1 - POLSKA WITHOUT THE TURN
Rom Brook-Hart (UK)
It's that Swedish dance with the really tricky turn(s)! The one that always leads to absolute chaos! But... what if there was a way to have fun dancing polska, even if you (or your partner, or the other people on the dancefloor...) haven't perfected the turn yet? What if there was a 90-minute class that could drastically improve your polska experience? It's time to pimp your promenade!
The focal points are:
- Bounce (svikt)
- Playing with the tempo
- Connection
- Figures within the promenade
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1 - FIND YOUR STYLE
Folqué? - María&Francesco (ES)
Did you notice that many of your favorite dancers have very different styles? How do personality and style interact with technique and the foundation of the dance? Is there any right or wrong movement in balfolk dances?. This workshop is thought to provide you not only with these answers, but with several tips to:
- Observe the other dancers and learn from them.
- Develop your unique style
- Understand when and how your movement empowers the dance, and when it complicates it.
We will work mostly on couple dances. Previous knowledge of their basic steps is necessary to fully enjoy the workshop.
1 - WALTZ IN THE FLOW
Mara Senger (DE)
Do you already know the waltz flow? When the waltz really starts to spin, when you float forward like planets in their orbit, when you start to perceive everything around you from a different perspective? Let's explore together how the waltz can really get going.
3 - EMBRACING FLUIDITY
Lizéa Simoës-Grangeia (FR)
Times have changed, and today we can be pleased to see that more and more people in our communities are asking whether you want to lead or follow without making assumptions based on your gender. This can also lead to role switching, or even co-guiding. In this workshop, we'll focus on a specific aspect of this collaboration known as liquid dancing : where the transition between roles is so subtle that it's hardly noticeable from the outside. In this workshop, we'll delve into tools for enhancing fluidity in our dance partnerships.
3 - SAUT BERNAIS
3 - PLAYGROUND FOR MOVEMENT & IMPRO
Natalia Klamann (PL)
The aim of the workshop is to create a space for dance explorations to look for new possible movements in couple dances and try out some tools for improving improvisation in pairs. We will be looking for new figures, solutions, and new ways of interacting with a partner through exercises that enhance creativity and unlock new movement pathways. We will work on it with the use of contact improvisation technique: playing with giving and taking the weight, finding new, organic, spontaneous, and reflex-driven reactions of the body.
We will be working in a somatic approach, with a strong focus on body signals according to the Body Mind Centering method.
Daniel Detammaker (Fr)
For more than 20 years, Dani travelled and met dancers, collectors, musicians, artisans, and applied himself to living, sharing and soaking up, drawing inspiration from their expressions. ​ For 15 years he has engaged, with a deep and wild passion, to pass this matter during meetings, in the context of workshops, festivals, residencies and internships. Master of Rondeau, wise of Branles, Dani has a unique talent for transmitting the beauty of simplicity and a deep and instinctive knowledge of the roots of popular dance and this time he will lead us to the amazing world of Saut Bernais.
4 - CONSERVATION OF MOMENTUM
Leo Visser (NL)
Leo wants to incorperate techniques found in the Aikido in our couple dances to not waste energy and change rotational energy in lateral energy and the other way around. This will help to transition from for example a turning in the walz to making steps together and back into the turning without adding to much energy. It will also look into the (bio)mechanics of two connected bodies and where the center of gravity is and what this means for the ease of certain movements. We will then see how sometimes a very small change can sudenly make it fluent or easy to do.
4 - DANCING-BODY... DYNAMIC
Aurora Cavazzin (IT)
We are not talking about Newton, numbers and formulas... we’ll work on body, movement and have fun while at it! Because a lot of traditional dances has similar steps, but they dont look the same at all! What changes is the whole way of moving the body, the "dynamic". Inspired by Rudolph Von Laban’s theories, we will take a closer look at this so-called “dynamic of movement”, experience its weight and rhythms, at the beginning by ourself and then in the connection with the others. We’ll then apply it to the basics of balfolk dances to stimulate improvisation: waltz, polkas, scottishes, mazurkas and bourrées won’t ever be the same again!
4 - AUTHENTIC MOVEMENT
Aljosha Filippov (NL)
Dancers have an authentic need for movement creation: finding dance phrases that use the visual and corporal language of what is danced, but go beyond the basic phrases. An instinct that many dancers respond to is to practice fusion. Aljosha is currently focusing on creating movements with anti-fusion. In this workshop, he will showcase the method for movement creation to create patterns/figures that preserve the form, function and visual identity of bal folk. We will take our inspiration from dances de terroir and discover how one can incorporate the symmetry, communication and feel of chain, circle and non-embracing couple dances into patterns in scottish, polka & (trad) mazurka. We will focus heavily on topography and arm movement, rather than on rhythmical play.