Lead by Following in Contact Improvisation and the Feldenkrais Method - Daniel Burkholder

Dancer/Choreographer Daniel Burkholder shares his experience with leading and especially following through the improvisational forms of Contact Improvisation and Feldenkrais Method.

Daniel choreographs, improvises, performs, teaches dance and the Feldenkrais Method, and practices mindfulness. His choreographic/improvisational work spans theatrical performances, site-specific events, immersive media, and screendance, and has been presented at numerous venues throughout North America and internationally. His current work includes: “On-Site”, a series of embodied screendance experiments; “Embodied Truth: finding ways to move together”, a collaboration with Kimani Fowlin examining race and gender through the lens of parenting; and, “act/re/act”, a podcast exploring improvisation through conversations with remarkable artists.  His work has been commissioned by The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, James Madison University, and Goucher College, among others. Daniel is currently an Associate Professor of Dance at University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and the director of the MFA in Dance program.

“In the act of following there’s a generosity that evolves, and so much is possible.” 

“There is a sense of leading, but it’s through following the cues that I’m getting from the person I’m working with.” 

“If I just come through with a hard laid-out plan I miss an opportunity to really see what’s happening in the moment and the possibilities within that moment.”

“The trust is that I’m going to enter this relationship where we’re going to be engaging one other with a goal that is supportive, that helps both of us flourish, that opens of new possibilities for ourselves.”

Connect with Daniel Burkholder
www.danielburkholder.com

Listen to Daniel’s act | re | act podcast
www.danielburkholder.com/actreact-podcast

Example of Contact Improvisation
https://youtu.be/q4wUEiHowSU

Information on Feldenkrais Method
https://feldenkrais.com/

 
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Connect with your host Sharna Fabiano
www.sharnafabiano.com