Rita&Damian

Dance

• Dance at its best is a fully sensed and felt through physical activity. Independent of the dance style or technique, it demands from the dancer a continuous exchange of information between physical knowldedge that is already embodied and a conscious perceptual inquiry. The challenge here is to keep the process of perception ongoing and to focus on the quality of movements rather than just the quantity. Without an attentive focus on our sensations, this process gets easily blocked.
  
  In a dance training/class my aim is to keep the focus on our awareness and our sensory-motor abilities according to which the body functions in the world - rather than on static forms and images. Much more we seek to become aware of different body textures and movement qualitites and to sharpen our sensations, while we face exposure to movement.
  
  

  
  An extended start to the class focuses on activating our sensory-motor abilities, softening the joints of the body and building new inner pathways. The fluid quality of the body shall become sensible, space in the joints noticed and flow in movements visible. These structured improvisation exercises with the use of visual imageries will encourage the participant to approach movement on an individual level and offers space for individual movement exploration and musicality.
  
  After the warm-up, the class gently integrates the sensory-motor abilities discovered into set movement elements, sequences and choreographic phrases in and through different levels, expanding the dynamic possibilities of moving.
  

• Basic movement principles in dance like using spirals, turns, swings, weight shifts (from leg to leg and leg to arms and up-side-down), jumps, bouncing, twisting, leaping, letting go, falling are now integrated into set material through different spatial levels.
  
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  The class aims to sharpen the awareness for different movement qualities and to establish higher spatial orientation, speed and different dynamics (rythmical changes) and to master dance movement and movement complexity without loosing our sensual information to balance body and mental effort - a sign of artistic intelligence. Mastering the ability to balance direction and letting go defines gracefullness within the art.
  
  The class is combining different techniques with personal interpretation and knowledge. Being a result of a personal research and experience, the training is influenced by Modern Dance (Limon, Laban), Release Technique, Floor Work, Capoeira, Urban Dance Styles and Improvisation (Contact Improvisation).
  
  Dancing has the wunderful capacity to merge physical, cognitive and affective elements of human beings and a teachers job is to create connections between all these elements.