Dynamics of Water and Fire - Contact Improv Tango

weekend 9 – 10 November 2024

Movement and dance workshop and a unique experience at different levels of perception. A return to the body that is created for movement, passion and diversity.

Contact improvisation, taichi and tango are movement and dance forms that focus on the relationship with the partner, the flow of movement between the partners and the circulation of energy between them. Using fluid dynamics as a visual metaphor, we combine the principles of each one of those. We will create a richer and liberating form: an open physical expression, free from superficial rules in which natural possibilities of movement are activated.

From the area of ​​tango we will use: clarity of the axis and the use of spirals, mutual balancing and the use of counterweight, rhythm and melody. From contact improvisation we will study: falling, getting up, connection with the ground, rising, conscious use of centripetal and centrifugal forces, the relationship of the free body to the ground.

There is no need to have any experience with these techniques. Any organic efficient movement has its own flow. In this workshop, we will deepen our own sense of the quality of water and fire as well as look for ways to interconnect these elements‘ qualities and pass them on between ourselves and our partners.

We learn to create a joint movement composition that transcends each one of us and belongs to both of us at the same time. Both of us influence it and we initially allow our proposals to overlap without any order. Only gradually are we moving towards harmony.

Contact improvisation and tango, are a range of diverse movements that are not routine nor monotonous. And just such movements are vital to our well-being. They also provide the ability to use touch as a communication tool. They expand the perception of oneself and the other. It will allow us to be creative, playful and grounded and find a way to congruence.

Seemingly physical movement work has a much broader scope. It deepens the understanding of one’s physical self and one’s physical relationship with society and nature. It builds an Ecological Body using knowledge of biomechanics, somatics and ecology.

The workshop is intended for everyone who is interested in movement and movement creation as a way of knowing, healing, communicating and enriching their life experience.

Javier Cura (Argentina)

Javier Cura is a teacher, visual artist, theater director and movement trainer who has admirably made a name for himself in the field of movement and dance. He has created many performances in Argentina, Colombia, USA, Italy, Germany and Indonesia. At the international level, he teaches contact tango, physical theater and contact improvisation. He is a great dancer who awakens an irresistible desire to move, dance and express with movement.

As a visionary and movement activist, he encourages all who are willing to listen to him to take care of their own vital movement needs. He believes that the all-round diverse movement we reintegrate into our lives has a huge impact on our emotional, physical and mental health, as well as on the ecology of the planet. He is currently working on the „Ecological Body“ project in collaboration with a UN environmental researcher.

“The main goal of my work is to encourage the student to find connections between: an objective view of the body; (physical elements, body scheme: axis, lines of force, center of gravity, anatomy, etc.) subjective understanding of the body (emotional, expressive, creative consciousness and self-perceived body image) and the body in relation to the other; (its community, social and spiritual nature). In each workshop, participants are able to link learned physical activities with their personal creative expression and re-own them. Whatever the participants perceive and experience in the transient context of the workshop can be and often is transferred to the outside world, to their personal social context. It enriches the dance of everyday life. „

The workshop takes place in Prague.

The workshop is intensive: Saturday and Sunday 9:30 – 17:30, and is open to everyone regardless of age or prior movement experience.

Price 175 EUR. To reserve a place the deposit of 55 EUR must be paid in advance.

Cena 155 EUR if the deposit is paid before 31 October.