From Lisbon to Basel. Choreolab Europe moves forward!

The 2016-2017 season of Choreolab Europe consisted of two 4-day intensives: the Barcelona Fall Lab in November 2016, and the Lisbon Spring Lab in May 2017.

As we explained in our last entry, the Barcelona lab inaugurated the four day structure – during our first season we organized three day intensives instead – and after Lisbon we can say that the 4-day plan is a keeper for the seasons to come.

The Lisbon lab was organized in collaboration with Polo Cultural Gaivotas Boavista and the dance platform Compota, an open group of interdisciplinary artists who revolve and act upon dance through guided jams, creative processes with stage presentations and other activities. For the people in Lisbon, check out their activities!

The Lisbon Lab was a success story in many aspects: our network grew, and on organizational level we managed to create an open environment where everybody was able to express themselves while offering at the same time a very diverse and full program. Dance & choreography were addressed from many a different point of view in guided labs and theory-based lectures. Among others:

• Danielle Dugas delved into the possibilities of meditation for improvisation techniques.
• Antonio de Sousa Dias introduced the possibilities of sound mixing and editing as a tool for choreographical practice.
  
• Anja Gallagher, together with Antonio, tried out her ideas for a video-dance project and explored how soundscapes can modify a given video-take or perspective of an outdoors space together with video-editing.
  
• Sanne Clifford, having recently created a site-specific work, offered the participants to deepen the understanding on how several places of Lisbon can be interpreted/affected, using different perspectives and starting points when looking for movement based on site.

As a platform, Choreolab Europe also took note of highly valued feedback. There was, in the end, a certain feeling among some of the participants of being overwhelmed by the amount of diverse points of view, ideas, physical approaches and strategies provided. More so because we were working on a tight schedule, there was a feeling of not having enough time to process it all.

The space for playgrounds, where everyone can choose how to fill in their time, will therefore probably gain in protagonism and be organized in smaller but daily timeframes in the schedules of the labs to come. This way, every day we will have a moment to reflect individually or in small groups on the ideas that appeared during the day.

The next lab is taking place in Basel, Switzerland, from 19 to 22 of October 2017, and we are happy to announce that this time we count with the support of the City of Basel, Migros Kulturprozent and the sponsorship of Edorex.

We grow, we move forward, and we want to keep improving. What started out as a small group of collaborators with the wish of trying out some ideas in a studio now has become a truly open and international platform for choreographic research with a wish to grow. Growing also entails being more aware of the positive echo our activities bring forward. Not only for participants, also for the local dance scenes of the cities that host us. Taking this into account, the 2017-2018 labs will introduce some novelties on content level. For example, we will:

• Always try to connect with a local dance-maker and invite him/her/them to guide a workshop on their choreographic methodology during our 4-day intensive. In the case of Basel, Bufo Maikmal has already confirmed they are interested in being part of the Fall Lab 2017.
• Broaden our choreographic network, inviting a new choreographer at every turn to guide a lab and share their ideas. For Basel, and thanks to the financial support of our partners, we have recently published an open call for those who are interested in being a part of our network. Check it out!

 
The global aim remains unchanged: to offer dancers and dance-practitioners tools for personal and artistic growth in a safe environment surrounded by peers who, like you, enjoy giving and receiving constructive feedback while researching on dance from different points of view.
 
Do you want to join our network? Inscribe yourself for the Basel lab, reply to our Open Call or just contact us to say hello!