The 38th Winter Dance School in Maribor

Maribor, 3 - 6 February 2023

WORKSHOPS AND TEACHERS

BALLET FOR CONTEMPORARY DANCER I & II-III AND CONTEMPORARY DANCE II-III – VITA OSOJNIK

foto: Nada Žgank

BALLET FOR CONTEMPORARY DANCER I & II-III

The whole of the class will take place in the middle of the studio. The focus will be on moving through the space, on elevation and dynamics. The basics of classical ballet and bodily alignment will be upgraded in the anatomic, compositional and musical sense. Strong focus will be placed on arm and leg work and their coordination, aiming to make the dancers aware that the extremities are not merely an aesthetic accessory but can importantly contribute to the quality of individual dance moves.

CONTEMPORARY DANCE II-III

This contemporary dance technique class involves intense physical body work and exploration of the movement apparatus to expand the scope one’s movement material using different movement activities, such as the “one minute show”, where each task lasts for one minute. This exercise is a drill in the relativity of time and effort and in how to dose the energy, use the strength, distribute the power. In the continuation, we will explore the roles of the leader, follower, internal and external choreographers and move into the vertical in a circle in the ritual sense. To wrap up, a short composition is presented, with emphasis on the organisation and orientation of the body.

VITA OSOJNIK

foto: Nada Žgank

Vita Osojnik is a freelance dancer, choreographer, teacher, mentor and street theatre artist. She finished high school in Kranj as well as completed the Secondary School of Music and Ballet in Ljubljana, programme ballet. She graduated from contemporary dance and choreography at the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance (SEAD). Later, while teaching at the Preschool Education, Grammar and Performing Arts Grammar School, she also completed her pedagogical-andragogical training and passed her teaching certification examination.
She works as a teacher and mentor at the Alma Mater Europaea Dance Academy, at the Qulenium Dance Association, in the frame of the school of street arts Šugla and the programme Praktikum organised by the Performing Arts Grammar School Ljubljana. She has also taught in the frame of Bitnamun, at the Dance Centre Maribor, the Summer Dance School Ljubljana, the Toscana Dance Hub in Florence etc. and regularly teaches in the scope of the programmes of Zavod 0.1 Gib – lab and Gibosfera. For the past two years, she has taught workshops at the Summer Dance School organised by the Public Fund for Cultural Activities. Vita also taught for a number of years at the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance, both within the regular programme and in the programme of dance workshops MoveMentors, intended as preparations for the auditions. In October 2015, she was invited by the school’s dean to a residency with the Tisch School of the Arts (Broadway, New York), where she also had the chance to work with and choreograph for the school’s MA students. She has created many dance performances (Other People’s Children, I Can Easily Carry My Own Weight, Part of Me Is Made of Glass, Cynical Killers of Their Own Mother, Penetrating Into Her Is for Him, Random Acts of Kindness, Hombre Masa, Manada, Temporarily Detained Bodies etc.) and been a co-creator of performances A Dance Night’s Dream, Manada, Today for the Last Time, etc. In September 2019 she created a dance performance Hombre Masa on the commission of Dantzaz from St. Sebastian, which is still running. The Slovenian premiere took place in June 2021 at the Taking Measures Festival in a double-bill with Vita’s latest performance Temporarily Detained Bodies.
Vita currently also works as head of educational programs and coordinator of classes and workshops at the Dance Theatre Ljubljana, where she is also active as a mentor to young artists creating their debut performances or other choreographic ventures and as a member of the artistic board. She is also working on her new dance piece entitled Meals That I Already Cooked, which will premiere in November 2022 at the Dance Theatre Ljubljana as the first in a series of three solo performances in 2022/2023. She is also part of the international project Dancing in Your Shoes – Performing Gender, run by City of Women, in the frame of which she gave an intergenerational workshop in June 2022 and is invited to give lectures in Bologna, Italy, and the Netherlands later this year. In the frame of the project, Vita will also join forces with director Brina Klamfer to create an evening length performance as a sort of result of the entire process.

FELDENKRAIS INTO DANCE I-III – SIMON WEHRLI (CH)

foto: Olaf Brachem

FELDENKRAIS INTO DANCE I-III

Departing from an Awareness Though Movement (ATM) lesson based on the Feldenkrais Method®* we will make our way into dancing. Becoming more aware of our own movement and the space around us we start having more options of where we want to take our dance. This class is not about relaxation (all though at first it might look like this) - its is about getting ready for action.
*The Feldenkrais Method® is an educational system that uses movement to teach self awareness and improve function.

SIMON WEHRLI 

foto: Saša Huzjan

Simon Wehrli (CH) started as a musician, attended the Accademia Teatro Dimitri (CH) and studied contemporary dance with Trinity Laban London (UK). He was involved in projects by David Zambrano as well as working with other choreographers. Since 2013 he is developing his own work - amongst others together with Jasmina Križaj. Simon teaches dance and improvisation internationally, works regularly for the Bachelor in Dance of La Manufacture Lausanne (CH) and is a practitioner of the Feldenkrais Method®

EXPLORING INDIVIDUALITY I & II-III – LEA OROŽ (SLO, UK)

EXPLORING INDIVIDUALITY I & II-III

Lea mainly brings together a variety of contemporary dance techniques, however, she tries to move away from labelling the movement into a particular style.
Her class aims to play, research and expand physical and cognitive possibilities, starting with leading the body and mind into a present, available and alert state.
The class continues with a set of exercises that aim to touch the diversity of movement qualities, such as working with the contrast of the conscious separation and isolation of body parts, and totality of the whole body as well as allowing fluidity and spirals to be broken with sudden dynamic changes or pauses.
There may also be led improvisation tasks that allow the individual to understand the qualities within their own research and choices.
The class usually ends with the sequence of movements from previous exercises to enable the body to revisit and improve the qualities and articulation that were implied in the earlier practice.

LEA OROŽ (SLO, UK)

foto: Celine Fortenbacher

Lea is a freelance professional dance artist currently based in London. For the past 4 years she has worked with various choreographers, artists and institutions, such as Holly Blakey, Benjamin Jonsson, Maxine Doyle, Jose Agudo, Giannis Haroulis, Alexandra Green, Hannah Marshal Studio, Temper Theatre and Royal Opera House. As a dancer and artist she has performed in fashion projects, such as Another Magazine, Acne Studios, Online Vogue, Issey Miyake, Well Curated, Hermés, Roksanda, Burberry and Koibird to name a few. She has also appeared on some major TV commercials like Nestle, Samsung, H&M and Marks&Spencer. In the past year, Lea choreographed projects, such as short film Born of Violence, as well as movement directed solo exhibition Othered in a region that has been historically Othered at Focal Point Gallery by British African-Caribbean artist Elsa James. She is currently working independently and collaborating with musicians where she performs her solo work at different concerts across Europe.

CONTEMPORARY DANCE I & AFRO FUSION I-III – MAŠA KAGAO KNEZ

foto: Kyrylo Beliaiev

CONTEMPORARY DANCE I

After years of teaching, choreographing, and dancing experience, Maša Kagao Knez has created a workshop that brings together diverse movement practices and dance approaches.
Using the attitudes of West African dance traditions, contemporary dance principles and functional practice, it encourages dancers to build on their dance expression and deepen their sensitivity in dance interpretation. Through exercises and dance sequences, it focuses on strengthening and stretching the body and raising awareness of movement.
The workshop is addressed to dancers, regardless of their dance background, as it focuses on different qualities (body awareness and responsiveness, precision and direction of movement, focus in the moment, musicality, rhythmic qualities...) that allow for fluidity and greater amplitude of movement, and a freer, fuller and more sincere dance performance.

AFRO FUSION I-III

In the workshop, we will focus on connecting dance with rhythm, isolating specific body parts, on fluid and articulated movement and on communication between the dancers. The workshop will build through a warm-up with a focus on movement motifs from the West African dance tradition to the dance combination, which will bring together the various elements learned during the class.
The workshop is intended to both women and men, dancers and dance enthusiasts, to those wishing to distill their dance expression and to those who just want to relax with African music and get to know African culture through dance and music.

MAŠA KAGAO KNEZ

foto: Tjaša Jerak

Maša Kagao Knez works as a dancer, choreographer and theatre practitioner. She first came into contact with the performing arts as a child through the work of her mother, Jasna Knez, a dancer and choreographer herself. Maša was educated by various international teachers, both in Slovenia and abroad, and in 2006 she completed professional training at Georges Momboye School of Traditional and Contemporary African dance in Paris. In 2013 she graduated from the Academy of Dance in Ljubljana and in 2021 she completed her Master's degree in the Art of Movement at the AGRFT (Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television) in Ljubljana. 
As a dancer, actress and choreographer she collaborates with institutional theatres as well as independent producers (PTL, SNG Drama, Municipal Theatre Ljubljana, SNG Nova Gorica, SLG Celje, APT, Mini Teater). For the last few years she has been a regular collaborator of director Ivana Djilas.
In 2009 Maša, together with dancer Dalanda Diallo and musician Damir Mazrek, co-founded the Baobab cultural and arts society, which operates in the field of dance, music and theatre. She is artistic director of cultural institution Studio 25 and  director of Diaspora, an artistic collective dedicated to the creation of dance and music productions.
She received a Ksenija Hribar dance award in 2013. Three years later she won the third prize at the XX. Festival of choreographic miniatures in Belgrade as part of the duo with musician Murat.
Since 2004, when she began her independent choreographic career, she has created more than fifteen original performances, including Rojena zunaj svoje vasi, 1978, Koncert za Mam, Lakeless, YAAMAAM, ker je bilo, kar je bilo in Plesni Teater Ljubljana, Nameščeni in Španski borci, Dia diasso diasspora and MOMENTUM Avenija ujetih trenutkov in Cankarjev dom, Črna koža, bele maske in Anton Podbevšek Teater.

More at:
http://masakagaoknez.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqjt8n76wqVU5pY1eFnFMtw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K6BrqNuiyo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYtq5116e7A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIIGxrO6FyM

URBAN DANCE I & II-III – GAŠPER KUNŠEK

URBAN DANCE I & II-III

The dance class is based on playfulness, where each individual improves their own and common dance language. We will walk on the border between choreography and improvisation, individuality and community, technique and movement principles, emotion and mind, and between "sweating" and fun... 😊
Class 1 will be based mainly on the movement techniques of urban dance styles, while class 2 will be based on improvisation. The goal of both classes will be to spread awareness in movement and overcoming movement and mental patterns.
Over a series of days we will get to know: Rhythm, Space, Music, Time, Imagination, Presence, Listening, Somatics, Technique, Relationships, Performance, Composition, Improvisation, Choreography, Functional Movement, Breathing, Contact Improvisation, Tension and Relaxation and Floor Techniques.

GAŠPER KUNŠEK

Gašper Kunšek is a self-employed choreographer, dancer, and teacher. In his early years, he participated in a plethora of festivals, events, and competitions, where he achieved excellent results. Soon after he discovered musical, dance performance, interdisciplinary project, comedy, children's performance, conceptual performances, street shows, dance battles, and in general with different kinds of techniques of performing, set in different eventful places, later on with short films and choreographed theater performances.

With 14 years of age, he started working together with Žigan Krajnčan. Together they research universal systems of movement, life, ways of living, and working. Through the strengthening of their skills in performance, mostly improvising, though the fusion of the lives principals of movement like Hip Hop, House, Modern dancing, Freestyle, contact improvised yoga, alchemy, Krump, Shamanic dance, Newstyle, Bboying, Smashing, Yoga, Locking, and Popping they developed their own way of expression.
They designed a nonverbal conversation or "Talking through the telepathy of movement", which in their case gives them their originality.

In the year 2016/2017, they began creating their second author duet called Alien Express, which concept grows from performance to performance. In the last 2 years, they already performed more than 50 shows with the duet abroad. They've been working together for 6 years now. In the year 2017, the Ministry of culture gave them the status of independent culture artists. In 2018, he founded the association Urbana scena Ljubljana (ŠKD Sajfr). 

CREATIVE THERAPY THROUGH DANCE I-III – MOJCA KASJAK

foto: Slavko Rajh

CREATIVE THERAPY THROUGH DANCE I-III

This experiential workshop will take the participants through a process of personal exploration, as it aims to bring awareness to perception, sensations and thoughts through embodied creative movement. The participants will explore mindfulness through creative and authentic movement, improvisation, integrated methods intended to enhance creativity and expression and through other embodied cognitive structures. We will soften our bodies with relaxation techniques that can be used creatively in one’s dance expression. The workshop aims to empower the participants and advance creativity.
The creative therapies adopt the dance-movement-therapeutic approach to allow a shift in the habitual patterns of being and relating and thus enable the participants to embody a deeper connection with themselves. They tap into that area of art therapy that applies dance, movement and other embodied psychotherapeutical approaches.
Specific parts (Mindfulness and relaxation through creative movement, improvisation) will be delivered in a way that will facilitate application as learning methods and enable transfer into the area of dance education.
Dancing can have a significant impact on cognitive function and neurological processes. It namely supports the integration of sensory, attention, cognitive, emotional, motor and autonomous processes, which contributes to the sense of well-being and stimulates creativity.

MOJCA KASJAK

foto: David Orešić

Mojca Kasjak is a freelance dancer, choreographer, dance teacher, producer and the art director of the contemporary dance festival Platforma. She graduated from geography and sociology but in 1997 also finished a specialisation course at the London Contemporary Dance School in Great Britain, where she obtained a certificate from choreography and dance. She is the author of numerous projects and dance performances and the recipient of multiple awards, among other Vizionar Award, award of the Union of Cultural Associations of Slovenia, the Meta Vidmar Charter, the Gold Linhart Badge, etc. In 2020, she was awarded the Meta Vidmar Plaquette for outstanding achievements in the area of dance, art and dance education and her invaluable contribution to the development of the art of dance.
In 2017, she launched MOJA KREACIJA, institute for the art of dance and living, which she has been running as art director since. Her creative, teaching and production activities have always been closely intertwined with working with the young. She created a series of dance performances for and with children and youth. She regularly gives workshops to dance educators and mentors as well as to children and the young (Cultural Bazaar, Sinapse – Brain Awareness Day, Summer Art Camp Festival, Fairy City Festival).
She has been a selector at the Public Fund for Cultural Activities (JSKD) since 2020. She participated in the development of the national guidelines for education in the arts for the National Education Institute Slovenia, was a board member in the project Institutionalisation of Contemporary Dance in Slovenia and was involved in the preparations for the founding of Contemporary Dance Centre and in the development of the Local Programme for Culture and Arts 2015–2020 of the city of Maribor.
She is currently finishing her MA in arts therapy at the Faculty of Education of the University of Ljubljana. She studied with Cathy Malchiodi PhD, Jon Kabat-Zinn PhD and Helen Payne PhD.
More at: https://ski.emanat.si/en/mojca_kasjak/

MENTORS’ WORKSHOP: Two Flying Ones and a Barefoot One – “MEMORY” – SAŠA LONČAR

foto: Saša Huzjak

MENTORS’ WORKSHOP ”MEMORY”

Memory is important for the balance between recalling and remembering. In the workshop, we will apply different movement and visual methods to explore our sensory, short- and long-term memories. Memory will be the primary means with which we will gather engaging materials obtained “from memory” to create new dance stories through the umlimited scope of information stored in our own memory networks.

SAŠA LONČAR

foto: MVK

Saša Lončar is a renowned dance educator and choreographer, founder, and artistic director of KD Qulenium in Kranj and Ljubljana. She annually organizes the Festival of Stage Arts Kalejdoskop and research and creative summer camp for children at Mašun. Through her creative processes, imbued with a vivid imagination, openness, daring, and excellent leadership sense, she stimulates children’s dance creativity and enriches their personal expression of movement. Saša and her dancers take part in numerous important events and festivals at home and abroad (France, Indonesia, India, Croatia, Denmark, Serbia). 
She was awarded the Meta Vidmar plaque and the Ksenija Hribar Prize at the 9th Gibanica Biennale 2019 for artistic, creative, and educational achievement.
More at: www.qulenium.org