Earth- and waterdance - Contact improvisation in water

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Contact improvisation (CI) is a partner dance form emerging from sharing physical contact in a playful cooperative way. The movers let the physical forces such as mass, momentum, friction, inertia, lead them into the unknown. As no one decides where to go, they engage deeply in a non verbal communication, where they listen to which dance wants to grow at the present moment. This a great experience of abandon and presence on the physical, emotional and spiritual level!

In this workshop you can discover the magic of improvisation mostly in water but also on earth, so that you will deal with the natural force of both elements.

The warm water invites you to let go and to experiment an organic and fluid way of moving. You learn how to play with its resistance and dynamic, how to transition between following the waves and making soft and clear propositions. You go into aquatic and subaquatic explorations, experience effortless breathing and play with the balance between weight and weightlessness. On land you also learn how to let yourself fall, how to stay in graceful flow or dynamic stillness, falling into motion.

Approach: you will mainly learn improvisation principles and ways to offer a good and safe support in movement.  There will be lots space for duets and group dance, in music or in silence.

Manuela Blanchard (from Switzerland) has taught contact improvisation and new dance for the past 10 years after having trained intensively and performed in synchronised swimming, contemporary dance, butoh, physical theatre, clown, yoga, BMC, GaGa (and more!) for the past 25 years. Discovering improvised dance touched a very profound core in her, and led her to meet great teachers and to continue to explore the form with others. Manuela is also a water body therapist, trained in WATSU®, WaterDance® (both practitionner) and “Healing Dance” ("Basic", "Advanced" and "Shape and Space"). Her love for contact improvisation and aquatic bodywork has brought her to develop "Contact improvisation in water" as her personal aquatic language and teach it in Switzerland and abroad. More about her dance background in the profile page.

Next Workshops:                        
-  Mystic Waterdance: aquatic journeys and tantric meditations
- other workshops: see calendar.

If you want to invite me (or us) to teach CI in water in your place, please contact me, I would be pleased to come: I need a warm swimmimng pool, min. 32-33°C, 1m30 deep, minimum 40m2, a dance studio or gym... and lovely people!

DOCUMENTATION
- Article in Contact Quaterly about CI in water
- Blog with workshops experiences and some pictures.

Videos:
- NEW! "Silkies" with Manou Blanchard and Collin Leach in the lake near Berlin (Film: Dan Farberoff)
- Waterdances at Magic Water, during a workshop of Manou in Auroville
"Liquids in Motion": Duett with Manou Blanchard and Guillaume Laplane
"Underwater": video from a class in Moscow edited by Sasha Girshon
- AQUASINCERE/WELLENBRECHERIN, Film/dance performance in water with Manuela Blanchard and Joëlle Valterio
- "Fliegenschwimmen" de Claudia Waldner avec Joëlle Valterio et Manuela Blanchard (danse aquatique), cf www.claudiawaldner.com


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