An introductory two-day class for beginners to contact improvisation with Arash Khakpour.
Classes will take place from 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM January 25 and 26th at the Prince George Playhouse.
No dance experience required.
Indulging | The pleasure of basic principles in Contact Improvisation
In this beginner-level workshop, we will bring the value of playfulness and curiosity to work on the mechanics of rolling point, sloughing, bridging, yielding, anchoring and pressure modulation in contact to share a sense of the basic principles. We will bring the value of agility and tactility to awaken our inner CATS. We will dive into exploring how the physical skillsets we already know can expand through indulging in the range of our senses, noticing emotions and celebrating “failures”. We will dance in different duets to explore how letting go of tension and expectation can lead to flourishing creativity within each dance. We will engage in short improvisational duets to sense how we can exchange information non-verbally and with full body dexterity then transition into improvising with the group to cultivate our skill and pleasure of reading the partners in the room.
Arash Khakpour (آرش خاکپور) is a dancer and choreographer from Tehran and based in colonially known as Vancouver. Arash has been practicing dance and performance for the past 14 years and has been a company member of the EDAM ensemble since 2017. He tends to invest in the nuances of prejudices in the body as a way of inviting the unconscious to the conscious, and as a doorway to confront unknown emotions. He sees dance as a process of physical, emotional and spiritual discovery and a mode of transformation. He works with dance as a language that researches the human condition through mythical, historical, social, political and existential interpretations.
As a first-generation immigrant, he continuously considers what healing he can bring to the land and communities he works with. He is building a culture of relationality and reciprocity that celebrates the multiplicity of presences and approaches. Arash is the co-founder and artistic director of the dance-theatre-film company The Biting School (alongside his brother Aryo Khakpour).