the art of bodies in motion



Sunday, November 15, 2015

A quick postcard from Paris

Dear Christine,

I have been trying to find the words to share with you what it is to be in Paris just now, after Friday night's terror attack… The 'dance', at the moment, is one of the heart -- twisting and roiling. And still pumping, for many of us. Still pumping. A group of us had been just blocks away from the slaughter earlier in the day, at an improvisation workshop by Jurij Konjar (which I will share with you all another day), oblivious of what was to come. Most of us had moved on by nightfall to other things, other places…

I think for me silence is the best I can do to keep my heart strong and clear and bright. Information continues to emerge. Reactions collide inside of each of us like an old pinball machine. Silence gives a little space for the expansion of the heart, when it might otherwise contract too strong, too hard.



But a friend of my son's shared this beautiful piece of writing by a young woman named Isabel Bowdery, who was in the Bataclan. This is worth sharing with you. I think she expresses beautifully what it is to stay human in this moment… I copy it in text below, as well as this link more directly to her post: https://www.facebook.com/isobel.bowdery/posts/10153885280769893">https://www.facebook.com/isobel.bowdery/posts/10153885280769893">https://www.facebook.com/isobel.bowdery/posts/10153885280769893

"you never think it will happen to you. It was just a friday night at a rock show. the atmosphere was so happy and everyone was dancing and smiling. and then when the men came through the front entrance and began the shooting, we naiively believed it was all part of the show. It wasn't just a terrorist attack, it was a massacre. Dozens of people were shot right infront of me. Pools of blood filled the floor. Cries of grown men who held their girlfriends dead bodies pierced the small music venue. Futures demolished, families heartbroken. in an instant. Shocked and alone, I pretended to be dead for over an hour, lying among people who could see their loved ones motionless.. Holding my breath, trying to not move, not cry - not giving those men the fear they longed to see. I was incredibly lucky to survive. But so many didn't. The people who had been there for the exact same reasons as I - to have a fun friday night were innocent. This world is cruel. And acts like this are suppose to highlight the depravity of humans and the images of those men circuling us like vultures will haunt me for the rest of my life. The way they meticoulsy aimed at shot people around the standing area i was in the centre of without any consideration for human life. It didn't feel real. i expected any moment for someone to say it was just a nightmare. But being a survivor of this horror lets me able to shed light on the heroes. To the man who reassured me and put his life on line to try and cover my brain whilst i whimpered, to the couple whose last words of love kept me believing the good in the world, to the police who succeded in rescuing hundreds of people, to the complete strangers who picked me up from the road and consoled me during the 45 minutes I truly believed the boy i loved was dead, to the injured man who i had mistaken for him and then on my recognition that he was not Amaury, held me and told me everything was going to be fine despite being all alone and scared himself, to the woman who opened her doors to the survivors, to the friend who offered me shelter and went out to buy new clothes so i wouldnt have to wear this blood stained top, to all of you who have sent caring messages of support - you make me believe this world has the potential to be better. to never let this happen again. but most of this is to the 80 people who were murdered inside that venue, who weren't as lucky, who didnt get to wake up today and to all the pain that their friends and families are going through. I am so sorry. There's nothing that will fix the pain. I feel priviledged to be there for their last breaths. And truly beliving that I would join them, I promise that their last thoughts were not on the animals who caused all this. It was thinking of the people they loved. As i lay down in the blood of strangers and waiting for my bullet to end my mere 22 years, I envisioned every face that I have ever loved and whispered I love you. over and over again. reflecting on the highlights of my life. Wishing that those i love knew just how much, wishing that they knew that no matter what happened to me, to keep belieivng in the good in people. to not let those men win. Last night, the lives of many were forever changed and it is up to us to be better people. to live lives that the innocent victims of this tragedy dreamt about but sadly will now never be able to fulfil. RIP angels. You will never be forgotten."

Saturday, June 13, 2015

The Conscious Body IV – Mouvement et Conscience

Samedi 20 juin 14h-19h
Un dispositif interactif à la rencontre de
la neuroscience, la danse et la philosophie

La Briqueterie
CDC du Val-de-Marne
17, rue Robert Degert Vitry-sur-Seine

À partir de la fin du XIXème siècle, les théories de la conscience s'orientent vers l'idée que les phénomènes psychologiques (perceptions, émotions, volontés) relèvent de la motricité. Ainsi la perception, non seulement requiert un grand nombre de mouvements conscients (faire le tour de l'objet) ou inconscients (saccades oculaires, circulation électrique dans les neurones), mais doit elle-même être comprise comme une activité motrice par laquelle nous nous insérons dans le monde. Prolongeant cette intuition, la théorie sensori-motrice (en sciences cognitives), mais aussi les philosophies du corps au XXème siècle (Merleau-Ponty, Deleuze, Foucault) ont cherché à interroger cette relation de la conscience et du mouvement, dont les pratiques contemporaines de la danse s'emparent plus que jamais.

À l'occasion de cette rencontre The Conscious Body [TCB] IV, nous avons invité quinze participants provenant du monde de la recherche scientifique, des sciences humaines et des arts à se réunir pendant six jours pour une série d'expérimentations autour de cette relation conscience/mouvement. TCB se présente ainsi comme un cadre dans lequel scientifiques, théoriciens du mouvement ou de l'art et praticiens créent ensemble des dispositifs artistiques et expérimentaux destinés à être vécus de l'intérieur par le public de la Briqueterie.

Samedi 20 juin à 14h, TCB ouvre donc ses portes au public, afin qu'il puisse participer, non comme regard extérieur, mais comme sujet actif, aux expérimentations conçues par le groupe durant la résidence. Ce dispositif a pour vocation de permettre au public de vivre de l'intérieur la création de ces expériences sensorielles et en mouvement.

L'organisation de la journée:

14:00-14:30 Monologue d'introduction
Présentation de TCB IV et de Labodanse

14:30-15:30 Un dialogue danse/philosophie
{Erin Manning rencontre Catherine Contour} La conscience comme mouvement

15:30-18:00 Polylogue
Expérimentations en circulation libre dans la Briqueterie

18:00-19:00 Métalogue
Retour sur expériences, discussions avec le public

Nous aurons le plaisir d’accueillir :

pour les praticiens : Noëlle Simonet (notation Laban) ; Benoît Lesage (danse-thérapie) ; Angela Loureiro (Laban-Bartenieff) ; Ann Moradian (yoga et kinomichi) ; Hervé Baunard (rolfing) et Catherine Contour (chorégraphe, hypnose)

pour les scientifiques : Isadora Olivé (physiologie de la perception et de l'action) ; Pierre Pouget (neurophysiologie de la perception) ; Chlöé Farrer (neurophysiologie de l'attention) ; Sergiu T. Popescu (psychologie de la perception) et Pauline Hilt (plasticité sensorimotrice)

pour les philosophes : Damien Schoevaert (morphologiste et biomathématicien) ; Frédéric Pouillaude(philosophie de la danse) ; Geisha Fontaine (philosophie de la danse) ; Nicole Harbonnier-Topin (explicitation et analyse du mouvement) ; Erin Manning (chorégraphe, plasticienne, philosophe du mouvement)

La participation est gratuite mais la réservation par e-mail (reservation@alabriqueterie.com) ou par téléphone (briqueterie: 01 46 86 17 61) est fortement conseillée.
Un bar sera à la disposition des participants tout au long de l'après-midi.

Ce projet est soutenu par le labex ARTS H2H, le PSL et la Briqueterie.

https://www.facebook.com/events/378681962331624/


Tuesday, May 26, 2015

CREATING YOUR OWN PRACTICE

A Workshop for Yoga practitioners wishing to continue their practice over the summer, at home or on vacation. We will go through the basics of what is needed for a well-balanced practice, with plenty of examples and ‘hands-on” experimentation. Each student will develop their own home practice, designed to suit their individual needs, abilities and interests, while working with the reality of their time and other constraints. Pre-registration is necessary for this workshop.


Photo © Alex Vanagas.

Tuesday, June 30, 2015
19h00 – 21h30 (55€)
YogaYoga Paris
6 passage de la Vierge
Paris 75007

Open to students of all levels, and practicing any form of Yoga. It includes a mandatory pre-workshop telephone conference to discuss expectations, needs and limitations.

Thursday, May 7, 2015

IMPRESSION: Compagnie Silenda (Laura Simi & Damiano Foa)

Festival signes de printemps (Signs of Spring Festival)
at Studio Le Regard du Cygne, Paris
April 17, 2015


Both works on this program, Titre Inachevé (Unfinished Title) choreographed by Damiano Foa and Shut up!, a collaboration between choreographer Laura Simi and composer Jean­-Noël Françoise, tap into how light, sound, and movement can work together to create pockets of enhanced visceral experience. (To read the rest, click here…)


Photo copyright Sebastien Laurent.




Saturday, April 4, 2015

Dance Box Festival - Version Clip 2015

Colum Morgan performing in a work created in collaboration with Ann Moradian, March 10, 2015 in Paris. All photos © Alex Vanagas:
















Sunday, January 18, 2015

A Day in the Life : David Sharp empowers artists to handle their finances


Do you have issues with money?
I do.

I may have dedicated my life to dance and the movement arts but, in spite of that, somewhere along the way a small part of me bought into the idea that Dance is not a "real" profession and that, as an "Artist," financial security will be forever out of my reach. While I may know very little about financial health, one thing I do know: As long as you believe something is impossible, it is.

Well then, time to get over it and put that part of life in order. New Year's resolutions and all that! But… How, exactly? In spite of all good intentions and that gust of New Year optimism, I draw a blank here.

Enter (stage left) -- the Money Hero!

Last October, Money magazine awarded David Maurice Sharp with this spiffy, spandex-sounding award for the work he is doing educating artists about financial investments. Oxymoron? According to Sharp, not at all. He makes it sound feasible and even simple--simple enough that I've already started shifting my thinking and my habits… TO READ THE ARTICLE




Workshop: Foundations of Yoga

Sunday, January 25 2015
11h-13h30, 50€
YogaYoga Paris
6 passage de la Vierge
Paris 75005 (M° Ecole Militaire)

Open to all levels, we will move through a physical practice of postures (asanas), working with breath, alignment and concentration to create stability, strength and ease in our practice. We will also identify and begin to bring into our practice the ethical and philosophical foundations passed down to us through the ages. These include an introduction to the yamas and niyamas (the "do's and don'ts" of Yoga), dharma (right path) and karma (cause and affect), among other essential concepts and practices that apply both on and off the mat.


To register, please contact Ann Moradian at 06 89 70 23 58 or moradian.perspectives(@)gmail.com