With Selma Treviño
The proposed workshop consists of an introduction to Etienne Decroux’s Corporeal Mime Technique applied to the training of the performer. Each session includes a warm-up, technique class, movement research and improvisations.
Emphasis will be placed on the development of the performer scenic presence, precision, and drama in the body. This is accomplished through corporeal training based on the principles of the Corporeal Mime technique such as change of planes and levels, opposition, fixed point, precarious balance, dynamic immobility and torsion. The warm-up is a sequence of movements based on Yoga and aerobic exercises from the Brazilian martial art, Capoeira, put together in a sequence developed to awaken the muscles, articulations, and senses of the body.
The technique portion of the class covers the basic elements of Corporeal Mime: gymnastic exercises (simple and complex scales); expressive, complex exercises (moving statuary, walks, counterweights); figures of style; and mime compositions.
The last portion of the workshop is devoted to improvisations and personal movement research. The improvisations and the movement research give the performer the opportunity to experiment with the technique and utilize it in the creative process.
At the end of the workshop each participant will have a short composition that could be part of a small workshop performance.
The workshop could be offered in two manners:
- 15 hours of work in 5 days – a brief taste of the training
- 32 hours of work in 4 weeks – an intensive training
The best space for the workshop would be a dance studio with hardwood floors and mirrors on one wall. (This can be adapted.) The workshop is available to everyone who is interested and at least 18 years old.
