WORKSHOPS
Introduction
Classical Indian dance comes from a millenary culture and is formed by a series of specific codes that have subsisted through time.
These establish connections between various artistic elements: sculpture, music and rhythm, poetry, non-verbal language, makeup and costumes. They also include spiritual elements: yoga, mythology, philosophy, ritual, spiritual practice and discipline (training, development and maturity).
Through the years I have discovered that Indian dance has an enormous creative potential, especially when we focus on working with the energy of a specific theme within a workshop format. This manner of working brings many benefits to the participants, as workshops are intensive and concentrated, and therefore help learning and transformation to flow better. Therefore, best results are obtained when the workshops are taken in their entirety.
FORMATS
Workshop format options – depending on the preferred duration and conditions:
½ day format – 4 hours
1 day format – 8 hours
Weekend format – 16 hours
Long weekend format– 18 or 19 hours
Obviously, the longer the workshop, the more possibilities there are to include audio visual materials, longer exercises and to go deeper and develop further of the theme of the workshop. For more information – contact.
Introductory workshop on Southern Indian dance.
Includes 4 phases or workshops
1st Phase - Offers a complete general introduction to the basic elements that constitute the Mohiniyattam dance style.
Healing through Dance
By taking this workshop you will be able to feel changes in the way of being in your body and in your emotions. You will be able to liberate tensions and blocks at various levels
Mudras of the Heart
This workshop will allow you to fine tune the sensitivity of your hands and fingers, their delicateness and beauty, their strength and energy. Did you know that your fingertips are the finest nervous ends in your body?
Storytelling Dance
In this workshop you will be able to discover the playful aspect of non-verbal language in Indian dance and you will learn to tell stories using not only body movements, rhythm, mudras ...
Shiva – Shakti
By taking this workshop, you will be able to sensitize the perception of your feminine and your masculine aspects
Indian Fusion
This workshop will offer you the opportunity to learn the precision of form in Indian dance and to explore improvisation inspired in the sculptures of the temples of Southern India and in free movement
Folkloric Dance Mandala
By taking this workshop you will have an enriching and fun experience of circle folk dance from Kerala called Thiruvatirakalli
Movement Meditation
Suprapto Suryodarmo is a renowned movement meditation teacher in Java, Indonesia. His approach, known as “Amerta Movement”
Offers a complete general introduction to the basic elements that constitute the Mohiniyattam dance style
Contents
Historical and Ritual Context – origins.
Body preparation – sensitizing the body as a vehicle and a means of expression.
Rhythmic footwork – awakening the energy of the earth and the language of percussion.
Hand gestures or Mudras – beginning the alphabet of the 24 mudras.
Characteristics of the Lasya (feminine) Movements– contacting the fluidity and gentleness of the body and of energy.
Exercises for Face and Eye Expressions (Rasas)– awakening the living emotional mask.
Introductory workshop on Southern Indian dance.
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
Phase 4
A follow-up of the practice of the basic elements learnt in the 1st Phase.
Content
Developing body strength and flexibility
Broadening the footwork repertoire
Symbolic uses of the Mudras
Application of the movements of the torso and foot rhythms.
Learning the first Rasas or emotions expressed through face and eye movements.
Space awareness
Development of the dance, expression and choreography technique.
Content
Learning the basic dance units or adavus.
Coordination of the footwork and abstract mudras
Continuation of the symbolic uses of mudras
Continuation of Rasas or emotions
Movement through space coordinating the learnt elements.
Learning a short dance
Content
Application of dance language to the learning of a dance sequence with rhytmic contrasts, uses of abstract and narrative mudras.
Exhibition of the final work.
By taking this workshop you will be able to feel changes in the way of being in your body and in your emotions. You will be able to liberate tensions and blocks at various levels that do not allow you to express yourself and flow fully: you will be able to know yourself better.
o Come and open your body, awaken your feet and be aware of your breath; thus you will discover how dance moves your energy and transforms it, and you will be able to heal… ––regenerating and purifying –– in order to fully enjoy the expression of your sensuality and life force through Indian dance.
Testimonies of participants
“Through this workshop I was able to establish a close contact with unresolved issues in my womb, as well as to open and liberate my hips and my lower abdomen.”
“The dance has improved my structure and my mind.”
Healing through Dance
This workshop will allow you to fine tune the sensitivity of your hands and fingers, their delicateness and beauty, their strength and energy. Did you know that your fingertips are the finest nervous ends in your body? - Like delicate roots that seek the moisture of the earth – our fingers move and feel in space and have infinite possibilities of movement and postures. With our hands we can learn a beautiful, subtle non-verbal language
Mudras of the Heart
You will also discover how to express, through your face and eyes, what you feel in your heart as a human being. It is said that the heart is like a muscle that must be worked out in order to remain in good health. Allow whatever lives in your heart to surface.
You will receive an excellent introduction to the Mudras and Rasas that are part of the expressive and narrative aspect of Indian classical dance.
Nava Rasas with two of my Indian teachers in London -
In this workshop you will be able to discover the playful aspect of non-verbal language in Indian dance and you will learn to tell stories using not only body movements, rhythm, mudras (hand gestures) and facial expressions, but also participant’s imagination and creativity!
In the Storytelling Dance workshop you will learn the symbolism of non-verbal language for narrating stories filled with images and events. You will also learn some of the folk stories and legends of Indian mythology and its deities, such as Shiva, Ganesh, Garuda, Rama and Sita etc.
This workshop is great fun especially for children aged 4 to 7 years, but it can be adapted to all ages.
Storytelling Dance
By taking this workshop, you will be able to sensitize the perception of your feminine and your masculine aspects. We will draw upon the ancient Indian ichonography of Ardhaneswari, where we can see both Shiva (masculine principle) and Shakti (feminine principle) within a single being. (Foto 33) Indian dance encompasses both qualities. (Foto 34)
You will be able to see more clearly how these two energies are expressed through your body in your life. Through Indian dance, you will learn each of these characteristics in order to create a dance that will include both in unity.
It will help you to become more familiar in your everyday life with these two aspects that are seemingly separate and in conflict, as well as to realize that they have always lived within you, complementing each other and essentially in harmony.
Shiva – Shakti
This workshop will offer you the opportunity to learn the precision of form in Indian dance and to explore improvisation inspired in the sculptures of the temples of Southern India and in free movement.
The workshop will inspire you to delve into the creative possibilities of movement in your body, accompanied by high-quality Indian fusion music compositions of the last few decades.
Musicians are also invited to take this workshop and to become a part of the adventure in music fusion!
Indian Fusion
By taking this workshop you will have an enriching and fun experience of circle folk dance from Kerala called Thiruvatirakalli. You will discover how a mandala is formed involving every member and movement of the circle. When the mandala flows, the center and the fringe nourish each other the same way that circle dances bring community together including everyone in the dance. You will also learn the songs that accompany the dances, in honor of The Goddess of Art - Saraswati or the God remover of obstacles - Ganapati.
The circle is a universal symbol that can enclose many forms, having a space with many geometrical possibilities. This tradition from Kerala culture is an alive form of circle dance performed in auspicious occasions and rituals and I am happy that I have brought it across the oceans from India to Mexico.
Folk Dance Mandala
Chaman Seri Chapo Barnet
"Suprapto Suryodarmo / Art and Movement Meditation” ("Suprapto Suryodarmo / Arte y Meditación en Movimiento") with Francisco Chapo Barnett (Seri Tribe of Sonora) during the workshop in Tlayacapan, Morelos 2001, organized by Geo Legorreta. Video by Carlos Ernesto Vizcarra, Mexico City.
Suprapto Suryodarmo is a renowned movement meditation teacher in Java, Indonesia. His approach, known as “Amerta Movement”, is rooted in the desire to explore the nature of awareness and of communication in the body through movement. The participants are guided to recognize their own qualities and to allow themselves to ‘flourish’ in a dialogue with one another and with nature. The practice of awareness of free, non-stylized movement becomes a form of close self-knowledge and knowledge of others.
The study of human experience through free movement generates the ability to listen and respond to oneself, to others and to the environment. Through a moment-to-moment sensory, mental and emotional awakening, we can transform, discover and create new ways of moving our body.
"When one coexists with the external and the internal space, movement and song become a form of prayer and connection with the cosmos.” Suprapto Suryodharmo
Master Suprapto Suryodharmo visited Mexico and taught workshops in Morelos in the years 2000 and 2001. These workshops were attended by both Mexican and foreign artists and by the Seri Shaman Chapo Barnet (foto 38), signifying a wonderful coming together of cultures.
Movement Meditation
