our weight into the water and the hands of the partner. We will observe how our bodies get tense without any reason and learn how to release and work with the partner(s). Through the gentle work with a partner or in trio we will record into our systems new patterns of receiving support and loving touch in the water. You do not need to have any experience of body work or massage. Come with open eyes and hearts.
FRAN CAROCCI (IT)
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Fran is a passionate and intuitive therapist trained in physiotherapy, fascia therapy, osteopathy, aquatic therapies, and Thai massage. He combines ancient wisdom and modern knowledge to share the art of bodywork around the world. A dedicated yoga practitioner, Fran devotes his life to exploring somatic relationships through water, dance, and touch.
Since the early stages of his journey, Fran has practiced contact improvisation, a dance form that has profoundly influenced his approach to bodywork. By incorporating elements of contact improvisation, Fran creates a dynamic and responsive therapeutic experience where movement and touch become a dialogue between bodies.
For Fran, Dance in water allows a unique exploration of buoyancy, resistance, and fluidity, offering a special medium for healing and connection. For Fran, bodywork in water is a powerful and profound form of medicine that he believes should be shared with as many people as possible.
Life Begins in Water: A Dance Journey from Cells to Human Form
Water is the cradle of life. The very first forms of life, simple cells, emerged in the primordial oceans. Our own existence as humans also begins in an aqueous environment, nestled in the amniotic fluid. The membrane of these cells, the earliest form of fascia, plays a crucial role in both dividing and uniting structures and elements within the body.
Life is a story of connection and movement. The intricate dance of life unfolds through a series of connections, from the microscopic to the macroscopic, from individual cells to the complex human form. In this workshop, we will delve into the world of movement in water, exploring its various forms such as spirals, expansions, contractions, and undulations.
We will investigate how fascia, the connective tissue that surrounds and penetrates every muscle, bone, nerve, and organ, facilitates movement and communication within the body. This exploration will take us from the cellular level, where the first hints of movement and connection appear, to the full expression of human motion.
We will start with an understanding of the fundamental principles of fascia and movement in water, and then transition into practical exercises. Participants will experience and dance firsthand how movements in water, inspired by natural patterns and rhythms, can enhance their understanding of their own bodies and the interconnectedness of all life.
IDO MARON (IL)
Ido is a longtime movement enthusiast, exploring movement via Capoeira, Tai-chi, classic dance, contemporary dance and even folk dancing. He has been performing in various kinds of dance-theater creations - from Operas to children’s fairy tales brought on stage, contemporary, commercial, and more.
Today he is mostly fascinated about the influence that emotional patterns have on movement patterns and vice versa.
Ido has been teaching contact improvisation since 2021, focusing on the different ways in which increasing a dancer’s physical awareness of their own body can generate a richer and a more comprehensive understanding of the connection between them and their partner/s.
CI Class : Am I Pushing You?
In this class we will explore two principal qualities in contact improvisation dance: Leaning and Pushing.
What kind of “feel” does each quality bring into my dance?
What does each quality enable me to do?
What quality do I like more?
And most interesting - can I always tell the difference between the two?
CI Class : Of Pleasure and Responsibility
In this class we will pay attention to our attention :)
Where do I put my attention while I’m dancing? At my partner/s? At myself?
If it is with my partner/s - where is it exactly? Their thoughts? Intentions? Wishes? bodies?
If it is with me - where is it? My intentions? My success? My body? My heart?
Each direction we aim our attention to, takes us to a different place, creates a different world.
We would like to put more light on the directions we already know, and perhaps find new ones.
TUO MAA (FIN)
TUO MAA is musician, multi-instrumentalist, resident DJ of Corfu Ecstatic Dance and sound engineer, soundgardian of Soundgarden.
He is originally from Finland. Traveling several years around the world, discovering different communities, cultures, traditions, experiencing sounds and vibrations, he is now settled down to Arillas, Corfu. Through travels and changes, music has been within all the waves of life, through flows of unknown.
Non verbal communication fashioned to discover more different ways to communicate. Improvisation in different ways, through music and movement, he found Ecstatic Dance, Contact Improvisation, Circus, Flow and Martial arts. He has been playing Live Ecstatic Dance sets, creating music for fire performances, Contact Impro jamming’s and hosting several Jamming’s. He trust in his music for the magic of improvisation, power of the moment and unknown, that it brings us to the right place when we surrender and trust.
TUO MAA mix different instruments and elements in his music. He sings, play guitar, clarinet, flutes, handpan and blend it together with live looping, drum machine and synth. He also use recordings from the nature to bring elements of the nature in to his sets. In Contact Improvisation jamming he tune in to the energy and vibration of the group and interact, improvising music through the feeling of the space and people, bringing waves and different qualities of the movement to the dancefloor.
DAN FARBEROFF
Dan has been a CI and somatic practitioner for over 20 years, with extensive experience documenting embodied expression.
He works as an interdisciplinary artist in the fields of mediated physical and digital presence, movement, somatic and eco-somatic practice, encompassing new media, interactive technology, fine art, live presence and movement art, multimedia installation, social-ecological and socially-engaged art, interventions in public space and participatory art actions. Dan’s background includes yoga and insight meditation teaching, water dance, aquatic bodywork and free-diving.
Dan is the official festival photographer and videographer , to help us capture beautiful moments of movement and flow.
He is also availably for private shoots. Portfolio: https://danfarberoff.com/