Transmission Workshop

Amala Dianor’s work is driven by movement. He deconstructs hip hop and traditional African dances, channeling the energy he finds there into contemporary dance. This workshop taught by Amala Dianor will be in the same vein, allowing its participants to immerse themselves in his hybrid choreographic universe.

Initially Dianor works with the students on essentials of hip hop dance, then expands the work into contemporary dance techniques, while also exploring the students’ ability to tell their own stories, moving beyond technique. He explores these questions: *How do we use movement parameters, finding meaning and the contours of choreographic composition? How do we “own” a proposition, whatever it may be?

Learning a physical phrase Goals:

• unison dancing of a series of movements
• physical commitment while respecting continuity of movement
• working on memorization as a process
• working on listening within the group and to each other

The dance phrase is the starting point, the base for a series of exercises and for considering the adaptation of movement to sidestep any difficulty.

Added to the phrase is the idea of the collective:

• work on the concept of weight and of contact with the others, - finding different holding and support points
• group awareness and listening
• responsiveness

These approaches allow the students to establish connections between different dances, helping them to find their own dance but also finding their places within the group, being fully aware of it. The students learn, practice, work together, creating, memorizing and reviving a piece while experiencing its process from beginning to end.

The workshop will be conducted in English and participants are expected to have sufficient knowledge of English.

The photo used is for illustration only.