BAUxWhyNot LAB: Revolve/Unfold
Masterclass for dancers, choreographers, architects and artists
04.12 - 08.12, 2023, NDSM Loods, NDSM Plein 85 Amsterdam
Led by Ropes Aligned and Isabel Cordeiro
Public exchange
On Friday, December 8, the final presentation of the BAU Lab took place, where participants shared the results of the week.
About the Master Class
Discover what it is like to float weightlessly in the air and the fun and freedom it brings! In this five-day workshop, you will play with gravity as you explore the four elements: water, fire, air and earth.
You'll learn to dance in the air, sometimes as high as 10 meters. Against a vertical plane (wall dance) and free in space. You climb and descend and make jumps that make you float and stay in the air longer than when you jump from the ground.
Vertical dance reinvigorates your artistic practice. It influences the way you look at space and architecture. And when you can move 360 degrees, you play with space and your audience differently than when you are on the ground.
Ropes Aligned's experienced vertical dancers will give you the techniques and tools to move freely in the air. It's a great workout for your abs, but no dance technique or climbing experience is necessary. We'll teach you the basics, then you'll discover for yourself the possibilities of being harnessed and attached to a rope. and the fun and freedom it brings!
In addition to vertical dance, you will explore the four elements with visual artist Isabel Cordeiro and read texts such as Amnesty by Octavia Butler, a science fiction short story about the element of earth. And excerpts from Bodies of Water by cultural theorist Astrida Neimanis, about water.
We work with certified materials and experienced dancers. Led by vertical dancers Ropes Aligned (Suzanne de Bekker and Natasja Bode) and visual artist Isabel Cordeiro, participants will work with the theme of gravity. Through readings and movement exercises, they will establish new relationships between their bodies and the elements. Moving away from Aristotle's geocentric view of the universe, they will define and build a new space from their own understanding.
