Teaching — Caroline Alves

DANCE CLASSES & WORKSHOPS

CONTEMPORARY DANCE REGULAR CLASSES

Every Tuesday from 18:15 - 20:15
At Vuesch e.V - Revaler Str. 99, 10245 Berlin
Summer break between 23.08 to 03.09.2024

This class explores the body’s gravity and centre as a starting point for the movement. We use strengthening elements and release-based exercises through movement structures.
We also play with level changing, weight transfer, spatial awareness and energy management by using floor work. What do we have to release or how do we redirect the energy of the movement to find momentum? How to work the connections and transitions from one movement to another, allowing the body to pass from flowing to fragmented qualities?

The classes consist of movement research exercises, encouraging participants to improvise based on clear tasks, as well as exercises focused on contemporary dance techniques, culminating in choreographic scores.

For dancers, performers, acrobats and anyone interested in moving.

WORKSHOPs

Flow Dynamics

In this 2-day workshop, we will investigate flow and organic movement qualities, exploring techniques that provide clarity and fluidity by using our body structure more efficiently. Close attention will be given to minimizing muscular tension in the search for clarity and fluidity, utilizing the joints, bone structure, and breath more efficiently. We will navigate between higher and lower levels - going in and out of the floor - using minimum effort and exploring various possibilities for smooth transitions. We will also play with weight shifting, spatial awareness, and different movement dynamics – oscillating between attack and release. We delve deep into analyzing the connection between certain movements and their chain effect on the spine and body extremities, as well as the importance of being conscious of movement vectors. Energy management tools will be taught as a way to improve the ability to spend only the necessary amount of energy to perform certain movements. The workshop is developed in a very physical and dynamic way, progressing from improvisation exercises, moving on to floor work, then to standing exercises, leading to choreographic compositions. You will work in a refined and sensory way, but you can definitely expect to sweat and work out!

** This workshop can be adapted to different levels, making it suitable for beginner, intermediate, or advanced groups.

Duration: Minimum of 2 days / 4 hours per day

The Sensory Strategies
In Choreographic Composition

How can we experience the embodiment of images and texts through the eyes, skin, bones, organs, and other bodily tissues? How can the sensory experience serve as a fundamental strategy in shaping choreographic expression?

Through sensory practices that immerse us in images and texts, we will deepen our skills in creating and manipulating choreographic scores using images and texts as inspiration. We will investigate strategies for editing, expanding, and multiplying choreographic material.

By engaging with sensory techniques we will expand our perceptual limits and develop the ability to discern a variety of elements in visual and textual landscapes, such as forms, density, actions, moods, directions, textures, lines, colours, and spatialities. We will investigate how these aspects can be translated into the language of dance and how they can be used as tools for creating movements and bodily states. We will immerse ourselves in the unique capacity of visual and textual landscapes to envelop us sensorially, evoking memories, and shaping imaginative narratives, as well as sensory and experiential worlds. The perception of images and texts as tactile, spatial and physical, will be our foundation for developing and editing choreographic scores.

The workshop progresses through distinct stages. Initially, participants create physical movement scores based on images and written materials. These scores serve as the foundation for subsequent exploration. Following this, we refine and expand the movement scores using editing tools and techniques. Finally, we experiment with combining different scores to craft small scenic compositions, allowing for the placement of choreographic elements in space and dialogue.

By using visual and textual landscapes as an access device, this workshop aims to offer tools and technical strategies for the creation of choreographic material and scenic composition, facilitated by the connection of the dancing body with the dimensions of the sensory.

** This workshop is designed for professionals and students of dance, as well as acrobats, performing artists, individuals from related disciplines, or anyone interested in expanding their choreographic creation strategies. It can be adapted to different levels, making it suitable for beginner, intermediate, or advanced groups.

Duration: Option 1: Two-day workshop, 5 hours per day | Option 2: Longer workshop spanning 4 to 5 days, with 4 hours per day.

Shared Dynamics: Investigating Interdependence in Partnering Dance
with Caroline Alves & Martina Garbelli

In partnering dance, shared dynamics and interdependence are lived experiences where each movement and decision influences and supports the other. In this workshop, we will build a foundation of safety and trust to explore more daring movements. We will examine the role of mutual influence in creating partnering choreographic compositions, and the transformations in our dance practice when fully embracing the principles of interdependence. We will start with exercises designed to enhance body awareness and physical responsiveness. Through directed tasks, we encourage improvisation and movement research, working with gravity and momentum, using falling, rolling, and centrifugal force to facilitate movement.

We will then advance to partnering exercises, developing sequences that incorporate tools from contact improvisation, contemporary dance, and acrobatics. We will focus on sharing and supporting each other’s weight, creating a dynamic balance through lifting, leaning, and counterbalancing.

As we progress, the exercises will grow more complex, incorporating acrobatic movements that lead to the final partnering combination. We will provide specific material for practising lifts, jumps, and principles of shared dynamics, culminating in a cohesive and fluid choreographic score.