Expressive Techniques for Dancers: Gesture, with Roanna Mitchell
Location: Goldsmiths
Led by Roanna Mitchell (The Chekhov Collective UK / University of Kent), this workshop on ‘Gesture’ continued a series covering expressive techniques for dancers in interdisciplinary contexts, drawing mainly on the approaches of ‘dancing actor’ Michael Chekhov, as well as making links to the work of Laban and Lecoq.
Rather than asking the dancer to set aside their expertise and step into unfamiliar ‘acting’ shoes, our work together explored how we can achieve acting moments in performance by starting from the dancer’s expertise.
In experiments involving movement qualities, atmosphere, and gesture into voice, we explored applications of the technique in simple scene work, in abstract choreography, and along the spectrum in between.
Participants had a range of training backgrounds across dance, movement direction and circus, and were variously teachers, performers and makers.
“Going forward the workshop will enhance the way I look at dance when I create and teach movement.”
