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TEACHERS & ARTISTS
ANDRZEJ WOŹNIAK (PL)
In his teaching Andrzej focuses on improvisation, subjectivity and agency, mobility and group scores. Failure and mistakes are his lifelong fields of research. Besides his dance practice which he has been persistently engaged in for the past 15 years, he works in the field of literature (published debut book with poetry in 2022) and music as a frontman of a punk band ułła. Woźniak occasionally performs and creates choreography work for stage. Andrzej studied Body-Mind Centering® at Embody Move (UK) and Moveus (Germany). He practiced Zen Shiatsu bodywork for a couple of years. The work of Axis syllabus has been an important influence for him too. His main influences in terms of CI have been: Joerg Hassmann, Daniel Werner, Yaniv Mintzer, Katja Mustonen, Nancy Stark Smith, Daniela Schwartz, Ray Chung and Adrian Russi among others. Woźniak names following artists as his main influences in the performance/improvisation/choreography work: Barbara Dilley, Nina Martin, Sara Shelton Mann, Keith Hennesy, Maria F. Scaroni, Maria Stokłosa, Weronika Pelczyńska, Deborah Hay, Peter Pleyer, Andrew Wass.
INTENSIVE: THROWING BONES AND CATCHING THEM
The material we are going to practice is a resultant of findings coming from the work of body-mind centering and contact improvisation. We will spend a good amount of time tracing the bones, learning about their location, volume, shape, relationship with one another and their kinesthetic potential. Our primary tools will be touch and movement, both being equally significant and complementary. As regards movement, the soloing will be emphasized and encouraged, as one of my strong beliefs is that being attuned to oneself highly increases the probability of having an interesting duet (or any other constellation). Technique wise, you can expect (re)learning the ways of sharing weight through the bony structures of pelvis and shoulder girdle. We will for sure explore different entrances and exits, including jumps and throws. Improvising together within proposed structures (scores) will be an important part of integrating the work.
The intensive is designed to suit and challenge folks with little dance experience as well as more seasoned dancers.
JULI GABOR (HU/AU)
Is a holistic movement educator and bodyworker. Juli is a Bachelor in Danish Psychomotor Therapy/Relaxation Pedagogy, as well an Ilan Lev Method practitioner. Juli is active in the CI scene in Vienna, teaches in yearly groups alongside Matan Levkowich in the Movement Lab in Vienna, curating the Stuwer jam, hosting the Wuk Jam, organizing various CI events. She has over 20 years of experience in CI and other dance forms, teaching, performing internationally. The most important keywords for Juli are EASE, JOY & PLAYFULNESS - she seeks to practice these qualities in all aspects of her life as well in her teachings and bodywork sessions.
INTENSIVE: RELAXING TO FLYING
I have the best dances if I give myself time to rest before it gets wild. Letting myself recuperate and rejuvenate by taking the time to just be on the floor, roll around endlessly, alone or with a partner or exchange a lengthy bodywork before dancing. After this grounding and restful time, the energy starts to rise and I feel fully in my body, fully in my senses, my reflexes are fully awake and my state of the mind is different.
In today’s fast pace world with all the sensory input I think most of us are kind of overstimulated and stressed out after a day and we build up a lot of tension. And this tension distracts sensation.
Also with age the need for recovery time and softness is increasing. The wish for soft and sensitive touch even in an acrobatic dance is crucial.
In this intensive I would like to invite you into this experience from several different angles. Minimalistic solo times, bodywork exchange, meditation, long low-slow-flow into technical exercises and into flying and into dancing.
I take my inspiration from different somatic practices, one of them is the Ilan Lev Method, an Israeli bodywork and movement therapy method that I am practicing.
Let us slow down together and have beautiful dances!
ŽUBRA K. ŽUBRETOVSKÁ (SVK)
I have danced since my young age. Starting with classical ballroom dances, I slowly danced my way over to modern dance and improvisation, contact improvisation(CI), somatic practice and Authentic Movement (AM).
I have completed a three year program of Mindful Body in Prague which enriched my knowledge and experience with Laban Movement Analysis, Bartenieff Fundamentals, BMC, Dance therapy, Eco-somatics and other. I was an external student at the Faculty of AMU in Prague taking mainly classes of instant composition. I have expanded my dancing skills and education in different somatic programs and CI workshops all over the Europe, where from I take an inspiration and motivation for my work.
I co-teaches at the program of Mindful Body (Czech), I am a founder and a lecturer of somatic programs Vivid Body and SOMatically in Body (Slovakia). I am a co-founder of a dance group of Improvisit (Czech). Apart from that I teach at the University of Conscious Life (Slovakia) where I explain and demonstrate the personality and relation behavior patterns through dance, movement and the principles of CI.
WORKSHOP: THE FLUID GRACEFULNESS OF THE SPINE
Our spine is one of the first bones formed in our body. It is particularly this bone, that helps us to come to this world due to one of our neurocellular patterns – the spinal pattern. The spinal pattern, also called the head-tail connectivity, is supported by all the previous developmental patterns yet, mainly, by the mouthing pattern. The spinal pattern is clearly reflected in the movement of the fish. No wonder, as the baby‘s home is the watery world of the womb before it enters the world of earth and air.
In this workshop I would like to invite you to discover and experience the fluidity of your spine originating from your prenatal period and thus to implement this natural quality of fluent movement into your dance.
First we will recall the memory of the fluidity of our spine on the ground. Using bodywork as a tool for connecting with our anatomical structure of the spine to help us literally embody our own spine and become it. Afterwards, applying a gentle touch we will awake and stimulate the mouthing and spinal patterns to initiate our fluid spine movement.
Later, after discovering and experiencing the floating quality of our spine through the air and on the ground, we can enter the pool and experience our head-tail connectivity – the fish movement in the watery world for an authentic experience of the fluid gracefulness of our spines. I invite you to undertake the journey of your spine from the world of ground and air back to the world of water.
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BARBORA FOXIE KICZKOVÁ (SVK)
Although she has been working in the field of counseling psychology and psychotherapy for ten years, her great passion since childhood has been dancing. She started at the ballet studio, later moved to modern dance, but mostly her dance practice lies in contemporary dance and martial arts. She collaborated with different choreographers on different performances. Currently she focuses her dance practice on contact improvisation, creating performances merging CI with other dance styles, addressing psychological, social and environment aspects. Lately she is working on different project in Vienna, she is a member of the KIT Ensemble in Vienna and travels to various contact improvisation events.
WORKSHOP: FLUID BEINGS
In the environment we are all coming from we will immerse into the unique dynamics and possibilities of movement. Remembering our aquatic memories, embryonic stages, when ours bodies were made up of fluids, we will explore Contact Improvisation in the fluid element of water. In this new way of relating to gravity we can bring to our mind and body original fluidity.
In the workshops I would like to offer you some suggestions and tools to discover: How to develop an organized and relaxed structure in water. How to use the resistance of water, its support, and let the water to dance us. How we can become a fluid moving support with clear and soft touch, giving impulses to our floating partner. But also how to ground yourself in water. How to trust and use our breath to dive into underwater contact improvisations and develop confidence in disorientation. How to create dynamic moments and ride on waves with partner(s)...
I experienced that this potential of movement in water is bringing a meditative state, deepening sense of connection and presence. By dancing in the water we are entering another space-time dimension.
But the best is that through this practice our land-dances are also getting more relaxed, weightless, sensitive and juicy. After water experience, we can bring the graceful flow into the studio and feel the waves of the air supporting us and dancing us.
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MAGDALÉNA TAKÁČOVÁ (SVK)
I am a dance movement therapist, TRE® (trauma release exercise) Provider, Craniosacral therapy provider, CI teacher and embodiment/somatic/authentic movement facilitator. Since 2019 I have co-created and held Movement LAB space in Bratislava, constantly building up CI community in Slovakia. My dance background is folk dance, modern dance, contemporary and contact improvisation. I have a lot of experience with performance (folk dancer, inclusive theater with people on wheel chair, contemporary performances and instant composition). As one part of me is a therapist, I use body, movement, sensetions, imagination, meditation and heart-opening practice as a gateway to soulful experience and connection to our higher self and wisdom.
WORKSHOP: REMEMBERING
Imagine that you stand by the lake.. How does it feel?
Imagine that you sense the water on the top of the toe.. How does it feel?
Imagine that you enter the water and the water enters you. How does it feel?
Do you remember that feeling?
I will invite you to the realm of unknown and yet so familiar. We will awaken our imagination not just in our minds but in our bodies. Body does remember. All the lives we have lived, all the experience we have collected, all the connections we have had, all the movements we have made.. Entering the lake would be our gateway to remember again how is it to be in the very antient connection with creatures seen and not seen, with water and land, with air and fire. Can we dance with it all? Can we remember the dance of our soul? Let´s remember again..
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CONTACT
floatinfestival@gmail.com | +421 911 453 111 (Magdalena) | +421 917 406 759 (Barbora)