Integrative Bodywork and Movement Therapy (Dip IBMT), MA in Performance Studies/Choreography.
I am interested in the integration of body and mind into our dance and our life. This manifests in being present in the different layers of our body, researching new movement impulses and repatterning. I love to dive into the immense ocean of my body to discover myself as I am and to reinvent myself in every dance again and again – to choose from where inside and outside of myself I can communicate and meet others.
These past few years, I have taught at contactfestival freiburg, in Brazil, Romania, Spain, Switzerland and England and performed in several works internationally. In Berlin, I teach contact improvisation, embodied anatomy based on the principles of Body-Mind Centering® and contemporary dance. I also organize jams, research events like Dance Your Questions and workshops.
www.heikekuhlmann.net
(morning intensive)
In these classes, we explore our hands and feet and our center. We will look at their anatomical structure and their connection to the center of our body, especially the bones and joints and their fascial/muscular surroundings.
We will explore what we can do with our hands/feet. What are their normal uses and can we go beyond? What qualities can we discover? What are their artistic expressions? How do we communicate with hands and feet? We will explore some ways of being supported by our hands and ways of entering into contact through our feet.
How is the connection from our limbs to our center, and from our center to our limbs? How can we change easily in our dance from our center to our limbs and so on?
Sze started sharing weight with furniture when she was three years old. She trained for a while to “stand straight” as a contemporary dancer but still likes contact improvisation best. Since 2012 she has facilitated and taught contact in Singapore, the Netherlands and Sweden, and co-organised Contact Festival Kuala Lumpur from 2012 to 2014. Her dancing is influenced by studies with Nancy Stark-Smith, Ray Chung, Martin Keogh, Yeong Wen Lee, Chico Katsube and Shoko Kashima, Robert Anderson, Charlie Morrissey, Angelika Doniy and the Radical Contact movement.
(afternoon workshop)
Where does my space end and yours begin? Where does our space begin? Using our capacites for sensation and imagination we will explore our physical and sensorial boundaries, as well as how to sense those of others. In playful and sensitive duet and group improvisations, we'll equip ourselves to take flight into shared space.
Hiroko graduated from Nippon Sport Science University and was formerly with the Keiko Takeya Contemporary Dance Company. She begin her journey in contact improvisation in 1997, and has since gone on to study the dance form with teachers such as Nancy Stark Smith, Ray Chung, Nina Martin, Kirstie Simson and Natanja de Boeft. She co-founded Spiral (now known as the Contact Improvisation Nippon Network) in 2003 the Tokyo Contact Impro Festival in 2007. Hiroko is also a Yamuna Body Rolling Practitioner.
(afternoon workshop)
In this workshop, we start from the basics and build up to the various contact improvisation materials such as standing (or being present), yielding to (or befriending) the floor and sharing weight. These important concepts will assist us in our dance with our partners. By also being aware of our center, we can enjoy dancing together easily and comfortably. Let’s explore new aspects of ourselves and discover what is taking place in the moment.
Freediver, teacher of CI in water, watsu provider, organiser of CI festivals in Thailand and Russia, contact dancer, mermaid :)
I discovered CI in 2007 and realized that this was what I had been looking for... For me this is a practice that inspires, widens my horizons and makes me completely happy. Now my interest is in maintaining the curiosity of a child in a dance – to make the dance alive and in the present here and now.
I like the idea that dance is a meditation with different focuses of attention, which initiate movement, and by guiding my attention I can create a unique and amazing dance.
I've always admired CI for its openness to other practices. Apart from CI, I practice social dances, Thai massage and yoga. I am drawn to water and this is why I do freediving and watsu. And dancing in the water combines all of my interests.
(bio forthcoming)
(afternoon workshop)
Have you ever observed jellyfishes? How they move in water? They mostly use the flow of water to move – just following the water without resisting it. They also have the ability to move on their own: letting water into their "umbrella" and then pushing away from it. Their movement is soft and easy, without any effort.
And now, let's remember how sharks move. They undulate with their body to push from the water and move precisely in the chosen direction. Interestingly, they don't fight the water either.
We will explore the evolution of movement in water from complete non-doing and letting go to building structures on our own and with a partner to move in space.
Themes that we will work with:
• Breathing. How it supports our dance and not interfere with it.
• Total relaxation. Dance that happens on its own.
• Connection from center to limbs.
• Natural support in the body. The ability to find grounding and structure without extra tension.
• Interaction between one's own structure and partner's structure.
• Lifts. Using the support of water and offering our own support.
To participate, you will need a mask or goggles with noseclip (a mask is more comfortbale), swimming suit, sunscreen and if you have one, lycra for diving/surfing.
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