25 – 29 June 2022
Participants: Max 35 per shift
5 days retreat in nature conceived as a meditative / contemplative space. It is possible to participate in only one of the shift, two or all. For people with sufficient experience in Contact Improvisation who can comfortably experience the Jam dimension
Silence
The main and constitutive element of the retreat, silence opens our sensitivity and listening, essential elements of contact improvisation: for this reason, in the silent area of the retreat where the platform is located we will try to keep it constantly. In the rest of the retreat area it will be possible to speak from the end of the morning silence circle to the beginning of the evening silence circle. During the night we will donate the entire retreat area to silence, dance, listening.
The Jam of Contact Improvisation
The main practice of retreat, the Jam is designed for people with previous experience in contact improvisation who intend to explore, in addition to the relational, technical, dynamic movement aspects that characterize CI, also the meditative, spiritual, emotional and inner research aspect of the practice.
Fire
There will be a fire that we will light every evening after dinner. The fire area will be for us a place of regeneration, sharing, listening. Around the fire it will be possible to sing, dance, play, recite, read poems.
Workshop
The afternoon workshop will be conducted by one or more focalizers and organized during the retreat in their total freedom and creativity. The proposed experiences will be the result of their collaboration and their peculiar reading of the group. They will not be contact improvisation lessons, but proposals for listening, exploration, meditations, bodywork or moving practices that may or may not provide for contact.
Program
Platform
08.15 / 09.00 Meditation
10.00 / 10.30 Silent Circle
10.30 Silent Jam
15.00 / 16.00 Word Circle
16.00 / 19.00 Workshop
21.00 Silent Circle
21.30 Jam
00.00 – 24.00 Silence in the platform area and silent camp area
21.00 – 10.30 Silence in all areas of the retreat
Meals
09.00 / 10.00 Breakfast
13.00 / 14.30 Lunch
19.30 / 21.00 Dinner
Focalizers
25 - 29 June 2022
Britta Schönbrunn
Britta Schönbrunn is a freelance dancer, moving in the field of performance, improvisation, CI and cultural education. Dedicated to yoga/meditation as a meaningful principle influences her teachings and artistic work. She approaches the body as a receptive/active and participative system, in constant resonance with its environment. She is interested in exploring and refining various types of perception, particularly the kinesthetics and phenomenological, as tools for making choices in transmitting dance knowledge/physical practices and in artistic processes. The aim of her work is to connect on inner resources/impulses of the moment, awaken ones own individual movement potential, by stimulating the physical, emotional and mindful layers of the body: journey through listening-sensing–imaging–exploring. Britta has danced in several productions of international choreographers e.g. as Anna Huber, Christof Winkler, Robert Wilson. She has created interdisciplinary projects with visual and music artists in Europe/USA/Japan/Russia. As a lecturer of somatic and contemporary dance techniques, she has worked at different academies for the performing arts, currently at Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt. She holds a Master of Arts in contemporary dance education. Since 2006 she engages in intercultural projects for young generations as a facilitator/coach in the context of Kita/School. Her first encounter with Contact Improvisation was in 1993 in New York. Since then the practice shifted gradually deeper into her artistic practice. Significant teachers were Nancy Topf, Daniel Lepkoff, Lucia Walker, Scott Wells, Martin Keogh, Ingo Reulecke and Dieter Heitkamp. During the corona pandemic, Britta focused on exploring the interrelationship between the body and nature through different formats and with diverse target groups. The main topic of these exchanges was investigating and zooming in, on what nature spaces ask of a moving body and how a sense of inter-being is created. This on-going research has been funded by the Hessischen Kulturstiftung, Dis-Tanz-Solo, Stadt Frankfurt and the residence program of Tanzplattform Rhein-Main.
Elisa Ghion
I am convinced that every aspect of us is trainable: the physical body, the perceptual body, the collective body. As well as the imaginative and emotional one. Just find the right training. My research as a dancer, teacher, human being moves on these levels, knowing that everyone is intercommunicating and at the same time can be investigated individually. It is a question of choosing where to pay attention, at any given moment. Studio Contact Improvisation since 2004, I have been teaching it since 2010, mixing it with other movement practices, daily life, the books I read, the conversations I meet, the people who leave their mark. I consider it fundamental to deal with the earth. Whether it's my father's vegetable garden, the dance floor, self-confidence, deep friendships. Without it you don't stand, don't dance, you don't get good results. Since 2018 I have been co-founder of the CorPoetica ASD association, which works for the dissemination, study and practice of the disciplines related to movement and body intended as a starting point for one's personal growth. CorPoetica supports and promotes the development of a body intelligence that integrates with a more conscious use of cognitive processes.
Musicians
Emelie Sjöström and Linus Lundquist
Linus and Emelie are two professional musicians and sound healing practitioners from Sweden. Emelie has been studying classical percussion and chamber music at Örebro university in Sweden and is now freelancing with different artist and projects. Linus has been studying drums since childhood but changed his course five years ago to become fully dedicated to bansuri and Indian classical music. He has been studying with Igino and Virginia (Italy) and has been visiting India for the last five years deepening his knowledge with well-known gurus and musicians. Linus and Emelie has been studying the art of sound healing at Svaram Musical Instruments and Research in Auroville, India. They have been arranging sound bath sessions in yoga studios and retreats in Sweden.
Traveling information
Plane: Nearest airport: Perugia and Firenze
Car: The place is 40 minutes by car from the Arezzo highway exit 1 hr from Perugia
Train: The closest railway station is that of Arezzo, easily reachable from the stations of Florence and Rome
By bus: The place is not directly accessible by public transport but we can pick you up in Anghiari. There are buses from Arezzo, Perugia, Cesena
More detailed information will be provided following registration
Prices and registration procedures
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