The Nomadic College 

PHASE ONE - Common Ground
Sept 30 to Oct 5

9:00 - 11:00 : Gesture or Functionality in Dance?
Teacher: Frey Faust
If art is the expressive rendering of the personal experience or political opinion into metaphor, then the movement of the body in the artistic context is gestural by default, since gestures are a corporeal language for communicating attitude and emotions. Training the body in preparation for or in support of artistic undertaking implies a nuts-and-bolts technical foundation, the practical bedrock that should support and empower expressive potential. Yet the technical and the artistic seem to conflict. In this workshop I will offer practical examples of both gestural and functional movement, and show how we might support expressivity in the creative process and in performance.

 

11:15 - 13:15 : Enquiring Beyond Form - internal/external adaptation
Taught by: Francesca Pedullá
“(…)but the exterior of a living thing, what else is it but the eternal  manifestation of the interior? The exterior is so finely tuned to the internal construct in all its variety and delicate complexity, that it is itself destined to become internalised, because the two qualities of internal and external are in a direct and permanent relationship, whether in a state of repose or dynamic movement (…)” J.W.Goethe
 
How can I differentiate the perception of the multiple actions-reactions of the body while it is moving? How does individual morphology influence our experience? How can I use and specify the role of my structures to absorb, resist, push, pull, get closer, get away? How do we share the moment? How do we share space?

 

Lunch 13:30 - 14:30

15:00 - 17:00 : Composing complexity: a constellation of voice, rhythm and layered movement patterns
Co-Taught by: Nuria Bowart, Kerwin Barrington
“Complexity is a fabric, (complexus: that which is woven together) of heterogeneous constituents that are inseparably associated. 
Complexity poses the paradox of the one and the many. Complexity is the fabric of events, actions, interactions, retroactions, determination, and chance that constitute our phenomenal world.

Complexity is mess, ambiguity, uncertainty and disorder.”
Edgar Morin, On Complexity, p.6

Hi. Welcome to this lived experience. It has already begun. Here we are, meeting in collective emergence. Let’s weave a constellation of music and movement through prompts and play; layering rhythm, voice and dance. As we create variations and move in and out of fractals, we will facilitate collective composition. We will work solo, in small groups and as a whole to develop sensitivity and capacity for complexity. 
 

Until we see each other in person, you are invited to listen to this playlist as much as you can.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0JXkf68RkjammjtVPCC3Bg?si=hzPIoWq7TG219bPv43-LBQ&pi=fHCjBVJ_Rkef6

17:15 - 19:15 : TO-GATHER
Teacher: Claire Turner Reid

Weave yourself into an exploration of the seasonality of human motion. Just as the seasons on earth are induced by the tilted spin axis and orbit of the planet around the sun, we will explore the phenomena of combined tilt and rotation in human movement. How might we orient ourselves to the integrated processes that create movement through space? With the frame of the autumn as a season of gathering, we will investigate the phenomena of foltation and osculation as patterns that invite good assemblage and united agreements. Dance with design, and be with the season.
 

PHASE Two - Fractalicious
Wed Oct 7 to Oct 11

9:00 - 11:00 : RE-SOUND
Teacher - Claire Turner Reid
Play and play again with frequencies. In this workshop we will explore what resonance means in a human body. In movement, how can we attune to frequency, match a frequency, and then take a ride on the amplified wave? How can two become an even greater one? What happens when we disturb a system? How can chaos be reorganized into harmony, again and again? In cycles of locomotion, how can we sequence our alignment with both our structure and with forces? We will play with oscillations, pendulums, and waves to find chronological sequencing. Let movement echo through and beyond.

​

​

11:15 - 13:15 : ANATOMY of THE JUMP
Teacher: Francesca Pedullá
Jumping is a close cousin to walking. It loves risk and likes to spend some time in the air, growing ephemeral wings.
During the workshop we will observe some fundamental principles of walking biomechanics and how the bones and softer tissues collaborate to provide resilient tensegrity that allows us to break free of the earth’s gravitational field and experience the ephemeral joy of weightless flight.
We will review timing and coordination, alignment and safety protocols for shock absorption and propulsion and we will discuss how we can turn gravitational forces to our favour.

 

Lunch 13:30 - 14:30

​
 

15:00 - 17:00 - Relational Ecology - building, testing, and inventing playful strategies in support of dancing with others
Co-Taught by: Francesca Pedullá, Frey Faust
Using various technical approaches to creating, evaluating and responding to how we inhabit mutually defined space, we will examine, qualify and juggle with timing, tone, rhythm, sound, weight, speed, intention, metaphor, character and what ever else arises from the intent to join with and celebrate the human capacity for creative play.

 

17:15 - 19:15 : Finding Wings to Fly
Teacher: Nuria
As human beings we communicate and connect in relationship with one another and the nonhuman world around us as we access and utilize tools to support our needs. The shoulder girdle is the main way that we engage in these defining activities. With the central role of the shoulder in mind, we will study it's structure and anatomical  relationship to the lungs and heart, its capacity to support us when we are upside-down, it's role in lifting the pelvis when we jump, and it's power to express emotions, tell stories and articulate design. We will engage in partner games, dance solo and together, and move in nature. This class will involve balancing on hands and arms, jumping (aka flying) and touch. 
Through moving the arms with respect to their design we can pump our fluid systems to support greater health, as well as expand our sense of ‘reach’ and capacity in this world.
Please bring a long sleeve shirt, and wear comfortable, pliable clothes.


LAB CLASSES: Aaron Birk / Michelle Nayeli Bovier 

 

CONFERENCE/SCREENING: Mika Lillit Lior, PhD

Conference and Lab Class Times to be announced...