BEING READY, Andrew Harwood
| About masterclass: | An intermediate course in Contact Improvisation
This intensive is for those with a fairly solid understanding and experience of Contact fundamentals. What does it mean to be ready to dance at any time, with anyone, anywhere? There are no set formulas, or specific manners to achieving this state of readiness. There is, however, an attitude and a state of body-mind that can be cultivated which can help bring us to that place of total alertness.
Being completely attentive and always prepared on all levels, will enable us to go beyond thinking our way through the dance, and help us be attuned to what is actually taking place. This full presence also allows us to be freed of the mental chatter, planning ahead, and judgment, which so often override the body’s ability to make appropriate split-second choices. In this way the improvisations can be entirely physical, playful, heartfelt, surprising and enjoyable. Explored themes will include: tumbling, flying, use of variable speeds, use of direct action and initiation, resistance, disappearance, subtle and surprising ways of moving weight, flowing through unfamiliar circumstances, extending our personal range of movement, and integrating our imagination and our heart. | | About Andrew Harwood: | Andrew de Lotbinière Harwood is the artistic director of AH HA Productions a project oriented company focusing on improvisation as a performing art. Andrew is recognized as an exceptional international teacher, performer and creator in the field of contact improvisation and in instantaneous choreography since 1975.
Harwood studied, taught and performed with Steve Paxton, Nancy Stark Smith and Nita Little, the founding members Contact Improvisation. His background also includes gymnastics, yoga, modern dance, release technique, somatic studies, compositional improvisation and Aikido.
His work has been presented in numerous international festivals since 1980 (Impuls Tanz, La Biennale, Festival Montpellier, F.I.N.D., Festival des Antipodes, IF/New York, Bates Dance Festival, etc.) Andrew has also taught and performed at many of the international Contact Festivals in Europe over the past 4 years. He has danced with the companies of Fulcrum, Jo Lechay, Marie Chouinard, the Echo Case, and Jean-Pierre Perreault, and has collaborated in performance with many renowned dance artists including Lisa Nelson, Kirstie Simson, Peter Bingham, Chris Aiken, Ray Chung and Benoit Lachambre among many others. He was awarded the Canada Council’s Jacquelin- Lemieux dance award in 2000.
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