Teachers (2018 edition)
Adrian Russi (CH)
Adrian Russi is a CI-teacher living in Switzerland and travelling all over Europe to teach and perform Contact and Free Improvisation. After his studies of New Dance at “bewegungs-art” in Freiburg/Germany he continued his education with many different teachers, among them Steve Paxton, Nancy Stark Smith and Nita Little. In his teaching he focuses on the technical aspects of movement as well as on matters of perception and on a creativity coming from a distinct body-awareness. For him the pleasure to play and a deep commitment are the basis for gaining the most possible in dancing CI. Besides this his […]
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K.J. Holmes (USA)
K.J. Holmes is an independent dance artist, singer, poet, actor and educator based in Brooklyn, New York. A master teacher and practitioner of contact/improvisations and somatic approaches to dance, theater and voice, Holmes is adjunct professor at New York University/Experimental Theatre Wing, The Juilliard School and Movement Research in NY, and travels worldwide teaching and performing. Somatics, Improvisation and the Poetics of Dance This course, designed for teachers, creators and performers in dance and theatre, will bring forth skills, tools and practical experience of somatic studies and improvisation through the experiential research of Body-Mind Centering (r), Contact Improvisation, and structures […]
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Charlie Morrissey (UK)
Charlie Morrissey is a UK based director/choreographer, performer, teacher, and researcher, and has been working in the field of performance for nearly 30 years. He creates large and small-scale site-specific and theatre and gallery based performance work in diverse contexts and locations; organises and collaborates in a variety of performance research projects; and performs and collaborates in the work of other performance makers. His work is informed by significant and ongoing working relationships with Steve Paxton, Siobhan Davies, Lisa Nelson, Kirstie Simson, Scott Smith, Katye Coe, K.J.Holmes, Andrea Buckley; Katie Duck and many others. Recent and upcoming projects include new […]
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Otto Akkenen (FIN)
Otto Akkanen is a dancer and dance teacher. He started dancing with CI and he probably finishes dancing with CI. His main teachers within world of CI have been (and still are) his fellow dancers in Helsinki community with whom he is organising finnish CI festival (every february for 10 years). Otherwise he has been influenced by a huge amount of people, music, books and surroundings. And of course the 3 year dance studies and 2 years master studies of teaching contemporary dance. Cut Corners Feet and legs, how are we activating ourselves? (This leg is not mine, the leg […]
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Cleo Laigret (FR)
Set designer and danseur, and co-creator of the dance company « Les Monstres » in 2012. He is currently conducting researches about the continuity / discontinuity in the movement. His experience in performance was born in contact improvisation and Butoh dance as well as in contemporary art, and then grows with regular laboratories and in situ performances. He trained with Nita Little, Gyohei Zaitsu, Stephanie Auberville, Yumi Fujitani, Daniel Lepkov, Adrian Russi, Jules Beckman among others. He participates in collaborative projects with Gyohei Zaitsu, Zack Bernstein, Didier Silhol… He teaches in regular classes in Paris as well as worshops in […]
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Artem Markov (RU)
I am an architect in love with CI. I’ve been dancing CI since 2006, and teaching since 2008 in Russia and Europe. My teachers are Angela Doniy, Yaniv Mintzner, Ilona Kenova, Kris Leahner, Charlie Morrisey, Nancy Stark Smith, and others… Since 2014 I have been studying at the Institute for Integrative Bodywork and Movement Therapy with Linda Hartley (IBMT). Before CI I danced modern, jazz, contemporary, practiced yoga. Injury of the back, which occurred after many years of dancing, led me to CI. This made me look for a healing form of movement that gives power. I had to re-explore […]
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Lucía Sànchez (ES)
Since 2007 I direct and teach in my own studio lapuertaroja, in Madrid. I started teaching Contemporary Dance and Pilates in 2008 as well as CI at lapuertaroja and Flying Low in Estudio3. I’ve also been teaching in different places around Spain and Europe facilitating workshops and teaching in festivals (such as “Contact Meets Contemporary” (Germany 2016 and 2017), “Madrid Contact Improvisation Festival” (2017) and at the “Micro-Festival de danza improvisada de Madrid” (2013)). As a dancer I’m a troupe member at the dance and music improvisation Company Omos Uno since 2012. Also worked with the choreographer Cindy Van Acker, Mamen Agüera or Jesús Rubio. As […]
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Nadja Schwarzenbach (DE)
I am a CI dancer, teacher and improviser based in Berlin. I passionately practice CI since 2006. My sense for touch and the understanding of the human body moving has been nurtured in many ways. Important was my three years natural medicine training, including different massage and bodywork styles and attending klein technique and axis syllabus classes. Currently I am training to become an Ilan Lev practitioner. Crucial inspirations for my CI practice come from learning and dancing with Joerg Hassmann, Mirva Mäkinnen and Nancy Stark Smith. I assisted Daniel Werner and Joerg Hassmann for five years in their CI […]
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Caterina Mocciola (IT)
Caterina Mocciola (IT/AUS) is an independent performer, teacher and producer, also an interpreter and a translator. Her practice is based on Contact Improvisation and Composition while related disciplines, such as Feldenkrais, BMC, Viewpoints, Release Technique, Body Weather and Kung Fu play a strong influence in her approach to teaching and movement. She has taught regular classes, workshops, also at festivals and Universities, in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, and Europe. For over a decade she lived in Australia, for two years in Berlin, where she taught at Tanzfabrik and Marameo, co-organized the Berlin Underscore and ECITE 2017. She has now returned […]
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