Dance Theatre Ljubljana hosts a kick-off residency for a European project Rail2Dance. Selected artists coming from Slovenia, Germany, Finland and Sweden will meet in our studio where they will undergo various workshops offered by international artists. PTL is opening some workshops for professionals coming from the performative fields. All the workshops are held in English language. Interested? You are invited to read a detailed schedule and line-up:
September 7th from 10 am to 2 pm – VITA OSOJNIK (workshop happening live in the PTL studio)
Vita Osojnik is self-employed in culture, performing a specialized profession as a dancer, choreographer, dance teacher, and street artist. She majored in ballet at the Ljubljana Music and Ballet Conservatory. She completed her studies in contemporary dance and choreography at the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance. She works as a dance pedagogue and mentor within the Alma Mater Europaea – Academy of Dance, Qulenium dance society in Kranj, and Šugla street theatre. As part of the Practicum program at the Secondary Preschool Education, Grammar School and Performing Arts Grammar School Ljubljana, she occasionally teaches in the Bitnamun programme and at the Maribor Dance Centre, Summer Dance School in Ljubljana and Toscana Dance Hub in Florence.
Workshop starts with physical preparation of the body through different alternative dance / movement techniques, which are all directed in a way to facilitate possible adjustment for individuals, their capacities and limitations. Later on, the focus flows more to research of space, proximity and distance, usage of tunnel and peripheral vision, expanding memory diameter, training reflexes, role-playing as leaders and followers… In theory and practice, we focus on differences and similarities in working on stage, indoor, and outdoor in public spaces.
September 8th from 10 am to 2 pm – JAAKKO SIMOLA (mentor is giving the workshop online – participants can meet in the PTL studio or ask for a link to have access from their own spaces)
Choreographer Jaakko Simola studied ethnology, art history and museology at the University of Helsinki − and he has been working with museums, at present at the Helsinki Design Museum.For him choreography, dance, movement and performance are one perspective to understand lived spaces/places, experience and planning of space and cultural meanings connected to our environment. He has studied the relationship of choreography/performance and museum spaces as well as analysing landscapes by using choreography as a concept. Sustainable way of living is essential for his motivation. For 15 years he has been collaborating with different specialists, professionals and institutions in dance or cultural heritage in Pirkanmaa and in the Helsinki region. His methods are site-specific artistic practice, lecturing and mentoring.
September 9th from 10 am to 2 pm – ROBIN JONSSON (mentor is giving the workshop online – participants meet in the PTL studio)
Robin Jonsson has, since his degree at P.A.R.T.S. in Brussels 2008, created and toured a number of works. Several of his works were created during his studies and continued to have a life afterwards, among them “I Believe I Can see the future”, a piece toured by Dancenet Sweden 2010. The work was based on virtual characters and TV-games, which is a recurring theme in Jonsson’s art.
A common denominator for all of Robin’s work, earlier as well as later, are the deconstruction of how the human body is represented artificially. For a number of years Robin has focused his work on human-shaped robots and what they can add to the performing arts field. Robin is talking about his part and perspective in the R2D project which means the possibilities of VR and AI for sustainable producing and touring of the future.
September 10th from 10 am to 2 pm – ANNE LE BATARD (mentor is giving the workshop online – participants can meet in the PTL studio or ask for a link to have access from their own spaces)
Anne Le Batard founded Ex Nihilo in 1994 after her career as a dancer in Brussels and Marseille. She is particularly concerned with the relationship between dancers and dance to space as well as to the auditorium. Nurtured by immersing and exploring public space, she has developed her very own signature. Jean-Antoine Bigot worked as a dancer in France and Belgium before joining the company Ex Nihilo in 2000. Since then he has shared artistic direction with Anne Le Batard. More than 15 projects for Ex Nihilo have already been created in cooperation. The concern of the group is, on the one hand, to connect the public and art and, on the other hand, to allow new elements of art to flow into dance. The dance group is particularly dedicated to long-term projects, which they share with the respective audience through workshops, courses and encounters. Since 2016, Ex Nihilo has been an important partner for European creative projects for contemporary dance at special venues.
September 11th from 10 am to 2 pm – BUSH HARTSHORN (workshop happening live in the PTL studio)
Bush Hartshorn / UK Bush graduated from Dartington College of Arts in 1982 with a degree in Theatre Language. From that time, Bush has pursued a career as a community artist, dramaturge, performer, theatre programmer and artistic director in the UK, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Ireland and Denmark. He is currently Head of Artist Development at Dance Base, Edinburgh. In 2009, he qualified as a coach in Relational Dynamics, which has informed his work in mentoring dance artists. Since January 2015, Bush has been mentoring/coaching artists in Australia, Cyprus, UK, Spain, Czech Republic, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland. Poland. He is also Dance Curator for Sardegna Teatro, Cagliari, Italy.
A day long workshop that examines possible starting points for site specific performance. The participants will be given a variety of exercises to excavate the possibilities of a site chosen by each individual..The outcomes of these exercises to then be developed into individual shareable scenarios for performance. The participants will work as individuals utilising the perception and feedback from other participants in the process.
