Retina Dance Company
Antwerp residency: June 22- July 3, 2009
The residency in Antwerp is coordinated by Filip Van Huffel and Natalie Gordon and hosted by Retina Dance Company.
Choreographic training and improvisation
Filip’s own choreographic process is a succession of tasks that begin in improvisation and develop with the use of choreographic devices. These devices may utilize expressive, structural, mathematical or literal tasks, but are developed through a series of tasks to culminate in a movement phrase. He will provide the participants with choreographic tools and devices that they can directly use in their own choreographic process, and teach them how to refine their tasks in order to reach their goals and create a movement vocabulary that reflects the initial intent.
Partnerwork
One of Retina’s distinctive features is the partnerwork incorporated into the choreography. Filip will lead some sessions on contact work to teach the participants how to create exciting, risk-taking partnerwork through understanding a basic set of principles about weight sharing and continuity of flow. Filip is keen to see dancers develop these skills of weight sharing in order to maximise the choreographic potential for innovative partnerwork in their choreography and will support this experimentation and exploration.
Dynamic training
Natalie also specialises in teaching Laban theories. She feels that a better understanding of effort qualities provides dancers with a greater range of expressiveness and qualitative range in movement. Through workshops with effort qualities dancers become aware of the extensive range of movement qualities that exist. That can either act as a choreographic tool or enhance movement vocabulary after it has been created. This training will be incorporated within the process of possibilities in order to extend their awareness of such principles.
As the Antwerp residency is one of the last residencies to take place, Retina is aware that the participants may be working on their own work at this point. Therefore the mentors can adapt their workshop plan accordingly if necessary. All of the above can be refined to be able to work with their choreography in process if required.
Filip Van Huffel trained with a range of contemporary dance teachers around Europe. He danced for Claudio Bernardo, Air de C and Company Thor in Belgium, Frey Faust in Germany and Random Dance Company in London before co-founding Retina in 1995. Retina has produced fifteen company works that have toured internationally and since 2000 Filip has worked as the sole artistic director. Filip is also regularly commissioned to create works for other companies, which have included several commissions for the South Bank Centre London, EDge, Higher Institute for Dance in Belgium, Akademi, Tardis, Shobana Jeyasingh, StopGap, Ludus and X:ida Dance Companies. He has also created a Dance for the Camera production Freeze for BBC/ACE.
Natalie Gordon trained in dance and business studies at the University of Roehampton in London, which initiated her interest in Laban theories. She continued her advanced notator training at the Labanotation Institute, which inspired her to explore the full realm of Laban’s theories in the Integrated Movement Studies programme in America. Since her certification she has specialised in teaching Labananalysis and Bartenieff Fundamentals as well as being the Producer of Retina Dance Company. When previously living in England she managed Random and Physical Recall Dance Companies and taught at the University of Roehampton for several years. She now leads numerous Laban and Bartenieff courses internationally and collaborates with Retina Dance Company as their movement analyst.
Daily schedule
| Week 1 | ||
| Monday June 22 | 09.00-20.00 | Studio Graham and Astaire, Artesis |
| Tuesday June 23 | 09.00-18.00 | Dansstudio, ccbe |
| Wednesday June 24 | 09.00-18.00 | Dansstudio, ccbe |
| Thursday June 25 | 09.00-18.00 | Dansstudio, ccbe |
| Friday June 26 | 09.00-20.00 | Studio Graham and Bournonville, Artesis |
| Week 2 | ||
| Monday June 29 | 09.00-20.00 | Studio Graham and Bournonville, Artesis |
| Tuesday June 30 | 09.00-20.00 | Studio Graham and Bournonville, Artesis |
| Wednesday July 1 | 09.00 - 19.00 | Kleine zaal, ccbe |
| Thursday July 2 | 09.00 - 19.00 | Kleine zaal, ccbe |
| Friday July 3 | 09.00 - 19.00 | Kleine zaal, ccbe |
Studio addresses:
Artesis Hogerschool Antwerpen
Kluizeplein 8
2500 Lier
Ccbe
Driekoningenstraat 126
2600 Antwerpen-Berchem
Accommodation:
Rupelstraat 40
2060 Antwerpen-Dam