Dance and Drawing Improvisation “Material for the Spine”
led by: Daniel Rojasanta and Alexandra Wuzyk
August 23, 24
Saturday 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM & 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Sunday 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM & 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Spine, Line, and Flow is a workshop exploring movement and drawing improvisation based on Steve Paxton’s “Material for the Spine” technique, which explores the connection of the spine to the rest of the body.
This workshop is a collaboration between Daniel Rojasanta [Colombia] and Alexandra Wuzyk [South Africa], drawing on the techniques of contact improvisation, “Material for the Spine,” and ink and drawing improvisations.
We explore the traces left by the smallest movements, and how improvisation in drawing and dance can intertwine and collaborate. The workshops explore spiral shapes and curves through the lens of effective movement, exploring the creative possibilities of our anatomy.
The sessions focus primarily on physical movement, with short drawing scenarios.
We recommend attending all sessions for a cohesive experience.
Price:
€140 – standard price
€110 – upon confirmation and prepayment by August 20th
In case of financial difficulties, please contact us.
REGISTRATION
Register via WhatsApp:
Alexandra https://wa.me/+31615525238: include your name and surname.
The workshop is open to people with varying movement experiences, interested in expanding spinal mobility, as well as those interested in the fusion of dance and drawing. Some of the proposed exercises are intended to be physically challenging, but their intensity and scope depend on the participants.
Infopack PDF: https://tinyurl.com/uucsmdve
WHAT IS “MATERIAL FOR THE SPINE?”
Created over 20 years ago, Steve Paxton’s “Material for the Spine” technique brings together movement knowledge from gait studies, dance practice, explorations in Contact Improvisation, and martial arts like Aikido.
“Material for the Spine can be viewed as a system for exploring the extrinsic and intrinsic muscles of the back. Its goal is to shine the light of awareness on the dark side of the body—the side we rarely experience ourselves and which is often overlooked in defining ourselves as a dancer. (…) I wanted to make conscious the inner sensations, moments, and actions in which the skeletal system is revealed, the muscular connections available between the pelvis and the fingertips, and the soft energetic support of leverage, which I associate with the Eastern concept of qi or ki. Some forms arose from my attempts to teach Aikido rolls and the oblique rolls of Eastern martial arts.” — Steve Paxton
https://www.materialforthespine.com/
DANIEL ROJASANTA
Multidisciplinary performing artist born in South America.
He has been teaching somatics and contact improvisation internationally for eight years.
He studied Tai Chi with Master Zhou ZhongFu (周中福) in China, trained in physical theater in South Korea with the Georipae theater group, and explored Butoh with Japanese master Katsura Kan (桂勘).
He has led workshops and laboratories in Russia, Japan, the USA, Colombia, Thailand, South Korea, and for many years in China, where he co-founded the first CI community in Hangzhou.
He creates his own performances and has co-created improvised performances with Contact HZ in China.
He has also performed in dance and theater performances with The ASK in Shanghai, Teatre Animal in Spain, and Ingrid Olterman Dans in Sweden.
He has participated in the India Art Fair in New Delhi, the Myriang Village Theater in South Korea, the National Grand Theater in Beijing, and the Power Station of Art during the Shanghai Art Biennial.
ALEXANDRA WUZYK
Alexandra Wuzyk is a multidisciplinary artist born and raised in South Africa. She studied fine arts at the LUCA School of Arts in Belgium, where she focused on interactive performances that invite audiences to actively and embodied participation.
She first encountered contact improvisation in 2020 and fell in love with the practice as an embodied life education. Since then, she has been practicing and exploring this form, primarily with TOWARDS: Center for the Research and Practice of Contact Improvisation in Thailand. She believes in CI as a space that transcends cultural boundaries and opens necessary states of listening.
She works in painting, film, poetry, and performance. Her work moves between dance, drawing, observation, and recording. He sees states of improvisation as a space for the birth of creative practice, allowing natural rhythm and simple truth to emerge.
