Adelaide | The Last Avant Garde Project

‘Our Adelaide workshop intended:

To create a welcoming, safe and inclusive environment for the workshop.
To introduce the Restless style of creating and devising movement.
To deliver a disability lead movement workshop with the support of a nationally recognised dance performer and tutor.
Encourage participants to create their own movement through creative tasks.
To work together in close proximity safely.’

– Restless Dance Theatre

Workshop Plan

The Last Avant Garde Workshop Series Adelaide 3 SUBS ONLY

The Last Avant Garde Workshop Series Adelaide 2 SUBS ONLY

The Last Avant Garde Workshop Series Adelaide 1 SUBS ONLY

To create a welcoming, safe and inclusive environment for the workshop.
To introduce the Restless style of creating and devising movement.
To deliver a disability lead movement workshop with the support of a nationally recognised dance performer and tutor.
Encourage participants to create their own movement through creative tasks.
To work together in close proximity safely.

Assess the access requirements and adapt workshop plan to accommodate.
Introduce Restless and the work of the company.
Introduce Michelle, Jianna and Larissa as tutors and discuss their career pathways in the arts.
Show footage of the Restless promo and of recent performances. (This was not possible due to equipment availability.)

Stretching exercises led by the tutors that participants followed. The sequences work through skeletally from the top of the head to the toes.
Followed by Isolated actions to energize and warm-up the joints and muscles.
Assisted by a fun and upbeat music playlist.

With another participant, connect shoulder to shoulder to slowly move around the space.
Begin with a slow walk and accumulate into a faster pace. In your own time, spinal roll down and back up in unison, staying as connected as possible.
Multiply by finding another couple to connect with. Try to move through the space together in the same way. This continues until everyone is connected shoulder to shoulder as one large group.

With a partner or by yourself, create a small phrase around the idea of drawing in space. With any part of the body draw a straight line in the air. For example: use your elbow to trace a line from left to right. Next, find a new body part to draw a circle in space.
Following this, find an action up high and then a movement down low. For example: reach up high with your chin and then lower your pelvis to the floor.
Remember your 4 actions and join them together to create a phrase.
Challenge participants to use interesting body parts and play with the length of the action and dynamic quality used.
Find another person to teach your phrase to as well as learn what they have made.
Join pairs to make a larger group and learn each other’s movement to create a longer sequence.
Each group shares the generated movements with the rest of the group (show and tell)

Think about what type of music would complement or juxtapose against what has been made.
Think about the energy it evokes and play around with the tempo and speed of your movement.

Slowly warm down by repeating the same pathways from the warm-up by navigating through the body from head to toe.

Come back together to discuss what you enjoyed & reflect on learnt skills and unexpected discoveries.
Thank everyone for their participation

Photographer: Bianca Hoffrichter
Videographers: Bianca Hoffrichter, Ahmed Aly