2008 Renewal Arts Conference
Workshops
- Expressive Movement & Contemporary Dance
- Music & Creativity
- Art of Photography
- From Chaos to Harmony
- Rhythm & Life : African Drumming
- Poetry in Performance
- Improvisation for Theatre
- Soul of Making, Community in Clay
- Inside Out: Dramatic Workshop
- Painting from Within
- Puppet Theatre for Children
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Expressive Movement & Contemporary Dance
Shari Repasz (USA)Expressed ideas through movement -within the body’s capacity, being in tune with our bodies as we explored movement in reaction to our surroundings and ourselves. We used the tools of movement, dance technique, physical expression as well as our personal and collective experiences to create a work or body of works together. Sessions also incorporated Pilates & Stretch and Strengthen.
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Music & Creativity
Ben Schwendener (USA)Music, Natural Laws and Creative Expression; Understanding and developing ideas through musical composition and improvisation. Creative expression can be considered one of choice: elements or pre-established systems or methodologies. This workshop explored the concept of natural elements and objective principles as ‘tools’ used to bring ideas to fruition with The Creative Music Ensemble. Open to musicians on any instrument and at any level wanting to work with and create music for a diverse ensemble.
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Art of Photography
Yousef Khanfar (Palestine/USA)Photography is a language with which to express our feelings, capture the essence of an experience and create visual poetry that connects all of us. This workshop aimed to strengthen the abilities to see, capture powerful images, convey feelings, design visual images,to expand imagination and refine personal vision. We deepened our confidence in all aspects of working with our photographic skills, using light, composition, exposures, editing, and sequencing to create evocative images and metaphors.
This workshop blended a photographic adventure with a soul journey. Our time was divided between immersing ourselves in photographing our daily life, engaging in stimulating photo discussions, and linking what was seen and what was felt. Daily assignments put classroom techniques into practice and took advantage of the stunning light and colors of Caux. Participants left at the end of this workshop with more dynamic images, a greater awareness of their strengths, new technical skills, and an enhanced sensitivity to light, color and design.
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From Chaos to Harmony
Therese Bellut (France)Using original sound instruments, made accessible to all in a relaxed and playful atmosphere . . we aimed to create HARMONY WITH ONE ANOTHER and discover each ones marvellous, potential and often unsuspected CREATIVITY. . . learning to listen in depth while having fun, to put ones dreams, emotions and inner images into SOUND. DISCOVERING THE MUSICIAN in yourself by simply playing like a small child. Playful communication with musical instruments. This workshop was for everyone . . . playing music full of ‘listening’ and of respect.
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Rhythm & Life : African Drumming
Paul Agbih ( Nigeria/Germany)In nature there is Rhythm. If we listen very carefully, there is rhythm in working and relaxing, in walking and talking, in the streets and roads, in the mountains, forest and seas. People discovered their feelings and trust for rhythm by learning how to play different West African percussion instruments like the Udu, Akwakwa, Agogo, Shekere, Ekpoko and of course the Djembe and Sakara. Participants found their own rhythm and held on to it yet with an open ear for others, playing together like an orchestra. Although drumming is an individual work, the sound of it is much richer and finer when more people come together and play as a community.
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Poetry in Performance
Grazyna Canevall (Sweden)In this workshop we worked with poetry around the subject” The Broken World”. We wrote our own material and explored the universal language of poetry. Then we worked towards a poetic performance with the material we had written. Word, music and movement interacted with each other at this performance.
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Improvisation for Theatre
Elinor Johnsson-Commedia Gillet (Sweden)Improvisational theatre is theatre without a script everything is created in the moment. Through different exercises and games, we trained our spontaneity and learned how to use our imagination. Learning to be open to impulses from partners and from the audience to create and develop different situations. Together we built small scenes and stories. Special training was not needed to play with improvisation everybody was welcome regardless of whether they had theatre experience or had never set foot upon a stage. It’s just a matter of daring to jump into the unknown!
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Soul of Making, Community in Clay
Tasha Stevens-Vallecillo (UK)The workshops were shaded under the umbrella of what I call dialogic social sculpture; whereby art is happening to form a sculpture created through a dialogic process which echoes the essence of what is needed to “Mend Our Broken World”.
Different people with different cultural backgrounds, coming together for a common cause, speaking and sharing knowledge, communicating ideas, coming up with the best solutions. Clay visual representations were created of the solutions, by participants interacting sensitively with one another, the material and myself.
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Inside Out: Dramatic Workshop
Darren Raymond (UK)Dramatic workshop where the ownership of language is at root. Using issues taken from classical, contemporary, new and original writing, this workshop allowed its participants to create brand new pieces of work through improvisation It embraced young people from the community, those at risk of offending; those whose creative interaction may not have always been an easy option and those who THOUGHT they could not act! It was fun and TRANSFORMING.
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Painting from Within
Gerd Ekdahl (Sweden)The workshop began with a meditation where we listened and shared in the same impulse with which we paint. People who had never painted before in their lives were able to discover the hidden artist in themselves.
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Puppet Theatre for Children
Sara Solblomma and Morgan Tolsén - Commedia Gillet (Sweden)A workshop for children from 4 years of age where they were able to build simple but very expressive puppets and perform a little play.