As we move through life, we develop patterns, habits, and tendencies. Is it possible to break free from them? Have you ever found yourself dancing with someone who constantly lifts you or takes on the role of the base? Are you curious about what it's like to be on the other side? Our bodies have an incredible ability to learn all possibilities if we allow ourselves to step into different roles. How quickly can we switch between them? Transitioning is an essential part of our practice, as we train both body and mind to recognize the differences in each role and be ready to embrace both. Some of the concepts we'll explore in this intensive course include: expansion within the body and into space, precise force, the power of imagination, trajectory, tensegrity, and more. Students will experiment, improvise, switch partners, and learn set material based on a "no hierarchy" approach.
THE COMMON BODY is an exploratory laboratory where participants have the opportunity to discover a wide range of physical actions with the awareness of an articulated body, using creative pathways while dancing with a partner.
Olivia Court Mesa is Israeli choreographer and performer originally from Chile. She started dancing in the Chilean troupe of Oscar del Bardo's physical theater. In 1998 she moved to Germany and studied contemporary dance and pedagogy at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln. After completing her studies, she collaborated with ensembles in Mexico and Germany. She has been living in Israel since 2010, where she performed in the works of local artists, such as Yossi Berg and Oded Graf. She received several awards from the Israeli Ministry of Culture. Since 2006, he has been focusing on her own creations. She teaches contact improvisation and partnering and founded the movement laboratory The Common Body with her dance and life partner Yochai Ginton.
Yochai Ginton is an independent dancer/performer and dance teacher based in Israel. His great passion towards dance, led him to explore various movement and performance languages throughout the past 17 years. He studied in Dance Workshop Gaaton and in the Maslool - Professional Dance Program, Israel. He has collaborated with different choreographers, touring and performing around the world. Yochai teaches workshops, intensives, courses at dance schools and other institutions across Israel and abroad. His teaching connects performance art and the way we engage ourselves in the world as human-beings. How much can one change and evolve consciously and yet surprisingly?
The workshop is intended for professional dancers. The entire workshop length is 2 hours.