Hi. I invite you to a dance improvisation workshop for the newbies, the reluctant, and the curious to:
– enhance your movements,
– move more freely,
– enjoy the movements you perform,
– expand your movement ABCs, – learn new tools/movement ideas,
– continue to be yourself while acquiring new movements,
– create movement, not copy it.

Maybe you’ll feel like you’re in the Ministry of Strange Steps—because you’re experiencing body stiffness. Or maybe expressive movement is a completely new form of expression for you. This workshop will give you a soft landing into the world of pleasure derived from creative movement. You’ll feel like you’re even walking better, and not just with your dance steps. That you have “ideas” for movement that come more easily than before the workshop. That your racing thoughts and imagination, or your sense of emptiness, can be your allies. The workshops are aimed at beginners who haven’t taken improvisation classes yet, or have, but are tired of them :), and would like to experience the pleasure.

This isn’t intuitive dancing, although it shares something important with improvisation – self-trust.

What the workshops are like:
We begin with a warm-up that draws our attention to our bodies, so we can warm them up and begin to feel them. We will perform the tasks in a way that makes them “yours,” not just copy them. I will give all instructions verbally, sometimes I will show them, in addition to using abundant gestures. We will also write – using automatic writing techniques to clarify our thoughts. We conclude with relaxation and time to integrate our experiences. We dance barefoot to feel the connection with the earth and the freedom of our bodies – if you get cold or have other important reasons, keep your socks on. Dress in layers.

Registration: via the 2-minute form: https://forms.gle/CXewgD1KaHzdYLGU7

February 21, Saturday, 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Studio Kontakt, Szpitalna Street 40, Krakow
Cost: PLN 110 if paid by January 25th
PLN 140 if paid after January 25th

About me:
I perform and teach improvisation to people of all ages and with diverse needs, including families.
I am a certified contemporary dance instructor (National Centre for Culture, 2012). Thanks to my improvisation practice with the Body Mind Centering approach at Iwona Olszowska’s Experimental Dance Studio (2008-2015) and courses in the Somatic Movement Educator program (2011-2015), I combine somatics with stage improvisation. Thanks to the 4th Alternative Dance Academy scholarship (2013-2019) at the Art Stations Foundation, I was able to expand my somatic work with the tools of new choreography. I have also received scholarships from the National Institute of Music and Dance, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Performers House in Denmark, and the KPO. I have a master’s degree in drama and Polish studies from the Jagiellonian University. I specialize in solo improvisation. Improvising is where I feel closest to myself and is satisfied with the creative process.

Best regards,
Monika Kiwak