Bengaluru is playing low-key host to some of the global stars of contemporary dance, all of whom will be in town for a series of masterclasses organised by the Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts. "It's imperative for growing dancers here to learn from the expertise that comes with years of performing," says Jaychandran Palazhi, founder, Attakkalari. "That's the idea behind the dance camp. The first round of workshops is being linked to the Body Matters Festival, coming up in August."
I would only believe in a god who could dance," said Nietzche. This week, experienced students will learn the many nuances of movement, finding an intellectual and physical union between the complexity of their physical compositions. Stefano Peschuilli, for instance, Salento-born ballet dancer, graduated from the Associazione Italiana Danzatori in Rome in 2005. He is here to teach 'gyrokinesis', a coming together of ballet and yoga. "Students will learn how to keep the body in a state of relaxation during movement, combining his understanding of alignment through ballet and breath, through yoga."
Piyali Majumdar
Tokyo-based dancer Lucia Vasquez Madrid creates pieces that investigate video, sound, text and costume with simplicity and sensitivity. She will teach floor work and sequences based in Limon and Release techniques, moving in devised choreography. Popular yoga instructor Piyali Majumder will make an appearance as well, using the athletic Vinyasa flow to develop cardiovascular conditioning and muscle development throughholding postures for extended breaths. Choreographer, dancer and teacher Immanuel Grivet, who has collaborated with artistes liek Mark Tompkins and JJulyen Hamilton, has built original tools for the creatin of dance pieces and formations for dancers.
Emmanuel Grivet
"We also have Nina haenel, who will move away from the practice- based approach to give students some academic rigour," explains Jaychandran. "She will look at the theoretical and conceptual ways in which dance is created." Stefano Fardelli, choreographer for internationall touring performance pieces, teaches Contem porary Dance and Feldenkrais Technique. "He is the director of the EurAsia Dance Project and has done a great deal of collaborations. He will work with giving dancers a vocabulary that is always curious, explorative and fresh."
What: Essence International Dance Camp
When: July 23 to August 7
