This workshop for dancers, musicians, actors, performance artists or movers of any kind will explore three components of the performance experience, group improvisation through games, narrative development in a solo creation, and practice of presence. DanceAction’s artists Carmen Caceres and Lauren Hlubny and guest collaborator Alessia Della Casa will be leading each segment of this workshop. Over three days, participants will use game structures to access group improvisation, research and develop solo narratives, and deepen their practice in performance presence. This experience is made possible by the Center at West Park, Artist in Residence Program. It will serve as an incubator for ideas for DanceAction’s latest performance piece, Welcome to Imagi*Nation: Part 3, which will premier on May 25th, 2022.
COVID-19 SAFETY GUIDELINES
Per New York City's vaccine mandate, all attendees must show proof of a COVID-19 vaccine in order to be admitted to this event. Attendees will also be required to wear face masks while inside the shared spaces at The Center at West Park.
The Workshop
Movement
Improvisation
through Games
A Practice for Presence
Your Solo Narrative
This movement improvisation workshop will invite participants to immerse in a playful experience, exploring theater and movement games, structured dance improvisations, score-building exercises, partnering approaches, and open dance. By navigating these activities progressively, participants will gain awareness of the people they are moving with. They will experience clarity and ease in decision-making scenarios and develop a sense of alertness and a strong presence in spontaneous situations. They will also integrate the concept of “Yes and!” within the group practice of dance improvisation and enhance their listening skills in dance.
This practice is designed to share movement experiences based on improvisation and personal body language to achieve a more profound expression of one's physicality. It questions the state of the body in performance, looking at 'presence' as the essence of it all, and it explores stillness as a powerful tool for awareness in movement. Through improvisation, how can we manage the connection with the present moment while linked to our body memory and launched towards discovering unknown places of the future? The artist suggests and shares several approaches to stillness and movement to gain awareness of the body and its mind. This approach explores "states of the body" for a given time period, where participants access specific body dynamics, sensations, and perceptions. Improvisation is used both as a tool for instant decision-making, allowing the investigation of a broad spectrum of qualitative connection with the present moment and a resource to access a personal sensitivity and sensuality.
Apply tools gained through DanceAction’s Workshop to craft your own solo narrative. Incorporating elements of dance, theatre, and ritual, learn how to utilize your experiences to inform a solo creation. A solo can happen within the context of a character, an autobiographical show, an ensemble performance--or even a moment in a work by another choreographer. Inescapable elements of you exist, and these are your strengths. Utilize the facets of storyboarding to enrich your practice’s capability to not only build worlds but make those worlds accessible to an audience. You are your body of work, a conglomeration of memories. How is that body its own story? How can it be taken on a journey? How can you invite others in along the way?
Workshop Schedule
Monday to Wednesday
9 am to 12 pm
Monday, April 11:
“Movement Improvisation through Games” - Carmen Caceres
“A Practice for Presence” - Alessia Della Casa
Tuesday, April 12:
“A Practice for Presence” - Alessia Della Casa
“Movement Improvisation through Games” - Carmen Caceres
Wednesday, April 13:
“Your Solo Narrative” - Lauren Hlubny
“A Practice for Presence” - Alessia Della Casa
“Connecting the Dots” - Dance Improvisation JAM moderated by Alessia, Carmen, and Lauren
Meet The Artists
Carmen Caceres
"Movement Improvisation through Games"
Alessia Della Casa
“A Practice for Presence”
Lauren Hlubny
“Your Solo Narrative”