Program structure 2018

As you can see on the schedule, this festival offers various frames to learn, practice and to share the dance...

Intensives

The intensives give a sense of continuation - happening every day in the morning with the same teacher and the same group. They will all focus on fundamental principles, in a way that is accessable for people with basic skills but at the same time provides opportunity for the more advanced dancers to deepen their knowledge.

Classes

The other classes are single classes with one specific focus. Each time there will be one class focussing on fundamental principles in CI. The teachers will share what they found to be essential and still inspiring. The other two classes will be more specific or advanced and create links between CI and contemporary dance technique. A focus on Improvisation and the desire to give tools and inspirations to be tried out in the Jam Sessions and Dance Scores will be the link between all classes.

CI Skills

Three times in the afternoon we offer one-hour sessions, where very concrete CI skills will be taught. It is meant to support beginners but also people who want to focus more on the technical aspect of the form.

X-to-Ones

'X-to-Ones' is one of our highlights, where we all research together, like in a huge laboratory. It is inspired by the common festival format called one2ones, where participants get a 20 minutes private session with a teacher. In the X-to-Ones we dance, explore and research in small, committed but changing constellations, while all teachers are available all the time for dances, questions and feed back. The dance stay the motor for individual labbing as a huge group.

Jam session

We imagine a space, where CI can be practiced and contemporary dance can be actually danced (instead of being only a preparation for the dance on the stage). It is fascinating to see how the information form all the classes, scores, lectures and the personal reflections are informing the jams.

Soothing mind & Body

We usually won't have a guided warm up for the Jam. But half an hour before the Jam starts a simple practice will be offered to sooth the body and to calm and clear the mind. So most of the Jams will begin with a un-pressured focussed energy, where people easily take on responsibility for their own journey through the Jam. We were super happy how this approach developed the last years.

Dance Score

Once or twice the Jam will be started by a dance score - a set of rules or a clear comon focus - and will create a different flavour for the jam.

Performative frames

We acknowledge the need for frames, where dance can be watched. We are also aware that 'performing' is not a main focus of this festival. So we are always trying out formats, where the pressure of 'being good enough' is reduced. This year we're gonna have two session with Improv-Sets, but not as a big event. We want to give it a flavour of a 'practice' and it will happen parallel to afternoon-classes.

Labbing

We have a 30 minute time slot after each intensive session to play in a simply structured frame and a more selfresponsible way with the given input. We believe that with the overload of information, that a festival brings, it is an important part of learning to have non guided phases (- and time to rest!). We support laboratory phases in classes and the 'X-to-Ones' is another way to have this kind of learning present.

Interactive Lecture

Three times in the afternoons we'll have one-hour-long interactive lectures. They want to stimulate the mind to look at familiar practices and attitudes from a new perspective. A question of this format is, how to keep the listeners mentally and physically engaged.

Do what you need

'Do what you need' is the basic self-responsible attitude we'd like to strenghten on this festival. As a reminder one afternoon is dedicated to this practice of doing less, so we don't get lost in the overload of stimuli that a festial brings with it. 

Experience level

We designed this festival for people who have at least a good basic knowledge in CI and/or contemporary technique with a sense for improvisational work. Our experience is that complete beginners get easily overwhelmed by the amount of new information and the mass of people.