MAZOPALOOZA IS A DANCE FESTIVAL which has been quietly thriving in the dead of winter in a tiny town in Southwest Wisconsin for over a decade. We’ve filled the streets, galleries, community spaces and storefronts of Mazomanie with spontaneous physical composition; enjoyed exquisite afternoons of focused movement; explored aerial, vocal, musical, silent, site-specific, physical, theatrical and contact-based improvisation, welcomed the curious via free classes and performances, and accrued rich memories of retreat and reconnection in a peaceful, beautiful rural setting. It is always a delight to witness new eyes opening to the lifelong practice and joyful play of improvisational movement, and to welcome back old friends for whom Mazopalooza has become a New Year’s tradition. Here are some photos from past ‘paloozas.
This year we are returning to our roots of Contact Improvisation, with Intermediate-level (Friday) and open-level (Saturday) workshops by guest teacher Katarina Eriksson (Sweden, Bay Area, CA) and lots of time and space for open jamming. Teachers from around the great lakes region will lead us into dancing with mini-classes and facilitated warmups. On Saturday evening, we’ll create and witness some improvised performance that is contact-based as well as site-based.
Katarina Eriksson has been involved with improvisational dance since 1989, colla
borating with artists, such as Julyen Hamilton, Ray Chung, Cathie Caraker, and as a member and co-founder of Swedish improvisation ensemble Floke. She teaches Contact Improvisation and other improvisational forms in Europe and the US, and since 2000 she has curated the performance series Moments Notice in Berkeley. She graduated from the Ballet Academy, Gothenburg and worked at the Gothenburg State Theater and Opera, as well as with numerous choreographers and dance companies in Sweden. Recently, she has been an Artist in Residence at CounterPULSE, San Francisco, she has toured in Sweden and Germany with Hoppalappa Postfolki Tanziteatteri, and directed multi-disciplinary performances at Earthdance, Massachusetts and Movement Research at Judson Church, New York.
Katarina’s teaching supports collaboration, diversity of expression, and “beginner’s mind. Her main guides in art making are vulnerability, musicality and deep play.
Give & Take Open level: Friday, Jan. 8, 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. In this class we will look for clarity and sensitivity in dancing together and cultivate a curiosity towards the unknown. We will practice basic contact skills such as falling safely, rolling point of contact and center awareness. There will also be space for group improvisations where we develop easy transitions in and out of physical contact, as well as solo work for exploration of personal movement vocabulary.
Katarina’s teaching supports play, exploration and “beginner’s mind”. She is fascinated by the side of CI that allows us to simultaneously give and receive physical information – as in a handshake, or a hug.
Accidental Excellence, Or The Joy of Stumbling into Contact (some previous experience with Contact is required): Saturday Jan. 9, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
I have noticed that, what can be perceived as mishaps in a dance often become an opening to deeper listening and awareness of the particularities of the dance I’m having right now. So, in this class we will cultivate our capacity of being “accident-prone” – to stop trying to get it right and instead becoming more and more curious about where the principles of contact improvisation can take us moment by moment.
We will study:
- Falling (How does my body fall safely? Where is the edge of my comfort zone? What kinds of falls make me laugh?)
- Rolling point/Sliding point/ In and out of contact (How can these concepts support my dance towards surprise and discovery? Can I shift from making it happen to watching it happen? Can I find joy in the moments of difficulty? )
- Weight exchange (How do I respect my own and my partner’s limitations without letting “politeness” dull the dance? What are all the micro-grades on my scale for giving and receiving weight?)
It was when I found out I could make mistakes that I knew I was on to something. ~Ornette Coleman
Here’s our tentative schedule for the weekend:
| Time | Event | Location |
Fri 1/8 |
||
| 10:30-11 | Arrival, registration | Rumpus Room |
| 11-11:30 | Opening circle | Rumpus Room |
| 11:30-1:30 | Katarina’s class (Give and Take) | Community Bldg |
| 11:30-1:30 | Jam space available | Rumpus Room |
| 1:30-2:30 | Lunch | Community Bldg |
| 2:30-5:30 | Katarina’s class (Give and Take) | Community Bldg |
| 2:30-5:30 | Jam space available | Rumpus Room |
| 5:30-7 p.m. | Dinner break | Mazo Community Bldg |
| 7-8 p.m. | Sound dancing w/ Bobby Kokott | Rumpus Room |
| 8-10 p.m. | Warmup 2 jamming | Community Bldg |
Sat 1/9 |
||
| 9:00-10:00 a.m. | Arrival, registration | Rumpus Room |
| 10:00 a.m. | Opening Circle | |
| 10:15 – 1:00 | Katarina’s class (Accidental Excellence) | RR or CB |
| 10:15 – 1:00 | Warmup 2 jamming | RR or CB |
| 1:00-2:00 | Lunch | |
| 2:00-3:30 | Performance-making minimarathon! | Rumpus Room |
| 2:00-3:30 | Warmup 2 jamming | Community Building |
| 3:30-5:30 | “Get what you want by taking” class with Sasha Lasdon | Rumpus Room |
| 3:30-5:30 | Warmup 2 Jamming | Community Bldg |
| 5:30-7 | Dinner | Community Building |
| 7-8 p.m. | Some Assembly Required | Rumpus Room |
| 8 -10 p.m. | Live music jam? Or just another jam? Anyways, let’s dance! | |
Sun 1/10 |
||
| 10:00-11:15 a.m. | Brunch | Maria’s |
| 11:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m. | Juicy warmup and last jam with Sarah Gottlieb | Rumpus Room |
| 2:00-2:30 p.m. | Closing Circle |
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Date/Time
Date(s) - 01/08/2016 - 01/10/2016
All Day
Location
The Rumpus Room
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