XIMENA GARNICA -PIERCING BUTOH- August November 2011

DATES: Sundays from August 21 to October 30 (except September 18th and October 9th) and every other Tuesday from August 23rd to October 18th.
TIMES: 10:30am – 2:30pm (Sun.) / 6-9:30pm(Tue.)
COST: $415 (51 hours, 14 sessions of training and choreography) /Single drop-in Class $15 (1.5 hr)/10 class card $128

Part One (Grasping the Body) The class begins with a warm-up focused on generating fluidity and relaxation through the body.  Different exercises give the opportunity to explore internal openness and energy flow, facilitate an awareness of space and consciousness, distinguish different approaches to movement initiation, cultivate presence and prepare an alert and neutral body that is ready to be moved. Part one will last one and a half hours and can be taken as a single class drop-in.

Part Two (Ensemble Creation): This second half will be focused on the creation of a group piece exploring the theme of the “clown body”. The aim is to experience the process of creating  a 30-40 minute group piece under the direction and choreography of Garnica. The class will give the students the ability to access states necessary to making work and will create a platform in which the group can begin to research and uncover information about this theme. Special emphasis is made in awakening consciousness by exploring the unconscious domain, which allows us – as dancers, choreographers and theater artists – to expand our understanding of the body, and our experience and understanding of daily life. Consequently, we enlarge the realms of perception, creation, and discover the possibilities for interaction therein. Integrating physical insights from part one within improvisation, and based in research findings, students will be lead into the creative process of LEIMAY’s ensemble pieces.  The piece created during this semester will be presented at CAVE on November 4 & 5 as part of CAVE’s Ferment Series.

Students participating in Part Two must take ALL classes. No drop-ins for the second  part of the class.

It is recommended for students to become familiar with LEIMAY’s aesthetic before registering for this section, as it has variances from more traditional butoh dance.

Ximena Garnica  is director/co-founder & co-curator of the NY Butoh Festival, as well as co-director of CAVE Organization. Garnica holds a B.A. in Theater from the City College of NY, and graduated from the Tenshikan Dance Institute (Tokyo, 2007). Recipient of the prestigious Van Lier Fellowship for young Hispanic directors in NY, and of the Bessie Schonberg Choreographers’ Residency at The Yard, she currently teaches dance at P.H.T.S, New York University, Tisch school of the Arts, Department of Drama.  She and LEIMAY have received support from: The Urban Artist Initiative (UAI/NYC), Robert Wilsonʼs Watermill Center, The Asian American Arts Alliance, the and  the Japan Foundation. She is currently in residency at the OBIE Award-winning downtown theater HERE. Her work has been presented around the globe in galleries and theaters of all sizes in Colombia, Japan, Mexico, France, Spain, Netherlands and the US.  As a teaching artist she has been invited to lead master classes and lecture at Denison University, Skidmore College, DeSales University, Muhlenberg College and the Academia Superior de Artes de Bogota.

Register here

Photos courtesy of  Naida Zukic
____________________________________________________________________

LUDUS PROGRAM SUPPORT
The New York Butoh Kan Teaching Residency + Training Initiative is made possible by support from the National Endowment for the Arts. CAVE performances and workshop presentations are supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. CAVE performance season in made possible with public funds from the New York State Council of the Arts, a state agency. LUDUS is the educational program of CAVE and LEIMAY.