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select a month may 2008 june 2008 july 2008 aug 2008 may 2008 ongoing classes Contact Improvisation February – July W 6:45 – 9:10pm WeisAcres Contact Improvisation is a partnering dance form.  Skills such as rolling, releasing, giving and supporting weight, expanding range of spatial concentration, lifting, catching and falling help one move with and through gravity, share weight in motion and use momentum and flow in physical contact. These weekly classes, open to people of all levels of movement experience, are informed variously by the individual teaching artists. may: Margaret Paek K.J. Holmes February 2 – June 28 SAT 11am – 1pm Movement Research at Eden’s Expressway The Athletics of Intimacy, Improvisations Classes combine skills and practices of Contact Improvisation, applications of Body-Mind Centering® and tutoring of somatic improvisational approaches in solo, duet (strong emphasis on partnering) and ensemble dancing. I am interested in the very physical, the very sensorial and the very imaginative, and in discovering new challenges and risks within our movement. Jimena Paz February 4 – June 30 MON 6 – 7.30pm Movement Research at Eden’s Expressway Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement Class (CM): Gentle and specific structured movement explorations constructed around a theme to broaden the understanding of basic biomechanics and self use, addressing different functions (such as turning, weight transfer, flexion, extension, etc.) and the way we coordinate and regulate movement. The class includes studies of muscle, joint and postural relationships in connection to our sense of ability and expanding options. Barbara Mahler February 5 – August 14 T TH 10am – 12pm Movement Research at Eden’s Expressway RE-EDUCATION OF THE BODY – Klein/Mahler Technique This ongoing class is based on a dance/movement technique that provides the underpinnings to support all styles of dance technique and improvisation.  The purpose of the work/class is to re-educate one’s body with an interweaving of theory and practice on a physical and organic level. The result is clarity and sureness of movement, and a new level of understanding the innate intelligence of the body. A body of work, it is also a way for dancers to be treated, respected and to be seen as individuals. The class is open to all levels, dancers and non-dancers alike. Alexander Technique™ April 2 – June 25  WED  12:30 – 2pm April 2 – May 7 (No class April 23) – Sigal Bergman May 14 – June 25 –Daria Faïn Movement Research at Eden’s Expressway Alexander Technique™ looks at the way we carry out our intentions. Often we use a process that is habitual, unconscious and counterproductive. The technique offers a practice of staying open and alert in the moment, observing our familiar tensions and choosing to move without them. Beginning with the assumption that we are perfectly designed for movement and balance, we engage our mind to undo layers of interference, creating opportunity for change. may Levi Gonzalez April 28 – May 23  M W F  10am – 12pm Jimena Paz subs on May 9 Movement Research at Eden’s Expressway The Practice of Presence This class will be an investigation in locating presence within choreographic and/or performative forms. Class will begin with imagery and gentle preparation culled from various bodywork modalities to cultivate sensorial awareness. From there we will investigate choreographic structures, improvisations and performance constructs, exploring ways to engage with the material through physical and imaginative means. We will dance with and for one another in an effort to further our own personal research and practice in how we relate to this form.  Vicky Shick April 29 – May 29  T TH  10am – 12pm    (No class May 20) Danspace Project This class seeks to prepare an articulate, alert and neutral body, ready for precise dancing with intricate coordinations that we will work on together. There is a simple, straightforward, continuous warm-up that relies on the use of release, alignment, momentum, weight and strength. Clarity, simplicity of movement, attention to detail and concentration will be our goal.   workshops - REGISTER ONLINE HERE Yvonne Meier Beg. Level: April 22 & 29; May 6, 13 & 20   T   6-8pm Int. Level: May 27; June 3, 10 & 17   T   6-8pm Movement Research at Eden’s Expressway Beg. $75, Int. $45, Both levels $110  Students must take the Beginning level classes in order to take the Intermediate level. Releasing Through specially designed images, we will enable ourselves to let go of hidden tensions and realign with the natural forces of gravity and counter balance. Through the releasing process, we will learn how to move with more freedom and economy. Spontaneous movement explorations will allow us to creatively integrate these changes in our bodies. The experience of seeing into our bodies will give us a wonderful tool for improvisational dance. The Intermediate level classes are a clear continuation of the Beginning level classes. In order to deepen the releasing process, new imagery will be given and old images will grow in complexity.  Janis Brenner May 10 & 11  Sat & Sun   4:30 – 8:30pm   $90 Movement Research At Eden’s Expressway “Moving, Sounding & Acting” An 8-Hour Intensive Integrating Movement, Voice and Theatre through Improvisation and Choreography. The workshop is open to dancers, vocalists/musicians, actors and all interdisciplinary performers who want to increase their range of expression and delve into a holistic approach to artmaking. A physical and vocal warm-up, as well as learning songs to be sung together in “rounds”, creates a great sense of community and unified purpose from which we can move into interdisciplinary explorations together and individually.    John Jasperse May 31 & June 1   Sat & Sun   4:30 – 7:30pm   $75 Movement Research at Eden’s Expressway Why? I don’t yet know what we’ll do in this workshop, but it will be oriented around the desire to understand why we are doing it. We will address a small part of this vast topic by doing (more than by talking about doing), but both will play a part. This may include any and all forms of expression which are appropriate tools for our needs. Ideal participants will be willing to try just about anything in the hopes of understanding more about why we should make art and will embrace a rigorous, yet open, definition of the word “understand.” SPRING 08 Festival workshops - REGISTER ONLINE HERE technical (and) improvisation work a two day workshop led by Salva Sanchis May 28 & 30 10am - 2pm $80 Judson Memorial Church, Gym Take advantage of this exciting opportunity to study with Brussels-based choreographer and dancer Salva Sanchis. Participants will improve the fluidity of their actions by establishing a purposeful and clear relationship with the floor at all times, and by integrating all parts of the body in action. Sanchis is interested in exploring movement that is expressive as a consequence of its functionality. Instead of learning set material, improvisation will be used in a technical way. This will allow participants to dance more fluently with more tools at their disposal. de(compose): duration, decay, and the unwinding unconscious a workshop led by Melissa Buzzeo, Marissa Perel, and Alysha Wood May 29 10am – 2pm $20 Judson Memorial Church, Gym Perel and Wood facilitate experiments in translation where the body (de)composes into text and text (de)composes into the body involving Authentic Movement and dance scores generated through epistolary writing to/from bodily sites of durability and vulnerability. Participants will draw from the persistence of the rat and cockroach and the ephemeral detritus surrounding them as elements of the (de)composed body of the cityscape. Melissa Buzzeo introduces hypnosis techniques to tap deeply into the psyche's unconscious register.  Writing will be the passage from this borderless, spatio-temporal arena of the mind to the conscious body, activating narration through tissue and membrane.