Intensive Dance Workshop with Susanne Martin and Francesco Zita at Casina Settarte, Puglia Italy

MOVING INSIDE OUTSIDE

Contact Improvisation – Push Hands (Tai Chi) – Qi Gong – Partnering – Outdoor Explorations – Performance Scores 

ARRIVAL Fr. 15.09. at 5pm, 5 WS days Sat.-Wed., DEPARTURE Thur. 21.09. at 10am

Susanne’s teaching is based in contact improvisation, instant composition and 30 years of creating performances in the field of contemporary dance and theatre. During her studio classes we will focus on the principals and techniques of contact improvisation and how they lead to playful physical co-creativity in duet, trio and group situations. We will create a respectful environment to deepen our understanding of skilful touch, proximity and degrees of weight exchange to (further) clarify and deepen our joy and interest in improvised dance.

Francesco‘s teaching is based on principles from Aikido, Tai Chi – Push Hands, Qi gong, Contact improvisation, Partnering, iInstant composition and Bodywork. During his studio classes we will focus on the practise of partnering starting with basic Tai chi-Push Hands  We’ll practice grounding, spirals and flow into movement, intention, connection centre-extremity, moving without effort, exploring different kinds of touch and weight, tuning with partners and environment, energetic massage, enjoying the unknown.

During outdoor sessions we will focus on our relationship to the natural landscape of Itria Valley / Trullo’s  valley: ancient olive trees, rocks, Apulian red earth, the sea, wind, light and shadow. We open ourselves to a different sense of space, time and relationship and explore how that can be a resource for our dancing.

Some evenings we will perform for each other to share our practices and findings of the workshop.

It will be a week of intense artistic study in the studio and the surrounding land & a sunrise trip to the sea. To fully appreciate the beauty of this part of Italy at the end of summer we recommend to add a few days of holiday somewhere around Itria Valley or at Casina Settarte itself. 

Bios

Francesco Zita, founded Casina Settarte with Germana Siciliani in the early 90’s. Hi is a tai chi, chi kung and contact improvisation teacher, biodynamic craniosacral therapist, dancer and performer. In the early 80’s he started his training in theatre-improvisation, martial arts (aikido, kung fu, tai chi), yoga (Iyengar). He also studied massage, including shiatsu, ayurveda and bodywork. His interest for taoist philosophy led him to develop his interest for permaculture, deep ecology and the possibility to be in harmony with the tao, the ‘Way of Nature’.

Susanne Martin (Berlin) is a performer, teacher, and researcher focusing on improvisation-based dance. She presents her work internationally in solo performances and collaborative stage works. Festivals that presented her performances include: International Dance and Theatre Festival (Gothenburg), Aerowaves (London), Nottdance (Nottingham), BMotion / Opera Estate (Bassano del Grappa), Tanec Praha (Prague). She works with improvisation and contact improvisation as choreographic practices, critical narrations of the age(ing) body, artistic research methods, and improvisation-based approaches to learning, knowledge production and knowledge dissemination. www.susannemartin.de