|
contact improvisation workshopsCI with Karl Frost and the Feldendkrais Method with Jez ParusJanuary 5 - January 7, 2007“Without learning to know ourselves as intimately as we possibly can we limit our choice. Life is not very sweet without freedom of choice” -- Moshe Feldenkrais
Can contact improvisation be a doorway to greater intimacy with ourselves and the world around us? In this workshop we will build concrete skills and capacities that bring greater complexity and satisfaction to our dancing. The specific class content will depend on the skill level and experience of the participants, while the meta process poses the following questions: How does our desire to “do”, to “get it right” or to perform well create excess tension and effort? How do excess tension and effort interfere with our freedom of choice? What happens when we drop excess tension and effort? How does lack of awareness of habitual patterns of moving, sensing, feeling and thinking lead us into action and interaction that injures, fatigues and bores us (and others?) Can skillfulness replace willfulness? What is Grace? The Feldenkrais method bring us into physical self inquiry in which our patterns of movement and reaction, both functional and dysfunctional, are engaged and deconstructed. We enter the fertile ground of awareness, presence and possibility. We develop strength and softness that result from a harmonious relationship with gravity. Ready to learn as we did when we were children, before concepts and fixed ideas obscured the details of sensory exploration, we cultivate a state of readiness crucial to spontaneous dancing and connecting. From this intimate knowledge of self we enter the syntax and vocabulary of Contact Improvisation....weight sharing, following momentum and the point of contact, lifts, spirals, falling into our partner, manipulation and surrender. Our main goal is to learn for the delight and enjoyment of the learning itself. www.bodyresearch.org/elannekresser.html CI with Karl Frost (Intermediate/Advanced Continuing Work)January 8 - January 10, 2007Karl Frost has been practicing and performing contact improvisation and interdisciplinary, dance-based performance since the mid 80's. His physical work is influenced by release technique, his study of martial arts, and an intimate knowledge of physics (physics degree from UC Berkeley, 1992). Known internationally for his dynamic movement style and for the edge-pushing nature of his work, both in process and performance, his performances take the felt experience as their reference points. His work has been showcased over the last 2 decades across 5 continents. www.bodyresearch.org Workshops precede the Contact Improvisation Laboratory Gathering For more information, email rumblepeg(at)synapsiswarehouse(dot)org Intensive will take place at: |
Jez Parus has been teaching and performing Contact Improvisation since the mid 90's and is a student Awareness Through Movement teacher (Feldenkrais). She is known for the strength and softness of her dancing as well as her teaching. Her work is informed by countless hours of personal investigation, her in depth studies with Karl Frost, many great teachers and students, the Feldenkrais Method, Somatic Experiencing (The trauma work of Peter Levine), play with children and Zen practice in the Ordinary Mind lineage.