International ChoreoLab Austria

From 24 August to 6 September 2014, the International ChoreoLab Austria (ICLA) organizes the interdisciplinary seminar “Sounding MOTION_MEMORY” - an art-based research workshop on dance, performance, music and space. Experts and students from various disciplines are invited to engage in an expanded understanding of choreography. Art-based research in the interface of body, mind and nature - celebrating memory and freedom. Applications are invited for the workshop - either the CountryLab (24-30 August) or CityLab (1-6 September) or both. Some scholarships may be available - otherwise, the fees are 790€ for the full 2 weeks. There is no specific deadline but the workshop will be closed as soon as the maximum of 25 participants are selected. Part one: ICLA Countrylab - fieldwork and research in the Art & Nature Santuary of St. Margarethen / Bgld. Part two: ICLA CityLab - continuing research and staging in the “white cube” of Tanz Atelier Wien / Vienna Topics such as memory and freedom, motion and emotion, sound, rhythm and space, are discussed from an interdisciplinary perspective – including analytical and applied forms of knowledge in the fields of dance/choreography, architecture, philosophy, music and visual art. Lectures, discussions, bodywork and site specific improvisations will raise the issue of how substantial changes in dealing with motion and memory, sound and silence, rural and urban can be achieved, and what the role of the performative arts and science will be. Renowned International Faculty Dance pioneer of Australian Modern Dance, Elisabeth Dalman is going to travel from “Down Under” to the idyllic Pannonian Region of Eastern Austria – teaching in and around the Sculptors´ House – to celebrate motion through memory by introducing a different perception of the body. In the face of the fragility of our contemporary society – as made evident by the recent increasing crisis around Europe – she proposes an alternative to the rationalistic worldview. Her profoundly study of the tribal dance of the Australian Aborigines brought about her meditative cannon within a flowing motion. Elisabeth Dalmans’ dance deals with important cross-cultural topics. Further theoretical and practical impulses are provided by the choreographer and dancer Othello Johns (Cologne), who relates his dance to narrative and rhythm language, Feldenkrais teacher and choreographer from Brazil, Alex Guerra, dancer/choreographer Ming-Shen Ku (Taipei, Taiwan), the architect and light scientist Renate Hammer (Vienna), the pianist Cecilia Li (Vienna), the Scottish sound artist and hornist Martin Mayes as well as the distinguished architect Johanna Rainer (Vienna). Interdisciplinarity between Science & Art – Nature & Culture Created and directed by choreographer and dancer Sebastian Prantl – director of Tanz Atelier Wien – the concept deals with the challenge of a flexible seminar structure, which is capable of being adapted to changing requirements. Being the first interdisciplinary performance study program in Austria, in the field of applied choreography, ICLA uses the synergy of two locations to question the mechanisms of knowledge transfer and fill a relevant gap in the life long education system. ICLA addresses persons dealing with an extended, interdisciplinary understanding of choreography such as dancers, choreographers, musicians, architects, humanists, cultural and social scientists, pedagogues, psychologists but also economists and managers as well as students from these areas. Studying in one of Europe’s most beautiful cultural landscapes: Pannonia Located one hour from Vienna, one of the world's regions of culture, the seminar takes place in the unique atmosphere of the Art & Nature Sanctuary of St. Margarethen in Burgenland/Austria. The rural topography and the extraordinary natural and cultural landscape of the wine growing region – which has been declared a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO – provide an inspiring learning environment.