© Emilia Milewska
Bodies at Work. Esse Vanderbruggen & Emmi Väisänen / Not Standing (Alexander Vantournhout)
Explore the balance between giving and receiving, carrying and being carried, through simple movements such as handshakes.
This workshop introduces you to the hybrid movement language of Not Standing/Alexander Vantournhout. His oeuvre is influenced by dance techniques, martial arts, circus, yoga, anatomy and the animal world. Two elements recur in his artistic work: the search for the creative and kinetic potential of the body, and the exploration of the many aspects of the relationship between artist and object.
This workshop by Esse Vanderbruggen and Emmi Väisänen (Not Standing) focuses on partnering, with an emphasis on the creation of movement: how choices, attention and reflection shape physical interaction. We explore the balance between giving, receiving and sharing, and how the principle of carrying and being carried develops from attunement and trust. These principles are inherent in Not Standing's work and will serve as a guide throughout the workshop.
We start with simple frameworks, such as handshakes, which help to focus contact, timing and intention. By observing what happens, and why, we gradually build a shared language. When does a point of support become clear and how does an offer become legible and reliable? We then shift the focus to the creative process: how material emerges from research, repetition and feedback, and how decisions are made during the creative process. All this in dialogue with the working methods applied within Not Standing/Alexander Vantournhout.
Practical
➤ language: ENG – NL available for support
➤ Open to anyone who wants to move. No dance experience necessary. Age: 15+.
➤ Recommended: comfortable clothing
➤ As partnering is an important part of Alexander Vantournhout and Not Standing's movement language, there will be physical contact between participants.
© Emilia Milewska
Emmi Väisänen (FI/BE) is a contemporary dancer based in Brussels, Belgium. Trained at Turku Conservatory (Finland) and S.E.A.D (Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance, Austria), she has collaborated with choreographers like Alexandra Waierstall, Julia Schwarzbach, Kinga Jaczewska and Alice Van der Wielen-Honinckx. Notably, Emmi has worked extensively with ECCE/Claire Croizé & Etienne Guilloteau and Not Standing/Alexander Vantournhout for whom she’s been involved both as a performer and research collaborator for multiple creations such as SCREWS, Through the Grapevine, Snakearms, Contre-jour, VanThorhout, Foreshadow, every_body and Frames.
Emmi has shared her expertise through working as an outside eye and teaching dance and repertory workshops in different organisations and theaters in Europe. She has also been teaching partnering workshops together with Alexander Vantournhout at P.A.R.T.S/Belgium, Tanzwerkstatt/Germany, Deltebre danza/Spain, Summer Intensive/ Lithuania and Impulstanz/Austria.
© Romain Tissot
After graduating from P.A.R.T.S. in 2012, Esse Vanderbruggen (BE) started working as a freelance performer, outside eye and movement advisor for several dance, theater and circus companies in Belgium and abroad such as Vera Tussing, Kubilai Khan Investigations, Not Standing/Alexander Vantournhout, Petite Foule Production, Collectif Malunés, Isabella Soupart, Compagnie Monica and Lee/Vakulya. Since 2012, she's been closely collaborating with Vera Tussing, joining her research on tactility, collectivity & consent in dance and performance. As a performer, rehearsal director and outside eye, Esse currently collaborates with Not Standing (Contre-Jour, SCREWS, Foreshadow, every_body, Souvenirshop), Petite Foule Production (Le Tir Sacré, Bataille Générale, Âmes coming), Colletif Malunés and theater FroeFroe / Tina Heylen (Fall).
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Pay what you can (€0 / €5 / €10)