Elske Seidel (D) und Daniel Werner (D)

"falling into rides: momentum in over- und underdancing"

This workshop will be about the art of over – and underdancing in Contact Improvisation. 

How can I organize my body under the body of my partner? What happens to my dance with gravity when I am supporting (maybe the full) weight of my partner? We will work with stability in underdancing which is alive and moving. We will look at how to continue momentum, how to breathe in it, how to use and guide it. Understanding stability as a moment we are travelling through in our play with instability.

Special emphasis will be put on effortless pathways in and out of the floor, hands-free dancing, offering body surfaces for support and releasing in underdancing. 

What possibilities are opening up when I am following, trusting, releasing in my overdance? How can I follow 3-dimensionally, also into my backspace, with comfortability, letting the ride happen. How can I use my ‘ends’ (fingers, toes, tail, head) in my dance in the air? 

We are especially interested in the moment(um)s inbetween, transitioning from the overdancing to the underdancing and vice versa. How do I organize my body from flying to supporting weight? What body-tone do I need in what situation? 

This workshop is offered for people who bring experience in CI. Come and play!

Daniel and Elske share many years of friendship, uncountable jams and dances and a mutual fascination for Contact Improvisation. In 2003 they co-founded the ContAct Dance Company, investigating CI as a source for performance work, with a special interest in site-specific art. Both work as independent artists, somatic movement researcher and dancer; both have extensive experience in teaching CI internationally, as well as organizing and facilitating large CI events (e.g. Daniel: Easter Impro Festival, Göttingen/ GER since …; Elske: Annual Hamburg Jam/ GER since 2004). 

Muriel Jeanne Mollet (Suisse)

"Dance- and Contactimprovisation: Dancing Fighting Playing"

Fighting without the goal of winning, playful dancing, fighting play, teasing each other, testing the limits (our own or of our partner(s)). Discover the joyfull and light/soft aspect of fighting. To use the power of agression for playful fighting, dancing and having fun together.

We will work with themes like manipulation, pushing-pulling, diverting
energy, resistance – following. Through improvisational and technical
exercices we will get to know and deepen these themes and widen our bodyknowlegde. We will meet each other in different or new ways while dancing together.

Muriel Jeanne Mollet - is working as a dance teacher, dancer and choreographer.

Since more than 20 years she is exploring and working with dance and improvisation. This brought her to different dance techniques and Martial Arts like Contemporary Dance, Elementary Dance, Release Technique, Contactimprovisation, Capoeira and Shinson Hapkido. Since she started Contact Improvisation she never stopped and falls in love with it again and again.

Joyfull dancing, games, experimenting with movement and physical forces, discovering the extremes and limits, rhythm, music and flow are the most important in her teaching and dancing.

In her classea she tries to aim for a balance between technique,
improvisations skills and sensitiv awareness.

Jagat Roland Frenzel (D) and Daniel Werner (D)

"Smiling Skin"

Body-Mind Presence:
Osteopathie and Contact Improvisation

Epithelium or the art of permeable boundaries...

In this workshop we will explore and enjoy the sensual potential of our skin for Dance and Bodywork. We play with different qualities of touch, and experience, how our “outside skin“ communicates with our “inside skins”. By stimulation of the skin we will also (re-)activate deep reflexes, which are connected to developmental movement patterns.
In dance the vivid skin supports a fast and sensual communication with floor, space and partners, and enhances precision, joy and expression.

JAgat:
Improvisation artist on all levels and a body therapist (Osteopathy, Hawaiian Massage, BMC, TCM, Qi Gong), co-founder and organizer of the Easterimprofestival. …my therapeutical/artistic work is a synthesis of dance, music, body”work” (play) and satsang... There are many different membranes or gates to our essence. In a dance, song, or treatment, these membranes can become more permeable; gates can open easily and playfully. The cells simply remember their "original" goal: to communicate, to dance and to celebrate…"

Daniel Werner:
I teach CI since´97, and love to continuously discover new dimensions of this amazing dance form on stage, in teaching and in the jam. I explore, perform and teach in the field of contemporary dance, dance theater and CI in productions and projects in Switzerland, Germany, Portugal and Finland. Essential influences for my work come from Body-Mind Centering, Release-Techniques and Asian Movement Arts. I studied dance at the Dance Department of the North Karelia College in Finland, and with Jess Curtis, Lilo Stahl, Ka Rustler, Nita Little, Scott Wells and many others.

Shivananda Heinz Ackermann (Suisse)

"painted liberty"

(takes place 4 times)

Every child knows the spontaneity and joy of painting. In this course we discover or rediscover this uncensored creativity with acrylic and other painting techniques.
We move in the worlds of forms and also in the formless abstract world where intuition and freedom are at home.

Enthusiasm and joy at being creative are the objective of this painting workshop.

Children (minimum 8 years old, for younger ones please talk to me) are welcome.

Please bring suitable clothes for painting and an apron.

Shivananda Ackermann - was born 1948 in Switzerland. He's been traveling through the whole world as a graphic designer and learned painting, graphics and photography. He has been working worldwide as a painter, director of painting and graphics workshops, Art Director and photograph. He's been giving exhibitions in the last 30 years in South Africa, Australia, India, USA, Brazil, Germany and Switzerland.

"I'm painting out of the joy and gratitude that I'm alive and am able to share this unique moment in my pictures.
Art is for me the attend to express the magic of life."

Iiris Raipala (FI)

"Going In & Expanding Out"

We explore movement of different body parts, focusing on releasing tensions and breathing through them. By repeating simple soft movement themes we open energy channels in the body and widen its range of motion. When we find deep engagement with our inner movement it is easy to reach out to space and find connection to other people as well.
In this class we'll experience joy of moving both in solos and duets, accompanied by music. There are elements of continuum movement, contact improvisation and bodywork.

Iiris Raipala - is a dance artist; performer and teacher living in Helsinki. She graduated in 2004 as Master of Arts in dance from the Theatre Academy of Finland. Since then she's been working closely with improvisation and contact improvisation in several performing groups . At the moment she is studying to become a Iyengar yoga teacher. Besides dancing her passions are India, playing cards and goat cheese!

Katri Luukkonen (FI)

"Playing with spirals"

Last years I have been interested about spirals, and the soft and breathing quality arising through this spiralling movement. Spiralling with our bodies can allow us to travel smoothly from up to down, down to up, and also moving us in the space. Spiralling can create organic and soft pathways also in and out of contact-dance.

Sometimes we get stuck in our dance, but this delicate balance between being in core-contact and floating out of that is helping us to keep our dancing breathing and alive.

I am also interested how the hands can be a playful and organic, not grabbing tool to enter and exit the dance. Through hands we can guide the movement from periphery to the center and find new directions. Through spirals and hands we can redirect the movement inside the body without gaps or bumps, making the dance surprising and playful fun.

We will start easy and soft, creating first relaxed state of body and mind. Finding smoothly our supportsystem, giving & taking weight, releasing our joints, and letting our senses to come more responsive… From there we start to build some tools for playing with spirals in different levels & going in and out from contact. This can be our basis for improvising and exploring, without forgetting to enjoy!

Katri Luukkonen - I am 34-years old dancer, dance teacher and theatre-pedagogue from Helsinki. Last spring I finished my master studies from Teatterikorkeakoulu (Theatre Academy) as a dance and theatre teacher after having been at another school of making art through theatre and dance. All my life I have been moving, starting as a child with figure skating, gymnastics, circus-school and then dance. Later on I started to do also aikido, astanga-yoga and contact-improvisation.

But I think I did contact-improvisation before I even knew that there exists a dance form called that. We just loved to roll around with my friends...! But my first “real” contact class I did on 1995 with Kirsi Monni. After that it still took a while before contact became as important as it is now to me. In contact I love playfulness, variation of different qualities, meeting and melting, flowing with no mind…

Viola Einsiedel (D)

will be supporting one Intensive 2 times and the open spaces not only with her musical presence

Her instrumental improvisation is created through inner personal dance, the visible and invisible impulse in the dancing
space, the people, which are offering their personal universe with open minds and hearts, dancing bodies and their spirit and a invisible, divine
energy which is playing a certain role in all of it.
Music and Dance is a complete unity - developing a new creation in space.

Viola Einsiedel - She plays the Violin, viola, nyckelharpa and she will inspire the people with percussion instruments, kalimba, tamboura, recorder and her own voice.
She learned playing the violin as a child, trained with classical music in orchestras and chambergroups. She began to improvise with her instrument while travelling in Southamerica 1992. Her melodic expression and improvisation roots are inspired by music and musicians from Ghana, Marocco, Peru, India, Iran, Irland and Mongolia. Between 1995 and 2004 Performance and CD recordings. Musician and dancer in the masque-dance-theatre Pantao with the piece Telyria. She played 2007/2008 on the international Contact Improvisation festival in Freiburg and the Easterimprofestival in Göttingen as well as supporting the CI Jams in the cities of Konstanz, Zürich, Steckborn (Schloss Glarisegg), München, Köln and Hamburg. Two great journeys to India gave her the inspiration to follow her indian soul and she started to learn bharata natyaram and indian classical music. Viola is a dancer, too. Her dance is based on Capoeira, Contact Improvisation, Yoga, Body Mind Centering, Tai-Chi, Bharata Naytyaram.

Margrita R. Wahrer

"Theatre – Voice – Movement"

In this workshop we will be working with theatral elements, movement and voice.
We will explore the play with expression, mimic, gesture and imaginary objects in connection with own sounds via voice until speech.
Improvisation, humor and movement will lead us through the workshop.

Margrita R. Wahrer - born 1971, free-lanced actress, clown and clinic-clown, theatral citytours, masktheater, Commedia dell´arte and dance, workshops in theatre and clowning.
I love to laugh. My biggest challenge: Say “Yes” to each improvisation. Weather in daily life or on stage.
www.dienaerrintanzt.de (= the harlekin woman is dancing)

Katrin Lerche

"Letting the voice in and out"

Katrin Lerche - Studies at the Institute of applied vocal physiology in Lichtenberg, before master in voice at the Robert-Schumann-Conservatory in Düsseldorf. Long experience with bodywork and dance, also contactimprovisation. Work as a singer in different contexts, voice teacher and leader of a choir.

In singing and teaching I always have the most beautiful experiences, if I give myself completely into the moment and let myself be guided by what emerges from the intuition or from the space where true knowledge comes from, which is out of control. Then every moment is fresh and new and it can be very exciting.

Shakya Matthias Grahe (D)

"Realms of the voice"

This workshop is dedicated to your voice with all its colourful facets and its fascinating depths. Together we explore how good it feels to express yourself through your voice without any goal and without having to meet any ideal. We enjoy the mere satisfaction to let our moods and feelings become audible and sensible. We support each other in conquering back unknown or insecure spaces of sound which once we might have abandoned in the name of pleasing other people. And we enter realms of tone in which there remains neither “you” nor “I” but where everybody’s voice in its uniqueness forms part of a bigger sound, which heals and carries us home. Shakya guides and accompanies you through all your journeys with his presence and different instruments. Part of the workshops are little exercises, guided meditations to raise your body awareness and to open your senses as well as free spaces for creative exploration.

Shakya Matthias Grahe - was born in 1969 in a family of musicians in Essen (Germany). At first he had an education in classical music. Later on he discovered other musical domains as a singer in a rock band, as a member of Samba and Latin combos, as a musician for meditation and mantras as well as in free improvisation. Since many years Shakya is devoted to meditation, bodywork, tantra and dancing. His work is deeply influenced by these experiences. Hence he loves to explore the spaces of spontaneous, free expression through the voice, instruments and the body, which he regards as wonderful doorways to a vivid, quiet presence and to a meeting of open hearts. Shakya lives and works in Bonn (Germany) and offers groups for voice, dance, touch and meditation.

Ulla Mäkinen (FI)

"Falling up"

This class is an advanced class for beginners in CI, also suitable for experienced dancers with beginners mind. (so, welcome everyone)

To dance is to fall up, fly down, to constantly balance the pull of gravity with the lightness of levity. Focusing on fall, support and rebound we enter the freedom of dancing through skills of contact improvisation. We learn in order to forget, to create an open state of mind to enter the dance, and enter the unknown.

Ulla Mäkinen - is a dance artist and teacher from Finland, living currently in Frankfurt, Germany. Right now she is working on her thesis in MA of dance pedagogy and brings the influence of her studies of contemporary dance, BMC, anatomy and Pilates into her approach to CI.
She has been teaching contact around Europe and in Japan, and is one of the organizers for Skiing On Skin, Contact Festival Finland. She also loves to play accordion and sing while biking.

Ingo Rosenkranz (D)

"Inner circles"
Meditation, Bodywork and Dance

In this Workshop we will give our inner voice more space. We will use a meditation in the beginning to guide our consciousness to our self, so our thoughts can rest for a while.

With a travel through the body we will arrive a bit more in ourselves and try to follow an inner impuls as in Authentic Movement that will lead us to feel the connection with all in order to find the inspiration for dancing and bodywork.

In that safe environment we have the possibility to get in contact with us, the others and the space. It will allow us to develop touch, movement and sound from that different place.

Ingo Rosenkranz - Performing and teaching Contact Improvisation, Movement- and Dance-Theatre, Shiatsu, Tai Chi and Qi Gong for more than 15 years. He is influenced by eastern philosophies, some martial arts, authentic movement, different bodywork and healing-forms and all the beautiful teachers he met on the way including many children and his daughter. An additional part of his work is to organize different Improvisation and Healing events in Germany, such as the Easterimprofestival in Göttingen, the Summerartsfestival near Cologne and the Healingheartfestival (www.healingheartfestival.de) in the nature

Carola Fürbaß (D)

"Tongala"

Tongala is a playful way of singing and moving from the core of your heart and with your whole body. To loosen up and to get in tune we practice body and voice exercices, influenced by Yoga, Shiatsu and Contact Improvisation. Body and mind get smoother, more transfluent and present.
?Going with the flow? we create improvised soundscapes with and without rhythm. We play solo, in duetts or in the whole group. Our singing and dancing are interweaving and inspiring each other.

Ronja Carola Fürbaß - has been leading Tongala groups for 7 years. Also she directs Choralle- the Berlin impro and world music choir and is giving workshops around the creative and healing voice. She is a passionate singer and contact dancer.
www.tongala.de

Inge Wöllhaf (D)

"Fakire and Firedancer"
for children in the age of 8 – 12 years
(please ask, if you wish an exception)

This workshop is a development of the combination of dance and fire, a joyful Game and the enthusiasm to share this with children.
We wil have different games and exercises to create clarity and presence.
There will be a performance in the end!

Inge Wöllhaf - 10 years ago she fell in love with the combination of fire and dance. Since then she plays with different firetoys like firechains etc. - loving the sound of flying fire.
Working in a Waldorf nursery school it is a pleasure to be adventures with the children and to have sensual experiences.
My 13 year old son is joining me often with the fireshows.

Ester Forment (E)

"Coreographic Composition and Contact"

Using several concepts about martial art, like work in intuition and listening, not on violence, only work on the moment of to be active and attend, and put in contact with contemporary dance and contact-improvisation, I would like to teach how to compose a little choreography with a partner, or several partners. We will play different possibilities of our movement and from the partner, and we try to develop a little choreography.

How the intuition can help us to keep attend. And how to use since a simple exercise could develop a dance composition.

My intention is: in one hand, how use the philosophy about martial art, keep concentrate, use the energy and listening; and for the other hand, how to compose something with one order.

Is interesting on composition keep the energy and how we can use it to be present in stage. Learn what happens inside and outside us. How we can transform the movement in intention. How we can give without words an emotional intention, how we can be present, active and consciousness.

Ester Forment - was born in 1976, in a little town, she does rhythmic gym for five years, then she starts on Tae Kwon do for seven years, and when she was 15 years old she discovers contemporary dance, for a personal choise, she decided study psychology, she finishes her studies and specializes in psicomotricity and corporal therapy, she keeps on dancing and contact improvisation, teaches young people at the university of Barcelona and dance for handicaped children. She spends a lot of time on contemporary dance and choreography. In 2007 she was the winner of three prices for choreography, in MasPalomas one of the most important international competition in Spain, and another price in the composition of a theatrical piece.

Arjuna (F)

"Musik Improvisation"

Improvisation and fun being in the moment.
Discover your musical potential and express what is in the moment.

Arjuna (Raphaël Mélik) - has been working as a professional musician since 10 years. He's playing the celtic and chromatic harp, the piano, tin-whistle, concertina, percussions, trumpet, violin and whatever comes under his hands...

He has started playing in the street with his father and since then he likes to melt styles and inspirations and enjoys creating something new out of the now.

Learn to be present, feel what is there and express it however it feels right to you.
We will play improvisation games between music and silence, hearing at each other and discovering that there is an incredible potential right now just waiting to be expressed.

No musical background or talent is needed. Bring your instruments if you have some.

More Info: www.raphaelmelik.com

Jagat Roland Frenzel (D)

"Omgym - Contact and Bodywork on the flying yoga carpet"

Omgym offers you a soft way to open inner spaces and create new play grounds in you body.
Releasing, swinging, letting go, hanging out and also active inspiring of your muscle and fascia structures
and bring you in contact with your original cellular joy of movement

The Omgym material is colourful,smooth as silk, light and offers maximum of security.
Its a soft and floating body work like in water and reminds to Watsu and invite all you intuition and playfulness.
the spectrum moves from very gently craniosacral impulses, to joyfully deep tissue contact and mobilisation of joints until to acro yoga and dancing interactions ...

Jagat Roland Frenzel
...explore and teach the synthesis of dance, music, body”work” (play) and meditation since more then 15 years. His bodywork ist inspired from Osteopathy, Ortho-Bionomy, OmGym, Hawaiian Massage, BMC, Hangab. He is one of the co-founder and organizer of the Easterimprofestival.

...there are many different membranes or gates to our essence. In a dance, song, or treatment where you are really touched, these membranes can become more permeable; gates can open easily and playfully. The cells simply remember their "original" goal: to communicate, to dance and to celebrate…"

www.omgym.eu <http://www.omgym.eu>

www.hangab.de <http://www.hangab.de>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_MI2966HwA

David Lakein (USA)

"Riding the bull home"

Theatre Improvisation for challenging times

Okay!
You’ve stayed open and available, worked hard to follow as much as lead, been careful to neither push nor force, and voilà: Material has been born, themes have developed, and an overarching narrative has emerged…

Now What?  
What does is take to reach the final part of your journey?
How do you Ride the Bull Home?


In this advanced workshop we’ll explore how to bring our improvisational material home, risking looking for closure and end-making in the final chapter, perhaps even in the very last moments of our improvisations, not shying away from committing to a resolution.   

Through a series of exercises, we’ll investigate how:
-    time determines perception of success & failure
-    an alive state of mind includes allowing for absence
-    the nature and politics of endings affects decision-making


Be prepared to be challenged and annoyed, while enjoying the spirit of collaboration within a community of equals.



David Lakein (USA) is a Berlin-based Director-Choreographer, Performer, Teacher, and Writer.
He studied philososphy and theater in the United States, and dance and performance in Berlin and at the School for New Dance Development in Amsterdam. Lakein is a transdiscipliary artist whose work swirls around the borders between dance, theatre, cabaret, installation, and performance art, embracing the edge between the profoundly serious and ridiculously silly. He is the director of the international artistic platform Paradox Bay, and is currently getting an MFA in Chicago.
www.davidlakein.com / www.paradoxbay.org