In this class open to all levels and experiences, we will bring the value of agility and tactility to awaken our inner CATS. We will work on conscious duetting by using rolling point, sloughing, bridging, yielding, anchoring, pressure modulation, internal expansion and weigh-sharing to sharpen our physical awareness and dexterity.
We will explore how the physical skillsets can expand through indulging in the range of our senses, the energetic circumferences of our bones, noticing emotions and tapping into imagination. Can imagination guide us to inhabit our bodies of knowledge and generosity? This leads us into dreaming the body and the extensions of our bodies as a way of expanding and exceeding the physical body. Can the heart as an organ play a part in our dancing together?
This warm-up will invite us to dive into perceptual possibilities of what it feels like to awaken and develop our imagination as a way of bridging the unconscious to the conscious. Can imagination guide us to dream our ancient bodies of otherworldly wisdom? We will work on enhancing personal suppleness and virtuosity through short improvisational duets, tuning into the perception within the group, and utilizing the group's intelligence.
Featured Artists
Arash Khakpour ·
Arash Khakpour (آرش خاکپور) is a dancer and choreographer from Tehran and is privileged to be a dance artist based in the Coast Salish Territory (Vancouver). Arash has been practicing dance and performance for the past 15 years and has been a company member of the EDAM Contact Improvisation ensemble since 2017. He tends to invest in the nuances of prejudices in the body as a way of inviting the unconscious to the conscious, and as a doorway to confront unknown emotions. He sees dance as a process of physical, emotional and spiritual discovery and a mode of transformation. He works with dance as a language that researches the human condition through mythical, historical, social, political and existential interpretations. As a first-generation immigrant, he continuously considers what healing he can bring to the land and communities he works with. He is building a culture of relationality and reciprocity that celebrates the multiplicity of presences and approaches. Arash is the co-founder and artistic director of the dance-theatre-film company The Biting School (https://www.bitingschool.com/) (alongside his brother Aryo Khakpour).