Symbiont stories is an investigative physical journey through abstract and nonlinear storytelling for humans. Through looking at folklore, myths, and anecdotes we look for the ways these stories live in the body. We search for characters and archetypes who can lead us to an empowered body in communion with the collective. Our bodies will sing together. Movement generation and composition will work cyclically transforming textual/ verbal content into physicality and in turn reading meanings of movement to create texts.

Through intuitive and authentic movement practices we will uncover the specific tales our bodies tell without composition. We will rediscover the speculative and silly fictions that live in our intertwined selves. The body, voice, and presence will be developed through attunement exercises and games from contemporary dance, qi gong, improv-theater, stand-up comedy, and vocal training. We will develop a holistic performative body which can express complexities with the flesh, the voice, and the spirit. Students can expect to work on the relationship between improvisation and fixed movement sequences to understand the different freedoms and challenges proposed by both methods. What does the body remember? Rooted in eco-feminist thinking, the physical research will relate us back to and focus on our non-human companions and lands. We will become symbionts.

Additionally there is a Contemporary class with Breeanne C. Saxton from 30.10.-20.12.2023  | Mon & Wed 18:15-19:45
With a varied training background including athletic gymnastics, Horton-Limon, release technique, and contemporary floor work techniques, Breeanne Saxton’s classes train the muscles to take care of the skeleton through efficiency, alignment, and intelligent utilization of physics of motion. Students will encounter improvisational, rhythmic, spatial, and sequential challenges individually and as a group, preparing them for rehearsal, creation, and daily living.

Breath, voice, and performative techniques may be additionally trained in this practice, breaking down the boundaries between performing as an actor and as a dancer. Throughout this practice, movement is generated from a quality and task-based plane generating a proficiency in precise intention-based physicality. The eyes and hands garner special attention in this practice as our most familiar tools to see, visualize, understand, and navigate worlds. At the same time, the practice works towards breaking down the hierarchy of the body and discovering new ways of seeing, knowing, and representing the worlds we move through.