Come for 5 days workshop with evening jams with Karen Nelson.
Arrive Monday July2 for dinner and the first evening jam. Class begins on Tuesday morning. Last class is Saturday afternoon. Departing Sunday after breakfast.
$375 includes workshop, all meals, camping and transportation on Lasqueti.
Tuning the System
The workshop will explore approaching sensation through various systems of dancing. I will provide my take on the work I’ve been studying for over three decades, as well as play with current research into awareness practices such as meditation, qi gong and moving mind.
Morning:
Drawing from Steve Paxton’s “Material for the Spine” we will practice and learn from some of the exercises he found doing Contact Improvisation and Aikido. These include: double-helix rolls, crescent roll, spinal waves, aikido arm and roll, small dance and improvising.
Afternoon:
We’ll apply the morning’s work to our solo, duet and group improvisations aided by the Tuning Scores developed by Lisa Nelson. Tuning Scores magnify the process of communication between dancers as we work in space. We use calls and actions to expose our perceptions and opinions, thereby creating collaborative dances.
Evening:
Contemplative Dance Practice (followed by a jam). In the CDP ritual, equal time is spent in stillness/sitting meditation, personal warm-up and open space/group improvisation + witnessing. Each section is marked by a bell, and bowing is often practised to mark various transitions.
Bio:
Karen Nelson has been dancing Contact Improvisation since 1976 or so. Now, in 2012 and after an 8 year break in her training, dancing is a well-spring of fresh gravity. She has toured, teaching and performing in many places worldwide and has collaborated with many wonderful artists. Her work with Steve Paxton and his system “Material for the Spine” has a tremendous influence in her Contact teaching and dancing. Along with Alito Alessi in the 1980’s, she started the Breitenbush Jam and DanceAbility in Oregon; and with others later in the 90’s, Diverse Dance Research Retreat held on Vashon Island, WA. For the last 2 decades or so, composition within improvisation has been a passion; working with Lisa Nelson and her approach of Tuning Scores is a constant source of inspiration and investigation.
