5 – 9 September 2023
Participants: Max 35 per shift
This retreat is designed for people with experience in contact improvisation who are familiar with the dynamics of the jam, and for those who wish to discover how silence and meditation can enrich and deepen their experience of dance.
Silence, The Contact Improvisation Jam, Meditation, the Talking Circle
Intensive workshop Teacher
Leo
Leonardo Lambruschini Performance artist and CI and ContaKids teacher. Artistic Director of Spazio Seme. CI international events organizer. Contact, trust, movement are the central fulcrum around which I develop didactic and research, both for adults and children. Above all trust in the present moment as a source of inspiration and meaning. I am attracted to places and contexts where various art forms meet, communicate and create something new, which transcends languages and differences. I am co-founder and artistic director of Spazio Seme – International Artistic Center in Arezzo (Tuscany, IT), a place where we create opportunities to research, design, teach and manage festivals, intensive workshops, shows, artistic productions and international residencies. www.spazioseme.com I conceive and conduct classes for children (ContaKids, PlayContact). I teach CI for adults and university students, in Italy and abroad. I feel a lot attracted by nature and the expansive dimension of travel. I taught at festivals and carried out intensive workshops in India, France, Portugal, Greece, Israel, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, Russia, Moldova, Georgia, Northern Ireland, Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Brazil. I am one of the organizers of ItalyContactFest since 10 years (Contact Improvisation International Dance Festival) and Artistic Director of the International Dance and Music Residential Program “Moving Environment” in collaboration with Southern Utah University (USA). Over the past 15 years I've participated in numerous performances with other artists, continuing my research on improvisation and instant composition, and produced theater/dance shows.
Intensive workshop
Trusting the silence
“Animals and trees teach how not to know, how to tolerate being in the world without the obsession to understand. They know how to surrender, they know and teach a primary and radical trust” – Chandra Candiani
During the intensive we will give space to silence to bring stillness into the movement and broaden the perception of what is happening.
Silence as a portal to a greater awareness of the present, one of the fundamental ingredients for those who practice improvisation.
We will explore different tactile qualities in the body and space, and how these relate to movement in the search for an authentic experience.
We will experience the sense of disorientation of the perception of space, time, and speed of movement. Contemplating and sustaining dance.
Through conscious contact with the earth, we will bring our attention into a multidimensional space.
A beautiful dance platform surrounded by nature will be our ground on which we will allow inspiration and intuition to find a substrate for dance and improvisation to germinate in contact.
Schedule
Platform
08.15 / 09.00 Meditation
10.00 / 10.30 Silent Circle
10.30 Silent Jam
15.00 / 16.00 Talking Circle
16.00 / 19.00 Intensive
21.00 Silent Circle
21.30 Jam
Silence
1st. 2nd. 3rd day 21.00 – 13.00 Silence in all areas of the retreat
4th day 00.00 – 24.00 Silence in all areas of the retreat
Meals
09.00 / 10.00 Breakfast
13.00 / 14.30 Lunch
19.30 / 21.00 Dinner
Retreat Focalizers
Nayeli Špela
About Nayeli Špela: In my profession and passion, I work as psychologist and psychotherapist, founder of Moave - psychology in movement NGO. My background in movement comes from growing up being a semi professional handball player for many, many years. This sport tough me about momentum, ability to fall without fear, trust my instincts, trust my body intelligence to adapt, observe the space and have a felt sense perception of it, being fast, but alert etc. etc. After starting dancing contact improvisation I realised, it is all there in the body and so for me felt like arriving home. All this informations came together. For me contact improvisation is about principles that need to be embodied, to be danced and they can only be embodied if they are felt and experienced, rather than understood. I have deep respect for this practice since in my perception it is a teacher of life. Thanks to many, many knowledgeable people I have met in the jams, festivals and workshops, their wisdom and body intelligence have touched me and reshaped me into a more aware, soft and humble human being. I look forward to meeting you in this workshop and learning from you!
Cecilia Nesler
Cecilia Nesler is a polyglot of South Tyrolean-Italian origin in constant search of the best psycho-body and artistic expression. She initially studied Development Cooperation and was active in the pedagogical field, but her path changed course as soon as she encountered dance. The world of contemporary dance, in which she immersed herself during her years in Vienna (Austria), however, did not fully satisfy her. She thus begins to search for other approaches to movement. She found different practices such as Axis Syllabus, Klein Technique, Instant Composition and Body Mind Centering, which opened up new horizons for her. When she finally meets Contact Improvisation, she feels that this is the way to go. She then studied Contact Improvisation and Authentic Movement with Sabine Parzer and later also trained in dance pedagogy in Leipzig (Germany). She continues to deepen and share with great passion the practice of C. I. with various teachers in different European countries.
Musicians
Tomo Haru
Plastic artist and multi-instrumentalist musician, born in Japan in 1981 and raised in Spain, he currently lives between Italy, Spain and Brazil, where he performs his musical projects. In recent years he has also approached the culture and classical music of India. He has always been linked to the world of circus and dance, composing music for different shows. Saxophonist and flutist with musical groups from Madrid and Italy. A fusion of ethnic music that combines the sounds of instruments such as Handpan, Saxophone, overtone singin, didjeridoo, flutes, drums, traveling between nu jazz, classical, trance. Create evocative music, with meditative atmospheres and melodies that transport you to a dreamlike and intimate world.
How to get there
Plane: Nearest airport: Perugia and Firenze
Car: The place is 40 minutes by car from the Arezzo highway exit 1 hr from Perugia
Train: The closest railway station is that of Arezzo, easily reachable from the stations of Florence and Rome
By bus: The place is not directly accessible by public transport but we can pick you up in Anghiari. There are buses from Arezzo, Perugia, Cesena
More detailed information will be provided following registration
Prices and registration procedures
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