Company Blu

LABORATORY_1

led by RENATE GRAZIADEI | February 6 to 10
Remaining Fragments of Existence
Each day of the laboratory will start with a warm up introducing concepts and aspects from several anatomically based movement systems which will prepare the body and mind to be receptive and prepared for moving in a logical, detailed and precise way without losing one's own individual expression.
We will work on achieving an efficient body alignment as a base to move from. As the warm up gets more physical we begin to train various muscle groups, connections and actions working with gravity as our partner until we finally approach a choreographic material in which all the previous concepts can be applied.

Towards performance
After the warm up we will work in a lab type format to be able to experiment and explore with all participants different aspects of the Theme “remaining fragments of existence". Within the research days we will be mostly concerned with - short term constructions - in order to explore multiple methods for generating movement material in relation to the Theme, its logic, and how it reads to an “Audience“. The evolution of the research will be mostly determined by the results of each day. New tasks for the next day will be formed within the group in response to our previous explorations, questions, findings and group discussions.
"Remaining Fragments of Existence” explores the emotions and connections that surface as we reminisce about memorable moments. Renate Graziadei's presentation, showcased by DOP.open dancers, eschews a linear narrative, allowing the performers to articulate a range of impressions on stage through a fragmented approach."

Renate Graziadei was born in Austria and completed her dance training in Switzerland. She then moved to New York City where she studied, worked and lived for three years, dancing amongst others with the Nina Wiener Dance Company. After returning to Europe, she worked with Rui Horta at S.O.A.P Dance Theatre Frankfurt and later with the Hamburg-based dance group COAX. In autumn 1994, Renate Graziadei and Arthur Stäldi founded the laborgras collective. In addition to creating numerous original projects of their own, Renate also contributed to the creation processes of other artists. Her longest and closest collaboration has been since 1999 with choreographer David Hernandez. Renate has worked with Sasha Waltz & Guests as assistant rehearsal director from 2004 – 2019 and as a guest dancer from 2008 – 2019. In 2010 she was the critic’s choice for Dancer of the Year, awarded by ballet-tanz magazine. In March 2015, she received with laborgras the Kunstpreis Berlin art prize from the Akademie der Künste in the Performing Arts category. In September of the same year, she was nominated for the DER FAUST German Theatre Prize for her dancing in the production Transition. In 2016/17 she was a guest dancer with Susanne Linke Company – at the Theater Trier for the production Hommage a Dore Hoyer.

LABORATORY_2

led by PETER JASKO | June 19 to 23

Deep Movement Consciousness + teaching philosophy
Through Deep Movement Consciousness, I desire to create a space for artistic self-discovery, a space beyond ambient noise (self-judgment, representative movement, states and expressions) allowing instead the sensitive and energetic body to generate fully conscious movement.
I go for a run almost everyday. Not for sportsmanship but as an exercise in attuning oneself to the smallest, most imperceptible sensations. I believe that this same awareness can and should be applied to whatever technique in dance. This approach leads to an exploration and a questioning of the structures, the contexts, physical and mental forms that govern choreographic gesture. By moving away from modes of representation, expressions and academic states, I promote a return to a dance of openness and breathing, a search for balance, which leaves space for all forms of interpretation.

Towards performance
I have the desire to explore with DOP.open students the unusual pathways that our inner movements have to offer. I’m interested in the desired path of each person involved, creating a web of potentials. I’m interested in seeing how the most minute movement can create the biggest ripple effect and how it reaches out to the many hidden corners.
How can microcosmic movements evolve into extensive lines of energy?
From a perspective of welcoming imperfections and impermanence, I want to invite myself, DOP.open students and the viewers to a dance of change and of deep mobility. How can we create mobility as much between body parts as between ideas and let friction and dissonance take their place inside of the performance?
Facilitating in close collaboration with each other is my practice of Deep Movement Consciousness (DMC) as a sort of an anchor to the process, as well as Spontaneous composition.

In 2001, Peter Jasko graduated from the J.L. Bella Conservatory of dance, Banska Bystrica, Slovakia. He continued his higher education at the University of Music and Dramatic Arts in Bratislava, SK, for a year before entering the international school of dance P.A.R.T.S. in Brussels, BE, (2002), under the artistic direction of Anna Teresa de Keersmaeker.
He has been involved in the dance community in different parts of the world as a performer, choreographer and teacher for over 20 years. His professional experience includes dancing/collaborating/choreographing with/for international artists and companies such as Company Roberto Olivan from Spain, the Belgian Eastman Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Circus Eloize, Bill Coleman, Petr Forman, Roberto Magro, Peter James, EDCM, Concordia University and many more. Since 2001, he has also collaborated with David Zambrano as both a performer and as assistant in his classes and workshops.
In 2006, Peter co-founded Les Slovaks Dance Collective and launched their first creation: Opening Night. This experience (a creative process that lasted one year) laid the cornerstone for a collective way of working and democratic decision-making. LS began to develop common skills: composing while performing, finding a gestural language, establishing the rules for relating to each other and to the public while performing, and using dance, music and singing. Extensive touring ensued. In 2009 Peter Jasko created and danced Solo2009.
In 2014 he began to collaborate and perform with Montreal dancer Clara Furey. Her approach fosters dialogue between the different kinds of mediums that make a living art work, inviting them to interact in a horizontal hierarchy. The same year Peter Jasko created a performance for 300 seniors as a part of cultural city of Europe, Pilsen 2015.
His latest collaborations are linked to the names such as Bill Colemean, Lucy M.May, Mohamadreza Akrami, Peter James, Clara Furey, Luka and Atom Jasko (his children).
For the past 20 years, he has taught in about forty-six countries around the world.
Since 2023 Peter Jasko became TransFormation Programming Associate for the workshop dance festival in Montreal, QC, Canada.