Return to current and future Alternative Technique Classes
The following classes have previously been offered at series 8:08.
Collages
Louise Bedard Danse
The workshop explores, cuts up, rearranges and experiences images as a way to express movement and the integration of visual arts with dance. Participants create collage from images they bring and engage in the creation of visual and physical art. Presented in association with DanceWorks.
A daring dancer and choreographer with an uncommon style, Louise Bédard is a dominant figure on the Canadian contemporary dance scene. She has created more than twenty works, from solos to sextets and from short to evening-length pieces. She has united the vocations of dancer and choreographer with finesse and discernment, constructing and deconstructing in a constant effort to reinvent the very essence of movement.
Saturday November 19 12:30-3:30pm
Dancemakers Centre for Creation
Fee: $50
Workshop open to those with dance experience and enthusiasm for all forms of art.
Image into Performance
Viv Moore
Working with images to creatively mine personal history, events and relationships, we will discover an alternate movement vocabulary, which may or may not lead into performance. Bring comfortable clothes, and photos, material, poetry, anything that you feel passionate about or have a strong connection to. We will identify individual subject matter and explore through improvisation exercises, discovering personal and resonant movement.
Viv Moore’s dance training began in her native England and continued while pursuing adventure and extensive travel. She has been choreographing, dancing and acting since 1979 in Sweden, Australia, England and Canada. Viv presently clogs with the Half- Crown Cloggers, sings with the Boychoir of Lesbos, acts with Theatre Rusticle, dances with Luscious Bellies, and teaches Dance and Movement at Humber College.
November 27, 2005 • 10am-3pm
Dovehouse Dance Ballroom
Fee: $55
Workshop open to those with movement experience in theatre, dance or other performance related forms.
Finding the Fluid Floor
Susan Lee
Creative and fluid floor work is an important tool to have in every contemporary dancer’s arsenal. This workshop will offer techniques to help participants expand their dynamic range of motion on the floor, find fluidity and ease of movement in the low and middle levels, and explore their own creative relationship with the floor. A warm-up technique class focused on teaching floor work skills will be followed by learning repertoire based on Susan’s choreographic work.
Susan Lee is a much-in-demand Toronto based dance artist who has originated roles in a multitude of dance works by artists including Kaeja d'Dance (company member since 1997), Holly Small, Maxine Heppner, Peter Chin, and Yvonne Ng. Susan has held a long interest in improvisation a creative tool and as a means of expression. Her most recent choreography "Salvador" was named as one of the top dance performances in 2004 by NOW Magazine.
December 3rd, 2005 • 12am-4pm
Dovehouse Dance Ballroom
Fee: $40
Workshop open to professional dancers and students in professional dance training programs.
Tone Modulation:
Playing and listening to the music of the muscles
Yves Candau
The main focus of this workshop is "tone modulation": paying attention to the flow of muscular tone in the body, as it tenses up and relaxes. It is something that is constantly happening whether we pay attention to it or not, but that we will observe, explore and refine. The context for this exploration will be through various situations of interaction with our environment. From precise minute exercises to open movement explorations, from postural work (standing or lying) where the body is (seemingly) still, to fast disorienting dances where one has to rely more on reflexes. We will explore how we rise and fall from the ground, how we go in and out of contact with a partner, and the kinesthetic communication that takes place while we are in contact.
Yves Candau initially trained in Aikido, and Karate. While working on his PhD in Mathematics and Cognitive Sciences, he discovered dance. He has since worked with Peter Chin, Rebecca Todd, Eryn Dace Trudell, Newton Moraes and Holly Small. His own work has been presented in France, Italy and Canada. Yves has been teaching Contact Improv since 2001, his approach is influenced by dance as well as his study of Aikido and Alexander Technique, and emphasizes awareness of mental and physical states.
February 18th and 19th, 2006
10am-1pm both days
Dovehouse Dance Ballroom
(Dovercourt House 2nd Floor)
Fee: $55, $50 if you register
by December 1st, 2005
Workshop open to those with movement experience in dance or martial arts.
Making Dances
Eryn Dace Trudell
March 4th and 5th, 2006
10am–5pm
Making Dances is geared towards anyone interested in the creative process of dance making. Interpreters, choreographers and dance enthusiasts will learn and create together in a spontaneous, non-judgmental, and playful environment. Each day will be divided into 3 components (Movement, Improvisation Scores and Setting Ideas) We will focus on essential aspects of creating a dance, such as developing personal vocabulary, clarifying themes, and determining structure. Bring an open mind, ideas that interest you, and any props, costumes, and creative tools you want to play with.
Eryn Dace Trudell has been dancing and choreographing for 13 years. With a BFA from Juilliard and traditional training in Graham, Limon and Ballet, her dance practice has developed in the domain of Improvisation and Contact Improvisation. Eryn has been practicing Skinner Releasing Technique for over a decade and is a Certified Teacher. She has a vast and celebrated repertoire of original choreography.
Location: Dovehouse Dance Ballroom
(805 Dovercourt Rd. 2nd Floor)
Fee: $95
Workshop is open to those with dance or movement experience.
Where are you
when you’re there
Dominique Porte
March 19th, 2006
10am–3:30pm
The technique class will be based on a combination of Cunningham and release techniques. Starting with simple exercises that gradually grow into more complex co-ordinations, we will use the flow of momentum in space. Between shapes and movement, the idea is to never stop the energy and use only what is necessary to push the movement farther and presence in space.
The afternoon workshop will be a combination of improvisation and composition. We will explore what your own way of moving is and how it could be combined with a phrase of movements choreographed by me. Other questions that will be asked: What are you presenting while dancing? What happens when you watch somebody else, while dancing, while watching? What happens if the watcher is close or far away? We will also explore the relationships of solos, duets, trios, witnesses and dancers.
Dominique Porte is the artistic director of her own company, Système D / Dominique Porte. Her works have won praise in Canada as well as in Europe and in New York, notably during the Festival international de nouvelle danse and at l’Agora de la danse (Montreal), at Ottawa’s Canada Dance Festival, at the Biennale du Val-de- Marne and at the Centre d’arts Vooruit (Gand, Belgium). In high demand, Porte is also involved in many projects outside her own company.
Location: Dovehouse Dance Ballroom
(Dovercourt House 2nd floor)
Fee: $60, or $15 for morning technique class only
Workshop open to professional students and dancers only.
Lucky 7 workshop
Tammy Forsythe
April 22, 2006
10am–3:00pm
The artist requests the participation of 7 interested individuals whom are interested in working with Forsythe's unique approach to creative process, movement and art. The workshop will focus on ideas surrounding Forsythe's landscape/environment, as set up in the Museum of Canadian Contemporary Art. The workshop will take place at the MOCCA. Participants will be encouraged to present some of the workshopped material during the evening's performance, however this is not mandatory.
Tammy Forsythe is a Montreal-based choreographer and performer who has been creating wild and provocative work since 1993. She has diverse interests in politics, visual art, and dance, has performed throughout Canada and in New York City, and has created many video installations and short films. She currently runs Tusket dance and the gallery Tusket space.
Tammy Forsythe's workshop has been cancelled. Series 8:08 apologises for any inconvenience.