contemporary class

Since 2009, Cristiana teaches contemporary dance and gives choreographic workshops in different frames, for professional dancers, dance students, non-dancers, circus artists.

She has been invited as guest teacher at:

Barker theatre (Turku, Finland), Dock11 (Berlin), Marameo (Berlin), Tanzfabrik (Berlin), Urban Stilez Festival (Bielefeld und Berlin), Centro Nacional de las Artes CENART (Mexico city), “tadah” (Turkey), “Katakomben-center for performing arts” (Berlin), Japanese dance and new circus-festival (Yamaguchi, Japan), Festival IJA2011 (Rochester, USA), “Netzwerktreffen neuer zirkus” (München, Germany), Katapult (Berlin), “Faenz’a danza” dance school (Faenza, Italy), “Officina delle arti” (Cesenatico, Italy), csi la torre (Rome, Italy), Centro de Danza de Zaragoza (Zaragoza, Spain), DART (Berlin), Danceworks Berlin.

class description

The class is very physical and dynamic.
It’s influenced by different dance techniques, first and foremost ballet and release technique, all combined with Cristiana’s personal research, developed through many years of work with different choreographers, as well as creating and performing her own work.

The training starts with a gradual warm up, bringing awareness into the body, focusing on the body weight and on our relationship with the floor, softening our bodies and, at the same time, stretching and toning.

Floor work is a very important part of Cristiana’s class, not only to work technical elements, but mainly to work on efficiency. Training the awareness of the floor’s constant support saves us energy and allows for more agile and cleaner movement quality - an important tool even when working standing up.
The class will then continue on different levels in space, using increasingly challenging combinations, playing with different dynamics, suspensions, out of balance, spirals, slides and falls.

A special focus, throughout the class, is placed on the “momentum” in the movement and on the impulse which initiates a movement, either physical or imaginative, allowing the dancers to work on precision and versatility whilst finding their own personal way of moving within a given phrase.
We will also explore different qualities and textures within the sequences, using improvisation tasks at times. We will apply images and sensations to movements, giving an intention to the action, which will lead to a deeper understanding, a different dynamic and a more honest way of moving.

All the movement material proposed in the class is specifically developed to improve agility and coordination, playing with a wide and complex dance vocabulary, always keeping in mind that technique is an important tool - but just a tool! - to enrich the joy of moving and to gain a wider range of physical expression.

weekly classes