CONTACT IMPROVISATION – IN-DEPTH WORKSHOP

Sticky21 March 2023 CLOUD

Touch, Move, Connect is a weekend CI workshop which is designed to allow a deep dive into the core of the Contact Improvisation ritual.

I believe the practice of CI is simple; as long as we keep a clear connection and communication with our partner – the dance will happen by itself. For this to be possible we must have a safe space for the practice to arise. By slowing down the mind and tuning in to the physical sensations, we allow the body to speak our dance, then we only need to follow the movement that’s already in us as it is shared with our partner.

In this in-depth workshop we will develop a deep understanding of the tools we use to connect and move with a partner through touch. Learning to work with our sensory body, discovering the endless flow of information that exist in a simple touch, and refine the skill of listening with our skin. All in a fun and light atmosphere with a group of like-minded people.

This workshop is designed to fit all levels of practice, whether you are a “beginner” or an “expert” in CI, anyone that has a body and a wish to dance with others is welcome! The tools practiced in this workshop are meant to tune us together as a whole.

About the facilitator:
Ady Elzam is a dancer from Israel recently based in Den Haag. Ady studied and danced with Vertigo dance company, Dede dance and a few more dance groups in Israel. He trained extensively in CI with many of the leading teachers of the form. Ady is curious especially around the question of what is improvisation and how can we engage with it. As a teacher he likes to engage his students with the unknown and study the results..

When?
Saturday – 25th March | 12:30 – 18:30
Sunday – 26th March | 12:30 – 18:30

Where?
CLOUD at danslab studio:
De Constant Rebecqueplein 20b
2518 RA Den Haag

Fee: 110€

For more info and registration: office@adyelzam.com
or WhatsApp: +32477232997

You can use this link to send me a direct message on WhatsApp:
https://wa.me/message/DWLIJBQ5BVVFI1

…

CLOUD, Residents

“So, now what?” | Residency | Ana Sofie Meireles & Evelyn Hutchings

Sticky11 November 2022 CLOUD

From 14 – 20 November 2022

Presentation: Friday 18 November 20:00 – door open 15 min. before

Synopsis:

There is frustration attached to us, for some reason or another, it fills us up with questions, emotions, reflections. It comes up when we are not able to control something that happened, something that we didn’t want to feel, or be. It’s triggered once something doesn’t match the expectations, ours, of other people or the environment around us.

“So, now what?” explores the individual yet collective physical and emotional experience of two people that are framed into a society, controlled into fitting a type, while facing an unpredictable world, in which a lot is out of their own control. How does it feel to be controlled but not to be able to control?

Biographies:

Ana Meireles

Ana Meireles is a dancer and young maker born in Porto. She initiated her dance studies at Ginasiano Escola de Dança and concluded in 2021 her Dance Bachelor studies at ArtEZ University of the Arts, in The Netherlands.

During the last year of education at ArtEZ, Ana had an internship with the dance company Another Kind of Blue, in The Hague, and developed her skills as a maker with the creation of two pieces. She is currently working as a freelance dancer, maker and dance teacher.

Evelyn Hutchings

Evelyn Hutchings is a dancer and young maker born in Palermo, Italy. She was part of the Eko Dance Project of Pompea Santoro and the I.C.D Professional Dance Program. She finished her Bachelor studies in 2021 at ArtEZ University of the Arts, in The Netherlands. During the last year of education at ArtEZ, Evelyn had an internship with the dance company Another Kind of Blue, in The Hague, with the

company Equilibrio Dinamico, in Italy, and created three pieces. She is currently working as a freelance dancer and maker.

Project description:

We began working with the idea of social manipulation, the idea that we, as members of a society, are constantly a target for being told what to do, what to wear, what to say, who to be. And from the outside, a lot of us will act accordingly, and fit the frame that we are put in. Everything is then done and said according to the rules, to the beliefs and opinions of those in higher authority positions, those who have the power to control.

Later, we began to be interested in exploring what this concept means to us, personally, emotionally and physically. What triggers us when we think about this framed world and our obligation to fit in it. We felt frustration, each of us in a different way and for different reasons, but we both felt it. We connected this feeling to our concept in the way that it relates to wanting to go out of this frame, but not having the control to do so. Everything beyond us is out of our hands, so there is a constant fight between us and the world out there, where the actions of others and the actions of nature are unpredictable and out of our control, while we struggle to get us out of the frame.

The feeling is of helplessness, there are questions, emotions, reflections, plans. It feels suffocating and the body becomes tense, there is so much information running through our heads and our biggest question is, what can I do? What is possible for me to do in this world that people fight to get control of, where I feel I have no control in anything but myself, and somehow, everyone has control over me?

We are now in the process of exploring all these ideas and finding out how the body reacts to them. Our goal is to present a personal perspective on this concept, showing not only out it looks from the outside, how we just do what we are supposed to do in this framed society, but also how we internally struggle through fitting into it and not wanting to.

curious? click link to listen to a short interview with the makers :

https://vimeo.com/774744497

CLOUD

Ellie & LO

Sticky22 October 2022 Jerome Meyer

Ellie &Lo – research projet.
Concept/ Direction Karine Guizzo
Performers Ellie Bishop , Lorenzo Capodieci

“starting from improvisation, I want to develop a physical conversation, with a specific dance vocabulary: movements, wild and particular, rich in forms and dynamics, characteristic of dancing in a club( as starting point ) We work from virtuosity and competition – partly as a struggle, where each dancer shows its own way – but also as an interplay and sensuality.

Connection and intimacy with the audience is an important point in this project.ELLIE & LO can only be experienced up close and intimately with a small audience, who I consider – in an inclusive approach, to be part of the research project.

Karine Guizzo

Free admission, but limited seats available!

https://ellieandlo.com

Monday, October 24th – 5.30 pm

CLOUD/Danslab De Constant Rebecqueplein 20-B

Thursday, October 27th – 3 pm & 5 pm

De Nieuwe Regentes Weimarstraat 63 2562

Friday, October 28th – 7.30 pm

The Grey Space in The Middle Paviljoensgracht 20

CLOUD

CTRL+ALT+IDENTITY

Sticky1 March 2022 CLOUD

Sinds november 2021 tot medio maart werkt Anima Jhagroe-Ruissen in CLOUD danslab aan de productie van haar nieuwste creatie. Met veel bewondering voor de gelaagdheid van dit project delen wij in deze post meer informatie over het project en de voorstellingen in maart.

CTRL+ALT+IDENTITY
Met hennaworkshops, talks, exposities, experimentele performances en voorstellingen verkent CTRL+ALT+IDENTITY gemarginaliseerde verhalen en posities van Vrouwen van Kleur in nederland. CTRL+ALT+IDENTITY laat hiermee zien dat deze verhalen niet individueel of incidenteel zijn, maar een patroon vormen dat doorbroken moet worden.
Meer informatie over het project

Danstheatervoorstelling
De danstheatervoorstelling CTRL+ALT+IDENTITY is een gezamenlijke verkenning naar de glitches waarin vrouwen van kleur leven. Glitches laten de scheuren zien in het dominante witte systeem. Het zijn andere dimensies waarin vrouwen van kleur strijden voor sociale rechtvaardigheid. Deze strijd wordt verteld met henna en dans. Beide kunstvormen brengen een hervonden verbinding tot leven, tussen vrouwen van kleur en Moeder Aarde. Een verbinding die verloren was geraakt in tijden van o.a. gedwongen contractarbeid van Surinaams-Hindostaanse arbeidsters.

Data: 11-13 maart 2022
Locatie: Theater Zuidplein, Rotterdam
Tickets

Exposities en Talks
Op 8 maart 2022 wordt in samenwerking met het Sarnamihuis een gesprek tussen twee generaties Hindostaanse vrouwen georganiseerd met o.a. de oprichtsters van het feministische blad Ashanti o.l.v. Pravini Baboeram. Van 11 maart t/m 13 maart zijn in het verlengde van dit gesprek de exposities When we grow up van Kevita Junior en Ashanti van het Sarnámihuis te bezichtigen.

Datum: 8 maart 2022
Locatie: Theater Zuidplein, Rotterdam
Tickets

CLOUD

CLOUD Talks: Decolonization & Dance #2

Sticky28 February 2022 CLOUD

The short documentary series by Aqueene Wilson “WHERE ARE THE BLACK BODIES DANCING?” was launched in 2021 as part of a fellowship at Kunstinstituut Melly. Since then this profound documentary unfortunately received very little attention in the Netherlands, especially the dance world remained silent. In the second edition of CLOUD Talks we will reflect on the creation process of this documentary series for the maker, talk more about the spaces where black bodies dance and look more into the decolonial movements (not) happening in the arts. You can read more about the documentary and the maker below.

Date: 6 March 2022
Time: 20:00
Facebook live event

WHERE ARE THE BLACK BODIES DANCING is a two-part online series that should be seen as a research come to life. Through a visual collection of conversations, performances, and art we question the current racial landscape in contemporary dance, while actively creating space for black bodies. As we live in a time where activism is primal, oppressive structures in dance need to be highlighted. Therefore, we start the series by revealing complex truths like institutional norms, tokenism, and othering. This entire body of work can be seen as a form of counter storytelling, as extremely praised concepts like diversity and equality are contradicted by Christian Yav, Junadry Leocaria, Dalton Jansen, and Chanel Vyent. Through moments of vulnerability, we ask them what it means to be a black body in a white institute. More so, what are the issues behind contemporary diversity? And how do they actively create space for others or themselves?

Aqueene Wilson (Curacao, 1995) is curator, multidiscpilinair artist, autodidacte fotograaf en Caribisch kind. Met het menselijk lichaam als haar meest voorkomende onderwerp en haar achtergrond in dans, staat ze voornamelijk bekend om het documenteren van het (gekleurde) lichaam door een kwetsbare lens.

About CLOUD TALKS: Decolonization & Dance
Damani Leidsman and Fazle Shairmahomed have conversations with different people from the dance world from a decolonial perspective. They will talk about taboos, hybrid dance, transgressive behavior, the value of categorizing dance in boxes such as ‘amateur and professional’, ‘contemporary and urban’, from underground dance to dance in theaters, museums and beyond… How does dance move now, then, and very soon?The language in which they will speak and move will be a surprise each time, but it will be hybrid in particular! Let’s discover together how we can keep having dialogues!
Read more about CLOUD Talks

CLOUD, performance, Residents

COSMIC CATERPILLARS

Sticky10 November 2021 CLOUD

Lecture Performance by Lili Ullrich

Sunday 21 November 2021 at 16:00

In this lecture performance Lili Ullrich will share her research on the Knowing Body, institutional trauma and the Collective Unconscious. During her residency at CLOUD she worked on the performance Kosmische Raupe, in which she translated these topics into a collage of acting, physical theatre, contemporary poetry & sound. You can expect a magical journey into the subconscious mind and mystery of the body.

We are looking forward to see you then, the space will be open 15 minutes in advance.

picture by Pilar Mata Dupont with a costume by Dragadina and Rico Dyks

CLOUD

dis/embodiment, re-embodiment and dance

14 September 2022 CLOUD

Laura Shapiro / quicksilverdance, Thomas Körtvélyessy / Reàl Dance Companydis/embodiment, re-embodiment and dance
informal sharing Friday September 16th (online/studio)
20.00 hrs (CEST) 2pm (EST)

over this summer, New York-based choreographer Laura Shapiro and Thomas Körtvélyessy continued a written conversation about dis/embodiment and dance in relation social and political crises of our present times.
what relation do they experience as dance-professionals between dis/embodiment and its consequences, incl. fascism, destruction of the biosphere of which they are a part?
what can be the role of (our) embodiment, dance and creativity in this process?
how does listening to and acting according to our physical state relate to a dance culture where production and performance do (not always) allow for this to happen?

you are welcome to join them on Friday September 16th at 20.00hrs (Den Haag) or 2 pm (New York), when they share more about this project and open up the discussion. you can join via Zoom or directly in the studio of CLOUD, De Constant de Rebecqueplein 20b, 2518 RA the Hague/Den Haag. (face-masks mandatory) – warm thanks to the Kinetic Awareness™ Center for kindly providing the Zoom-account that will connect us all.space is limited,

please pre-register here by clicking on this link (opens a reply e-mail)
or write to info@realdancecompany.org See less

CLOUD

ME MONUMENTA!

5 September 2022 Jerome Meyer

ME MONUMENTA! is a research project : a solo by Karine Guizzo ,with the performer Lorenzo Capodieci.Her inspiration comes from nature, where males flaunt their ‘parure’’ in colorful seduction to attract their females but also from the extravagant drag shows with all their lavish looks and acts

The performance is an experimental composition of( minimalist) dance and visual art in which we explore and celebrate ’We humans as monuments’’. The second part of the project consists in performing in unusual places , like cafes , hairdresser salons or in an art gallery

Friday 9th September, at 17:30 and 19:00, we will present ME MONUMENTA

Please register for the showings:memonumenta.com

CLOUD

Silent on the bench

22 August 2022 Jerome Meyer

The project

“Silent of the bench” is the composition of new music for an experimental deceto. I am interested in deepening into several things that I have been studying for a few years about psychoacoustics, and improvisation methodologies. My stay in Coud is based on defining a line of composition for this group of musicians in particular

Short Bio (Projects (pb.online)):

José Luis Fraga (A Coruña,1988). Clarinetist, musician and performer. His interests are born from the instrumental practice, from the corpographic and from the collective interaction wirh artists of other disciplines. Higher Degree in Interpretation of Classical Music and Jazz, in Spain and Italy.
In recent years he has held own performances in places such as ACUD Theater in Berlin, MEAM (Museu Europeo de Arte Moderno de Barcelona), Fábrica de Arte Cubano in Havana, Casa Iberoamericana de Holguín, Iries Vibes (Belgium), Feria Hybrid Art & Fair in Madrid, Espai B (Barcelona), Puertas de Castilla Sound Art Center (Murcia), Casa do Brasil in Madrid, the House of Music in Alicante, the Paco de Lucía Auditorium or El Círculo de Bellas Arts in Madrid. Since 2016 he has been the artistic director of the “Código Abierto” collective of transdisciplinary improvisation (music, dance and visual arts).
He has participated in international artistic residencies such as Medialab Prado tutored by “El niño de Elche” (Madrid 2021), Majaam Residency (Estonia), Konvent Zero (Barcelona 2019), Art and Ground Alicante (2017). Receives several notable awards and grants, such as the Mestre Mateo Award for soundtrack (2021), INJUVE Creation Award (2017), AMEE PANC for sound artists (2017) tutored by Susan Campos Fonseca (Costa Rica Musical Historical Archive) or Buzz Meet s Biz of the Goethe Institute (2018).

CLOUD, Residents

BEING & BECOMING | RESIDENCY | OONA MINOO

11 May 2022 CLOUD

6-19 June 2022

Presentation : Friday June 17, 7:30 PM

How did we become what we are? What shapes us, what makes us decide to choose one way or the other? And is it possible to transform oneself into someone or something completely different?

Humans are developing and transforming themselves continuously. Like a never-ending micro evolution. Being & Becoming searches for the very first moments, movements, and thoughts in our lives – still so flexible and adaptable that we could almost go in every direction. It is also about the courage to leave what does not fit anymore and about trying something new.

Celebrating all the different kinds of transformation: smoothly, slowly, unconscious, controlled, explosive and never ending.

During this residency I will be further developing my piece, (re)searching for ways to embody transformation. Especially the ones, that surprise yourself.

Research questions will be:

Is it possible to create movements that you never done before? And if yes, how?

A special focus will also be brought to the relationship between movement and (live) music:

How does music influence movement improvisation?

What difference does it make if this music is played live?

What inspiration can movement offer for (live) music creation?

During the last days of this residency electronic composer and synth player Maria Solberger ( AT) will join me to experiment with ways of adaption, fusion and distinction between music and movement.

On our last day we would be happy to invite you for our presentation: Friday 17th June 19:30

About the artist: Una Wiplinger (AT/NL) is a choreographer/dancer and musician/composer. Under her artistic name OONA MINOO she creates interdisciplinary performances, that use dance and music as ways to connect to and communicate with the audience and go beyond genre borders.

www.oonaminoo.com

Classes, movement classes, performance, Residents

RESIDENCY | RECONNECT | BODIES IN ACTION

28 March 2022 CLOUD

11 – 15 April 2022

Open classes every morning 10:30 -11:15 AM

Showing Friday 15 April 19:30 – 21:30

Julian & Shira from Bodies In Action ~ enGendering Contemporary Dance from England will be starting a new Research in the Cloud studio.

We will look at what it is like to reconnect with something unfamiliar. This can be taken in an abstract or literal sense. It will be quite a personal residency, with opportunity to take things we are familiar with, throw them out the window, and discover new things both physically, emotionally, and mentally.

Some questions and ideas we have while playing with this new creation is:

How do unfamiliar bodies become familiar once again? How does the familiarity change?
Does the reconnection of something that seems distant automatically reconnect or not?
How does one/something smell, look, feel different? Can this happen with both a person and materialistic thing ?
How do we transform the act of “re-meeting” into something abstract and visual?
How does the amount of time apart from someone/something affect the reconnection of this?

Through these questions and figuring out the answers, we will find ways to manifest the creative process through physical tasks in order to generate material. We will take inspiration from our own unique experience as well as gather other experiences from our individual selves to tackle the question of how we reconnect with estranged individuals.

At the CLOUD/Danslab residency, we will invite people to come and take class in the morning.

Depending on what the space allows for, we will either guide a meditation/pilates/movement class or if professional dancers would like, we will host a ballet for contemporary dancers; otherwise, we will do a combination of both.

if you want more information about the classes please contact Julian: bodiesinactiondance@gmail.com

We will host a showing at the end of the week

to gather the immediate community to see what we have been up to. After this showing, there will be a discussion based on what people saw.

https://www.bodiesinaction.org/home

https://instagram.com/bodiesinactiondance

Residents

RESIDENCY | STONE NETWORK | Anna Bierler and Marit Mihklepp

21 February 2022 CLOUD

8-12 March 2022

Stone Network is a knot of gatherings initiated by Anna Bierler and Marit Mihklepp. They begin weaving the network with a week-long residency-ritual – from March 8-12 – to connect the voices and bodies of the geologic and the human, as well as focus on modes of writing and reading as spaces for intimacy and collectivity.

Each day an invited guest will be sharing their practice as an intensive learning and playing session:

–Tuesday, 8.3. with Juliette Lizotte

–Wednesday, 9.3. with Greta Facchinato

–Thursday, 10.3. with Cocky Eek

–Friday, 11.3. with Undead Matter

–Saturday, 12.3. with Comfort Ball

🪨

From March 8–12 between 7pm–8pm the public is invited to join for interactive radio-experiments on Good Times Bad Times. Streaming live from CLOUD Danslab in The Hague, we’ll explore reading and writing as a collective practice while tending to stones and the stories they carry.

To participate, please enter the chatroom of Good Times Bad Times

🔗

Every summer I gather a few stones from
the beach and keep them in a glass bowl.
Now and again I cover them with water,
and they drink. There’s no question about
this; I put tinfoil over the bowl, tightly,
yet the water disappears. This doesn’t
mean we ever have a conversation, or that
they have the kind of feelings we do, yet
it might mean something. Whatever the
stones are, they don’t lie in the water
and do nothing.
Some of my friends refuse to believe it
happens, even though they’ve seen it. But
a few others—I’ve seen them walking down
the beach holding a few stones, and they
look at them rather more closely now.
Once in a while, I swear, I’ve even heard
one or two of them saying “Hello.”
Which, I think, does no harm to anyone or
anything, does it?

Mary Oliver, Watering the Stones

📡

Let’s meet in the chatroom!

xoxo Stone Network

✨

This project is made possible with the kind support of creative industries fund NL