©De-Da Productions

©Robbie Sweeny

©Robbie Sweeny

ProfitrainingAmelia Uzategui Bonilla

Mon 05.02.2024 | 10:00 am - 11:30 am
Tue 06.02.2024 | 10:00 am - 11:30 am
Wed 07.02.2024 | 10:00 am - 11:30 am
Thu 08.02.2024 | 10:00 am - 11:30 am
Fri 09.02.2024 | 10:00 am - 11:30 am
Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm - Probebühne 3

The professional training with Amelia Uzategui Bonilla is also aimed explicitly at dancers with disabilities. Information on barrier-free access to Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm can be found here.


Contemporary Technique - Set Material and Improvisation

The class starts with a preparation grounded in Anna Halprin's Movement Ritual. A full-body warm-up incorporates developmental patterns on different levels. Simple yet challenging-to-coordinate movements are repeated across the floor. Varied difficulty in the proposed movement sequences challenge spatial orientation, rhythmic dynamic, and flow. Participants are invited to try-out variations. Movements can be performed larger/smaller or slower/faster. Improvisation and study in small groups opens up the training space for exchange amongst participants. In the final section of the training, we seek to find further applications of the material proposed, learning set material danced to rhythmic music.

1 (a). Could you tell us a bit more about your source material? What is Anna Halprin's Movement Ritual?

Anna Halprin's Movement Ritual is like a structured way of moving to inspire creativity. It's a method she created to connect with the body, starting by paying attention to the senses, especially how our body feels while experiencing gravity and being in motion. From there, it encourages moving creatively based on individual decision-making following specific instructions. These instructions, called scores, guide what to do but leave room for your unique way of doing it. I was fortunate to learn and be part of Halprin's method during my studies and apprenticeship with her from 2014 to 2018.

 

1 (b). Are there are sources of material or techniques that you're using in the set material?

As a dancer with diverse training in European-American and Afro-Indigenous dance traditions, I draw inspiration from movements with cultural references and their unique technical elements. In the Profitraining sessions, I'll share set material incorporating these elements. For instance, a turn on a vertical axis may lead to rhythmic footwork while transitioning into a hip bump, followed by a quick and twisted drop to the ground. In a training setting, this cultivates agility, allowing dancers to smoothly shift dynamics between movements and enrich their creative repertoire. 
 

 

2. Could you also talk a little bit about what we are working on when focusing in on improvisation?

This week, we'll explore improvisation by building on a familiar movement or concept. We'll introduce and practice various approaches, such as moving in different spatial planes, adjusting movement size or rhythm, and using repetition to evolve into something new.

(*1985 Lima – Peru) Amelia Uzategui Bonilla has worked as a dancer, choreographer, and teacher since 2007 in the USA, South America, and Europe. They develop contemporary, historically informed dance-based works thematizing intersectional discourses in collaboration with artists from communities experiencing marginalization. Amelia has collaborated with artists eg, Marina Abramović, Anna Halprin, and NAKA Dance Theater. A graduate from Juilliard and the HfMDK, Uzategui Bonilla has lectured in the United States (University of San Francisco, Freedom University,) the Netherlands (Amsterdam University for the Arts,) Peru (Catholic University of Peru, National School for Fine Arts, National School of Ballet, and Ballet San Marcos), and Germany (HfMDK,) and is also a published dance researcher.