Valencia James 5-Day Contemporary Dance Workshop

* plus children's workshop

Workshop date: 15th-19th July, 2013

Time: 18:00-20:00

Venue: Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination (EBCCI), University of the West Indies

Target audience: Individuals with previous dance experience

Attendance:

A contact list of workshop participants was collected by a Dance Intern at the end of each session. There was a varied attendance rate of about 20 participants on the first day, which dropped to about 12 participants on the second and third days and dropped further to about 7 or 8 participants on the fourth and fifth days. There were many who attended only one session, while at least 6 people came for four sessions and 3 attended the entire workshop (although two of those only participated in the first half of the last two sessions). The attendance of dance interns seems to have been affected by rehearsals for Crop Over events. Some would have been working all day at the NCF and EBCCI camps as well. In general the style of the workshop was very physical and some might have discouraged to return due to consequent muscle soreness.

Background:

Over the past two years I have been introduced to a new way of moving, with which I could harness the weight of my body, using the action of gravity and the consequent momentum to create dynamism. My first experience was at a selection workshop in November 2011 at the Ultima Vez Dance Company in Brussels, Belgium, under the direction of Wim Vandekeybus, invited teachers and dancers. I later gained further training at the Deltebre Dansa festival in Spain in July 2012, where I trained with masters such as David Zambrano, Anton 'Tono' Lachy, and Erick Jimenez. In September 2012 I was invited back to Ultima Vez for their inaugural three-week Research Program. Through workshops with Laura Aris, Vandekeybus, Mate Meszaros, Jerry Killick and Nicola Schlosser, I was able to gain a concentrated insight into the movement vocabulary, theatrical approach and working methods of the company. Throughout the past year I have been able to internalize this knowledge and apply it to my work at the Yvette Bozsik Company in Budapest. It is with this approach that I wanted to share my experiences and knowledge with the Barbadian dance community.

Objectives:

-To introduce contemporary dance techniques such as releasing floor-work, David Zambrano's Flying Low, and Ultima Vez's physical dance vocabulary in order to give participants an understanding of how gravity can be harnessed to result in fluid, dynamic movement with a more expansive use of space.

-Participants should learn different methods of descending and ascending from the floor.

- Participants should master basic principles of contemporary floor-work, namely elbow-to-knee connections, hand-elbow-shoulder support, spirals, vertical axis of the body, core strength, movement initiation and variations of rolling.

- Participants should gain stamina and strength through repetition of steps and combinations.

-Participants should gain a sense of individual movement exploration and practical investigation of given movement ideas and images to cultivate a self- informed learning process parallel to external instruction.

- Participants should discover new methods of expression through movement, hence diversifying their personal movement vocabulary.

- Participants should gain greater self-confidence and kinesthetic awareness through improvisation tasks.

Method:

Warm up

Each session was generally commenced with a self foot massage aimed at opening up the awareness of the body through the feet. This method was taken from Laura Aris and was selected to encourage participants to direct their attention to subtle internal changes and stimuli. A Kundalini meditation exercise that entailed shaking the entire body downwards for 10 minutes gave rise to the concept of groundedness through the release of tension in the chest and lower back as well as bringing attention to the pelvis as the body's centre of gravity. This was taken from Konstandina "Koka" Efthimiadou. Participants were again encouraged to take a mental note of the sensations felt after this exercise. Participants were then lead to walk around the studio still taking note of their present state and then lead to open up their focus to others around them. They were then lead to explore using their hands as feet by crawling with their bodies close to the floor as a lizard, creeping on the knees as a small mammal, walking on all fours like a larger mammal and eventually roll up to walk and run as a human. This exercise was varied to explore changes of direction both when upright and on the floor, as well as spatial awareness within group. Zambrano's spiraling exercise was also offered so that participants could investigate rotation around the vertical axis of the body during locomotion. Vandekeybus' "picking apples" exercise was adapted to "picking mangoes" in order to introduce the spiraling action of the hands and fore arms in preparation for floor material as well as an opportunity for individual movement exploration with emphasis on the hands as movement initiators. The exercise was done individually and in pairs.

Introduction to Floor-work

This section is the foundation of all material I have introduced. The basic principles dealt with include elbow-to-knee connections, hand-elbow-shoulder support, spirals, vertical axis of the body, core strength and connection to the limbs, and movement initiation. These exercises then progressed to continuous rolling combinations across the floor that later to included full ascent to standing and descent back to the floor.

Introduction to Flying Low

This technique has been invented and developed by Venezuelan dancer, choreographer and educator, David Zambrano, who I first met at Deltebre Dansa in 2012. His technique focuses on the dancer's relationship to the floor. Utilizing simple movement patterns, the technique investigates various methods to descend and ascend in the most organic way possible. The technique highlights the use of the the natural spirals of the body, the relationship between the center and joints, and recycling energy to achieve more smooth and efficient movements into and out of the floor.

Combination

An excerpt of my solo from my work with the Yvette Bozsik company was taught to participants during the last three sessions of the workshop. Participants were able to apply the concepts learnt earlier in class in a more artistic context. In the final session they were encouraged to integrate their own movement at pre-determined intervals. Collective movement and decision making was also highlighted within this aspect of the workshop.

Improvisation

Improvisation was offered as a space in which participants could consolidate new materials or concepts learnt with their own movement vocabulary and selfexpression at the end of each session. Images and movement ideas were offered to facilitate the exploration.

Observations

- Participants generally arrived on time.

- There was a general openness and willingness to attempt all material given.

- Less experienced participants tended to approach the rolling exercises hesitantly, wanting to fully understand the movement mentally, rather than trusting the intuitive learning that comes by doing.

-During Improvisation segments, participants generally demonstrated an approach to movement based on symmetrical and linear shapes or forms from traditional balletic and modern dance idioms, rather than changes in energy and dynamics. This was somewhat improved with further images offered, though participants generally retained their form-based approach.

- The use of mime and verbal language was observed during duet improvisation. Participants were encouraged to try communication through the sheer physicality of their movements as an alternative.

- The entire approach of the workshop was very foreign to most participants, indicating a lack of weight-based modern techniques such as Limon, release and improvisation classes available in Barbados. For example, while explaining a movement to take the body from standing to rolling, I observed that the participant had never learnt to isolate her head and spine before and therefore there was not enough of a foundation to truly grasp the initiation of the movement in question.

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* Children's workshop

Date: July 16th, 2013

Time: 10:00-12:00

Group: 40 girls between the ages of 11-18 years, of the EBCCI camp.

Method & Observations

My approach was open-ended movement exploration based on movement ideas and partner games. I started with pedestrian and animalistic ideas, guiding them through a warm-up of walking, creeping, crawling and running. This already took them by surprise and caused excessive chatter and resistance in some. The general reaction was "Why are we on the floor doing this?" I realized that these children were used to being given pre-set, stylized movement and reproducing this movement. For the most part the exercises offered were fairly well attempted, once they settled into the given exercise. However it was difficult to get the girls to really improvise even with images and music. It was only after I switched approach, demonstrated movement and instructed them to imitate me that I had everyone's full attention.

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Recommendations

-It was pity that so many participants, specifically Dance Interns, had to leave in the middle of the class, or miss it all together due to rehearsals. Class should be regarded as indispensable and where possible used as a foundation on which a rehearsal can build.

- More emphasis on improvisation as process and practice is needed in training programs in Barbados. By "Improvisation as process" I refer to the use of improvisation as a research tool during the creation of new work or as training to diversify individual capabilities. "Improvisation as practice" brings spontaneity in a performance setting and can vary in concept, context, structure and stimuli utilized. There are many exciting possibilities to be explored!

- Exposure to improvisation from a young age can be beneficial to children. It gives them a chance to learn in an environment that is encouraging and non-judgmental (that is, there is no wrong movement), hence conducive to unrestrained selfexpression. Improvisation is allows open-ended solutions to be explored and nurtures individual creativity.

-The Dance Desk should continue to offer workshops in diverse styles and genres of dance. International exchanges should be sought out to facilitate partnerships with other arts institutions.

- The Barbadian dance community and the wider society as a whole need to be exposed to more diverse performing arts works of choreographers, directors and companies around the world. This can be addressed by offering students and the wider public access to a live and recorded performances of varied dance companies across the globe.

- I would recommend the establishment of a video archive of local and international dance and theatre productions, as well as dance films (Dance for camera, documentaries and film adaptations of theatrical works). Many of these can already be found free of charge online.

Conclusion

I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. John Hunte and the NCF for giving me the opportunity to share my experiences and knowledge with my home community. I was delighted to interact with so many young people who are decidedly pursuing a career in the profession. The feedback from participants was very positive and the desire for future workshops in this genre was expressed. I would also gladly develop further improvisation workshops for both adults and children, of all backgrounds and abilities.