Example Schedule and Workshops

Tentative Schedule

The below schedule was the working hypothesis , we did a lot of spontaneous changes to the workshop program at the festival according to requirements, contributions and wishes of the participants, and according to inspirations of the team 😊.

WORKSHOPS and offerings

The below list illustrates workshops we had and the ideas feeding them.

“Authentic Movement” (Amina and Alexa)
Authentic Movement is a partner exercise which allows us to explore psychological processes as they arise into kinesthetic responses of movement or sound. The ‘movers’ are witnessed by an outer ‘witness’, who ‘contains’ the experience of the mover by witnessing their movements without judgement, projection or interpretation. In this way, the witness is also an active participant, and intensifies the consciousness process of the mover.

“Balance of Release and Tension – mindless multi-tasking in CI” (André)
part of the playfulness in Contact Improvisation comes when different parts of our bodies meet different energies and people. What if my leg is involved in a fast dance, my head in a different and slow encounter, and my arm is leading a third dance? We will explore these challenges, relax deeply into the mindlessness of the body, play with tensing and releasing, and enjoy how time extends when we are deeply encountering ourselves and various dance energies.

“Body Structures in Nature” CI (Alexa)
Starting from a research on how we can constantly rearrange our structure to be able to support other bodies and how to take and give our weight in a safe way we move on into exploring possibilities of using the structures that nature is providing for us. Also, we will investigate what we can ‘transport’ from the natural world into our body knowledge, how can we become as a group a living structure, supported by the earth and how to compose it and decompose it.

“CI techniques – from small dance to big movements” (Amina & Alexa)
We will observe the movement that emerges from the inside and how it grows and takes shapes into the space. How can we find the common ground from where we can move together? What is the point of contact and how can we stay true to our own dance, our rhythm and our body’s needs?
This workshop will happen at the beginning of the festival and convey classical Contact Improvisation skills for all levels and closely adapted to the group level and energy.

“Close Contact – Dance with Nature – Spatial Composition” (André)
we will dance in some specific nature site, e.g. the dunes of beautiful Amoreira beach or on Praya Carriagem, or a hill top in Alentejo, dive into the experience and encounter of the sand, or the wind or the grass, and our own dance in space, transitioning into a Jam or into spatial composition performance linked with CI elements.

‘Contemplation, Art and Landscape’ (Maurizio)
We join spontaneous creativity and land-art to fully express our inner and outer harmony with the Nature. It is an invitation to walk along a path toward a deep awareness of our life and its deep sense. The work alternates exploration, contemplation and creation in our beautiful environment. Starting with body exercises and visualizations we’ll experience our artistic sense through spontaneous gesture, creating into open natural space. Eventually this will bring us individually and in groups, following the flow of an authentic impulse of offering ephemeral installations rising from the encounter with the natural elements of the site.

“Contemplative Dance Practice” (Lizzie)
We will use this simple three-part score from Barbara Dilley to enter individual and collective movement. We pass through phases of stillness, physicality, and collective improvisation.  CDP is a wonderful and focused frame to tune in together

“Free Expression Space” (Lika)
Lika provides the Atelier of Healing Arts, and we may have a joint dedicated session, yet there will also be a permanent open space, where everyone finds the space to express processes, experiences and insights during and from this Nature Journey, e.g. creating with clay and/or painting with colors.

“Improvisation in nature; the perfect dance” (Lizzie)
The elemental world is constantly and spontaneously composing and decomposing. Perhaps qualities of engagement, creation and composition in the natural world enlighten our improvisation and body awareness. *How do things happen in nature? *timings (a plant blossoms, a flame flickers) *before/after an event (a wave breaks) *momentum/crescendo, tension/release *continuity/discontinuity *creation, tension & destruction *collaborations, relationships, influences & networks  (a wave drags pebbles along, tree roots push through earth, a bird experiences gravity).
Through a series of improvisation games against a backdrop of landscapes we will experiment in bringing this dynamic intelligence into our bodies and group improvisations.

‘Let’s play’ CI  (Alexa and Amina)
When we are born and we learn how to move, to turn, to roll, to crawl and later on to walk. And we play, we are learning by playing, we are creating experiences by playing. As adults most of us forget how to play, or we don’t allow our bodies anymore to play like children. We will ‘remember’ how to play by using ‘push & pull’ patterns, rolling, sliding, falling through space, going from balance to out of balance, using momentum, letting go and challenging our limits.

“Morning Yoga” (Noëlia)
Yoga for the equilibrium of body, mind and spirit. Noelia is a Certified Yoga Educator, and frequently offers yoga & meditation retreats, yoga detox programs and yoga retreats for children

“Open Evening jam” (all)
We will have an open dance and expression space on several evenings.

“Project Encounter, Atelier of Healing Arts” (Lika)
We will encounter the ideas, impulses and some history of the Atelier of Healing Arts and Vale Bacias.

“Project Encounter, Dancers’ Village Initiative” (André)
We will encounter the ideas, impulses and some history of the Dancers’ Village Initiative.

 “Project Encounter, Regional Sustainability Project” (Noëlia)
We will encounter the ideas, impulses and goals of the Local Sustainability Project in the Aljezur Region.

“The Visions from our hearts” (André/Roland Krügel)
We will follow an ‘exercise of diads’ which will bring us into a space of speaking purely from our hearts. We will let ourselves be surprised by listening to our selves and to our partners. This communication exercise leads to a deeper inner experience with spontaneity and intuition. The usual patterns of thinking, feeling and energy are cleared, and this creates freedom for change. Besides, the quality of listening and empathy can unfold and grow.

“4-phase breathing” (Roland Krügel)
Sufi 4 phases breathing. Breathing and movement as attunement, short introduction, 4-phase breathing – increasing the energy level, and a transforming experience.
The breath has a cleansing and releasing effect on inner tensions – so that the presence and the loving attitude towards oneself, other people and creations can be awakened and deployed.