About this event
*** Level Up! ***
A weekend workshop
with Robin Berkelmans & Cristhy Mattos
on lifting and flying
Lifting another body into the air, and letting yours be lifted to fly, is a skill you can learn. It rests on timing, organisation, conviction, momentum, listening, and understanding how support travels through two bodies.
Across this weekend we clarify the pathways into simple and complex lifts step by step: how to enter a lift, how to organise yourself once you are there, how to find the balance point and fly there, and how to recognise the moments where grabbing or hooking is doing part of the work. Then comes the discovery that the way down is as interesting as the way up — the momentum you land with is the momentum that carries you into whatever comes next, with clarity about the potential pathways to follow.
In the workshop we wake up the functional body through the foundations: rolling, falling, self-organisation, weight transfer, setting up a lift and following an invitation to lift or fly, to see different ways of offering and receiving support in both roles. From there we move gradually higher into more complex territory: the various shoulder lifts, travelling across the shoulder girdle — the helicopter — and a range of ways into and out of flight.
*** Who is this workshop for? ***
People who feel at home with lifting and flying in Contact Improvisation or related partnering practices. That level matters because we study the principles underneath the lifts, so your body absorbs the possibilities and you learn to set up the conditions yourself:
- How does a base invite a lift?
- How does a flyer stay active, responsive and organised in the air?
- How can a base keep moving and adjusting, opening pathways for the flyer to follow?
- How do we read where support is available in another body?
- How do momentum and pathways let us do more with less effort?
The workshop suits you if you:
- are comfortable giving and receiving weight
- want more confidence and skill in shoulder level lifts
- have already played with shoulder lifts and want to refine your movement quality, timing, clarity and ease
- want more tools for practising and developing complex lifts with someone else (and a few things you can work on alone)
You are welcome to focus mainly on flying, mainly on basing, or both. Working both roles will deepen your understanding of the material.
*** Partnering ***
We invite you to look for a partner you want to work with at this workshop. Much of the weekend is spent working with one person, even though there will be openings to practise with others along the way.
Coming with a partner will make your weekend more effective. Two days with the same body will have you really dive into the material. Choosing your own partner also means you choose the fit — an agreed interest in flying, basing or both, a size relationship that works for you both, and a sense of how your experience meets theirs.
If nobody comes to mind straight away, ask around — at a jam, after class, in the WhatsApp groups. Someone you feel a good dance connection with could well be interested in joining you.
And if you'd rather register alone, that works. Let us know when you register and we'll put you in touch with the other solo dancers ahead of time.
More info on teacher Robin Berkelmans: www.robinberkelmans.nl
Question? write us at: robinberkelmans@gmail.com or cristhygm@gmail.com
Spoken language
Dutch, English
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