Years 10 to 12 Improvisation Workshop
The years 10 to 12 improvisation workshops are run by the NSW Department of Education Arts Unit in collaboration with dance maker Omer Backley-Astrachan. The workshop is targeted at students with an interest in the compositional process and using improvisation as a means to generate movement.
About the program
The workshops are run by the NSW Department of Educations Arts Unit. This program has been developed in collaboration with Omer Backley-Astrachan, an independent dancer, choreographer and producer and aims to explore the process of improvisation as it relates to dance composition.
Over the course of the two day workshop students will take part in three sessions that investigate the process of improvisation. Completing tasks exploring the elements of dance, abstraction and how this relates to dance composition. Students will work through a series of tasks in each session that develop knowledge, understanding and skill in generating personalised movement.
Program structure
Improvisation and composition skills are critical components of dance at a professional level. This workshop will provide students with fundamental skills and resilience to turn up the volume on who they are as a mover, creator, and collaborator. Throughout this 2-day intensive, students will learn to increase physical and somatic awareness; improve their technical abilities, utilise improvisation to generate their own movement and follow a path of movement discovery.
Day one will focus on developing somatic awareness and ways to generate movement from within. Students will work as a collective to generate a creative dialogue, demystify myths around composition and debunk common perceptions around dance and choreography.
Day two will focus on utilising improvisation to generate movement for composition. Students will debate a range of choreographic approaches and practice non-judgement in the process. They will finish the workshop with an intimate sharing of improvised or choreographic ideas and celebrate their unique expression.
Dates and times
This workshop has now been postponed to Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 August – 9:30 am to 2:30 pm
Venue
Sydney Dance Company Studios – Wharf 4/5, Walsh Bay Arts Precinct, 15 Hickson Road, Dawes Point NSW 2000
Cost
$125.00 per student
A 25% rural and remote subsidy is available for eligible students attending a rural and remote school.
Participation is open to dance students attending NSW public schools in years 10 to 12.
Meet the tutor
Omer Backley-Astrachan is an established choreographer and educator based in Sydney. Backley-Astrachan's artistic practice spans across choreography, installation, film, multimedia, and research. Omer has worked and collaborated with a wide range of dance companies, choreographers, and artists nationally and internationally such as Kamea Dance Company, Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, Jerusalem Dance Theatre, Jerusalem Ballet, Idan Cohen Dance Company, Mel O'Callaghan, Marina Abramovic, Kay Armstrong, Dean Walsh, Sue Healey and Joshua Thomson. In 2014 Omer relocated to Australia with his wife and fellow artist Sharon Backley-Astrachan, where he established himself as an independent artist in the local and wider arts community.
Omer’s choreographic works have materialised through the support of organisations such as Create NSW, Ausdance NSW, Bundanon Trust, BrandX, Catapult Dance, PACT, Readymade Works, Critical Path and more. In 2018 Omer was appointed Course Coordinator at Sydney Dance Company’s Pre-Professional Year where for the next five years he directed and mentored the next generation of dance artists in Australia and New Zealand. Omer’s choreographic works were presented in renowned venues including Susanne Dellal Centre (Tel Aviv), State Theatre Centre (Perth), Carriageworks (Sydney) and Riverside Theatres (Paramatta).
