Douglas Becker (ballet) is a teacher, choreographer and first generation former dancer of William Forsythe’s Frankfurt Ballet. He restages Forsythe Repertory and teaches Ballet. His choreography has been presented on the stages of Belgium’s Royal Flemish Theatre, Switzerland’s Grand Theatre de Genève, and the Choreographic Centers of Grenoble and Nancy (France). He is guest faculty at PARTS Brussels, The National Conservatories of Lyon and Paris, New York University, and University of California Irvine, among others. His collaborative process of choreographic development improvises upon and utilizes dancers' individual talents and characteristics. A native of Dallas, Texas, he makes his home in Brussels, Belgium, and is returning resident artist in the Hollins University dance department and serving as the Hollins University European Dance coordinator for the program’s various international extended study projects.
Benjamin Boar (Contemporary Technique 'Body Weather') started his dance education at the Bucharest Ballet School, followed by a scholarship at the Hamburg Ballet School -John Neumeier. During 1998-2001 he was working with different companies and projects in Germany. In 2001 he joined Rosas, contributing to the creation of ‘April me’, ‘Bitches Brew-Tacoma Narrows’, ‘Kassandra – speaking in twelve voices’) and dancing in the revival of ‘Die Grosse Füge’ and ‘Drumming’. Since 2004 he also collaborated with Thierry De Mey, Johanne Saunier, Roberto Olivan, and has been involved in other projects abroad. At the moment he is working with Koen Augustijnen/Les Ballets C.de la B. He teaches in different places like UltimaVez, DanseCentrumJette, ESAC (Ecole Superieure des Arts du Cirque), La Raffinerie - Charleroi Danses and PARTS.
The Body Weather technique has been developed by a japanese butoh dancer Min Tanaka during several years. It combines various styles and ways of moving. During the class Beniamin will be challenging people's dynamics, coordination, the muscles and bones structure, and ability of doing more things at the same time using the anatomic intelligence of the body.
David Hernandez (Workshop 'Spontaneous Composing') studied studio music & jazz, opera and dance in Miami. He worked as an apprentice for a time with the Trisha Brown Company. He moved to Europe with Meg Stuart to help her start Damaged Goods in Belgium, working as a performer, collaborator, training the company and often assistant to Stuart.
He left the company to return to building his own body of work in Brussels under the name Edwardvzw. He has created several pieces, solos ande group work. He frequently collaborates as choreographer, dancer, composer, pedagogue and dramaturge with Brice Leroux (France), Labor Gras (Berlin), Rebecca Murgi (Italy), Abnouk Van Dijk (Amsterdam) and Rosas (Brussels).
He developed, in collaboration with Meg Stuart & Christine De Smet, the improvisation project CrashLanding(1996-1999).
He created several multi-media projects and happenings such as ‘Filter’, ‘Innersections’ and ‘Performance Hotel’ in visual arts spaces and theatres. He developed and directed The Performance Education Program (PEP) in Leuven in residence at the Klapstuk festival. He teaches regularly in Belgium and internationally and has been a core professor at PARTS, teaching technique, composition and improvisation, rhythm and dance and repertory projects.
During Spontaneous Composing many different facets of the improvisation world will be explored. The group will concentrate more on the skill of improvising and not necessarily on the skills required to be an improviser. There will be an introduction in some basic skills as a way to develop a common language and base for the whole group and as a warm up in the process. After that concentration shifts to different issues involved in the practice of improvising and creating a spontaneous composition. Possible concepts/issues are: Improvising a melody line, Doing what is needed not what is wanted, Composing silences, Improv stories, Team work, The solo, Reading and understanding movement and image...
Taka Shamoto (Drumming repertoire) started to dance at the Sendai City Ballet School. At sixteen, she
entered the Balletschule der Hamburgischen Staatsoper John Neumeier in Germany. In 1995 she entered the P.A.R.T.S. contemporary dance school.
Between 1997 and 2008 Taka Shamoto was a member of Rosas, contributing to the creation of ‘Just Before’, ‘Drumming’, ‘I said I’, ‘In Real Time’, ‘Rain’, ‘April me’, ‘Bitches Brew / Tacoma Narrows’, ‘Kassandra – speaking in twelve voices’, ‘D'un soir un jour’, ‘Bartok / Beethoven / Schönberg Repertory Evening’, and the revival of ‘Mozart / Concert Arias’, ‘Woud’ and ‘Achterland.’ In 2007 She worked with Grace Ellen Barkey & Needcompany in ‘The Porcelain Project’.
Drumming was created in August 1998 to a composition of Steve Reich. The compelling rhythmicality of the music propels the dancers into a choreography that appears complex and at the same time insidiously simple. Just like the music, the dance proceeds from a single motion phrase, explored exhaustively and unremittingly for an hour through endless combinations, variations and transformations, by reversing it, speeding it up and slowing it down.
During the week we will be working in learning Drumming material to be able to dance it and transform it in a personal and unique way. I will teach the vocabulary and phrases from the piece and once we will master them I will give different tasks and parameters to transform those phrases and to help he dancers to create their on vocabulary and their own way of expressing it.
I explain and teach tools we use in ROSAS Company to generate material.
We will talk about the creation of the revers of a normal phrase, how to make a floor version of it, how to transform it on the space, spirals, maximum versions, minimum versions, rhythmichal and speed alterations, loops, video scratches, face shiftings...
The final result should be playful and should give the dancers the chance to experience Rosas material in their own body and to help them understand the work of Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker.