BHS DANCERS STUDY WITH MASTER TEACHER OLIVIER BESSON Made possible by a FoPA Grant
BHS dance students took part in an exciting three-part dance improvisation series with master teacher Olivier Besson on February 28 and March 7 and 17, 2014. This series was sponsored by a generous grant from FoPA written by Kathleen Exar for the benefit of intermediate and advanced dancers in the BHS Dance Program. Mr. Besson's work allowed students of Ms. Exar and Ms. Hernandez to experience wonderful insights into behind-the-scenes improvisational studies that can support the creation of new works or allow dancers to explore movement in exciting new ways. Group and partner collaborations were produced instantaneously, as dancers were freed from usual constraints they sometimes put on themselves when studying technique alone.
"A very unique and new experience of movement." —Thalia "I now feel more comfortable with improv because we learned how many different ways we could interact with each other and how to interact with the music itself." —Jana "These classes taught me more about being able to really pay attention to the people around me, I was surprised how easy improv dance can come to you when you really focus and pay attention." —Alina "We learned how to turn simple movements that would not seem like a dance into an improvised dance." —Jessica "It was an amazing experience that taught me to be aware of other dancers around me" —Ellen "As a dancer you must be aware of those around you. Your awareness is what makes a dance flow correctly." —Nora |
"We learned how to take small or everyday motions and turn them into a dance. I learned how to blend my movements with a partner and then switch control of movement while blending our motions together." "The dancer shapes the space and as the shaper dances, they shape the other dancers, as well as the dance."
—Olivier Besson "It was really an eye-opening experience to get to try something so different." "Contact improv requires allot of focus. It opened my eyes to a whole new side of dance. I want to apply this focus to my daily life" —Becca "I noticed every movement in my body and it allowed me to think about every movement and each movement formed a dance." —Maya "I learned how to be spatially aware when walking around in the room and how if you focus on one thing you can still be spacially aware" —Vritti " I learned alot about being aware of my surroundings and to use my surroundings in dance." —Arina "It was eye opening and involved thinking out of the box." —Timna |