BODY / LANDSCAPE in Grampians State Park – Victoria
Workshop exploring the relationship between Body and Landscape led by
Frank van de Ven (Body Weather Amsterdam)
Intensive 7-day workshop in Grampians State Park situated 3 hours West of Melbourne in Victoria. Also known by their Indigenous name as Gariwerd, these spectacular sandstone ridges run north to south with steep and craggy slopes on the eastern side and gentler slopes to the west. The region is home to over 800 species of plants and to a profusion of native animals and birds. Here we find unusual rock formations such as The Balconies, Mackenzie Falls and the summit of Mt William with stunning panoramic views
We will be staying at Buandik camping area, located in a forest beside Billimina Creek. Aboriginal occupation of the Grampians dates back well over 20,000 years and the area contains numerous surviving Aboriginal rock art paintings as found at the adjacent Billimina and Manja heritage shelter sites.
Body Weather – Body/Landscape: The basic training and point of departure for this workshop, Body Weather, is a comprehensive training and performance practice that investigates the intersections of bodies and their environments. Bodies are not conceived as fixed entities, but just like the weather, constantly changing through an infinite and complex system of processes occurring in and outside of these bodies. Taking Body Weather into the landscape, the aim is to explore and develop consciousness of the body itself being an ever evolving landscape within a greater surrounding landscape. Body Weather was introduced in Australia by Tess de Quincey in 1989, see http://www.bodyweather.net
Programme will include •MB (mind/body, muscles/bones) dance training •practice of and reflection on physical and mental training •walking and wandering, silent walk, pilgrimage and nocturnal journeys •various modes of experiencing body, movement and landscape •investigating divergent senses of space and time •peripatetic records, drawing, writing, immediate contact with surroundings •mental topography of a location, myth, archaic mind and genius loci •local geology, archaeology and history.
An integral part of the workshop will be individual artistic projects that participants are encouraged to formulate and work on for 1-2 hours a day in the fields of architecture, dance, performance, photography, sculpture, theatre, visual arts and natural history. The workshop leader is available to guide and support these processes.
Participants profile: for artists and mature students working in performance, dance, landscape art, sculpture, photography, architecture, theatre, visual arts and natural history.
Selection ofparticipants will be based on c.v. and motivation. No previous (dance) training is necessary but the workshop will be physically demanding. A good overall condition is required.
Frank van de Ven is a dancer and choreographer who spend his formative years in Japan working with Min Tanaka and the Maijuku Performance Company. Together with Katerina Bakatsaki he founded ‘Body Weather Amsterdam’, in 1993, as a platform for training and performance. Since 1995 he has conducted the interdisciplinary Bohemiae Rosa Project with Milos Sejn, connecting body and landscape with art, geology and architecture.
For more info on Body Weather Amsterdam HERE
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Dates: 17-23 February 2013
Arrival day Saturday 16 February.
Address: Buandik camping groundGrampians State Park.
HERE for more info
Access: car – carpooling
Buandik Campground inGrampians State Park park is about 260 km NorthWest of Melbourne,
26 km SouthWest of Halls gap and 64 km NorthEast of Coleraine.
We will exchange addresses of participants to facilitate car-pooling. Public transport is limited.
Lodging: bring tent, mat, sleeping bag and sheets or swag.
Food and other costs: $20 per day – communal cooking in rotation.
Bring also hiking boots, light sandals, notebook, hat, backpack, raincoat, insect repellent, lightweight warm clothes, torchlight, cooking utensils and cutlery
Organization in Australia : peterlfraser@gmail.com tel: +61-0439012900
Workshop fee: $480 – early bird $400 (to be fully paid before 15 January 2013)
Insurance: it is a prerequisite that each participant has their own health insurance. Make sure to bring a copy on site.
Booking: Toapply send name, address, a short c.v. and an explanation of your motivation to Frank van de Ven, Body Weather Amsterdam, frank.bwa@xs4all.nl
Within 2 weeks we will process your application and upon acceptance you will need to send an enrolment deposit of $80 to confirm your reservation.
To be sure of a place book early!
Information and registration : tel :+ 31 (0)20 68 42 568 / frank.bwa@xs4all.nl
