Emmi Väisänen and Axel Guérin

not standing at Tictac

In this workshop, participants are invited to focus on discovering complexity and imagining new possibilities with another body. Very specific situations are proposed to derive principles rather than forms. The class alters the practice and repertory of the company by introducing first-time-tested material for future creations and borrowing exercises from martial arts (Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Tai Chi) as well as acrobatics, Icarian games, and partner acrobatics. The company aims to approach partnering from a different angle, challenging the body and mind to discover unfamiliar situations.

This workshop is aimed for participants with a (semi-)professional background in dance or circus, who have previous knowledge in partner work.

About not standing:

not standing was founded by choreographer Alexander Vantournhout. Alexander’s movement language is influenced by different pedagogical processes and by breaking through the boundaries of the varying art forms. Two constants within his artistic ventures are the search for creative and kinetic potential in physicality and an investigation into the many possibilities of the relationship between performer and object.

The pieces ANECKXANDER as well as Screws, Through the Grapevine and the dance film Snakearms were selected for the TheaterFestival, the prize for the most outstanding Belgian performances.

Emmi Väisänen’s biography:

Emmi is a contemporary dancer (FI/BE) currently based in Brussels, Belgium. She studied dance at Turku Conservatory in Finland and S.E.A.D (Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance), Austria. After graduating, she has collaborated with choreographers such as Alexandra Waierstall, Julia Schwarzbach, Rakesh Sukesh, Kinga Jaczewska and Alice Van der Wielen-Honinckx. The past years she has worked intensively in several creations with two companies: as a performer and collaborator with ECCE/Claire Croizé & Etienne Guilloteau and with not standing/ Alexander Vantournhout as a performer and research collaborator.
Emmi has shared her expertise through teaching dance workshops in Belgium (P.A.R.T.S, UP, Charleroi danse/Brussels, Passerelle/Kortrijk)
and Finland, as well as partnering workshops with Alexander Vantournhout at P.A.R.T.S summerschool/Brussels, Tictac/Brussels, Tanzwerkstatt/Münich, Deltebre danza/Spain, Summer Intensive/Lithuania.

Axel Guérin’s biography:

Axel Guérin (BE) is an acrobat specializing in duo acro-dance and floor-based acrobatics. With a deep passion for body movement, Axel began honing his circus skills at Circolito, a youth-circus school. Following his secondary school graduation, he embarked on a transformative journey in Bristol, where he joined Circomedia, his first formal circus school, and crossed paths with his partner, Winston Reynolds.

After two enriching years in Bristol, Axel and Winston ventured to Tilburg to further their studies at Fontys, the renowned academy of circus and performing arts. Over the past few years, Axel Guérin has been collaborating with Alexander Vantournhout both as a performer and research collaborator in productions such as Red Haired Men, SCREWS, Through the Grapevine and Foreshadow.

Dates and times:
November 11-15
10:00 – 13:00 and 14:30 – 17:30

Price:
80 € registration fee
300 € total

Picture by Bart Grietens