Lasqueti
On
remote Lasqueti island in BC, Canada, the intensive will be a chance
for a devoted group of dancers to work on interdisciplinary performance
and body-based creative process. Directed by Karl Frost, the
work will be physically rooted in the study of released approaches
to contact improvisation and will venture from this base into a
full range of interdisciplinary approaches to performance …
dance, theater, spoken word, voice work and music. The
aim will be to develop an organic approach to performance, based
in improvisation that blends across disciplinary boundaries.
In this context, contact improvisation will serve both as metaphor
and physical embodiment of working principles of articulation within
a flow and interplay
of intention and detachment.
Lasqueti Island is an isolated,
rural island in the Georgia Straight, between Vancouver Island and
the lower mainland in the west coast of Canada: no car ferry, off
the power grid, and a winter population of fewer than 300 on an
island the size of Manhattan. Winters are cold, wet, very
quiet, and green. Seals, otters, blue herons, osprey, and eagles
share the island. Forests and rock bluffs overlook the ocean.
Living is very rustic. Limited distractions provide an excellent
opportunity to focus on creative work.
From the flier for the 2nd Lasqueti Island Winter Contact Improvisation
Intensive, 2001
The Lasqueti Island Winter Contact Improvisation Intensive
was a radical experiment in training Contact Improvisation
and related arts directed by Karl Frost and organized with Jez Parus
and Ellah Ray. Lasting from 2 to 3 months, and working 50-60
hours per week, the intensives combined
- daily training in contact improvisation and interdisciplinary creative process and performance with Karl Frost
- workshops with world class instructors in various forms of body-based creative process (voice, music, theater, modern dance…)
- weekly readings and discussion on somatic healing modalities and theater theory
- open classes and workshops integrating the local rural community with the 12-16 full time students
- student driven laboratory time integrating interdisciplinary approaches to performance work
- a performance tour of the gulf islands, practicing performance work and honing skills
- student organization of a weekend contact jam for 60 dancers from around the Northwest
- teacher training in contact improvisation culminating in a weekend contact intensive taught by the students
- off-grid island living
To my knowledge, nothing else quite like it exists
Centered around the study of contact improvisation, the program represented
about 160 to 240 hours of study in contact improvisation plus an equal
measure of study in other body-based practices. Guest instructors
included David Hatfield (Vancouver, BC – vocal improvisation
2000 and 2001), Michelle Miller (Seattle, WA -- modern technique 2001),
Irene Franco (Duncan, BC – rhythm 2001), Amii LeGendre (Seattle,
WA – modern technique & composition 2003), Joey Blake (Maui,
HI – vocal improvisation 2003), Jeff Mooney (San Francisco,
CA – rhythm 2003), Danya Elraz (Jerusalem, Israel -- lighting
design 2003), and Keith Hennessey (San Francisco, CA – performance
art 2003)
With regards to contact improvisation, as well as it being studied
for its application to performance, it was studied in its own right
as a physical practice. This study was rounded out with practice
in organizing contact jams and instruction and practice in structuring
classes and workshops.
A central desire of the program was the integration of the work in
rural community. To this end, there were numerous times made
available for part time participation with the local community, including
weekend jams and workshops with visiting instructors, and partial
participation in the intensive for more experienced artists (especially
around singing work). This combined with living in the community
and numerous showings to the community and participation in local
talent nights, led to a unique and enriching experience both for locals
and for visiting students.
Another central desire of the program was that of financial accessibility.
Through a combination of creative work exchanges and simple living,
the Intensive succeeded phenomenally in this goal.
In the last year of the program over 100 people from around the gulf
islands and the Northwest participated in the workshops, jams, and
classes.
While there are no firm plans, yet, an evolution of this program is
in the works for 2007.
