This Masterclass introduces the core principles of Taiji Quan and their creative application in the performing arts. We will practice a set of physical principles relating to breathing patterns and the merging of opposing poles such as in-out, open-close, gather-disperse. These physical principles are then experimented as choreographic dialogues of the body-mind-unit with the time-space-whole. Such operations are at the core of “Abstract Dramaturgy”, a continuously evolving set of structural and choreographic processes in which the word ‘abstract’ is used here as a verb – in that dancing is underscored as a live negotiation between Self and Otherness, between Figure and Ground. Meaning, narrative and dramaturgy are rendered as outcomes or by-products that depend on the liveness of the dance and dancer.
Venue: Trisutji Kamal Room, Taman Ismail Marzuki
Retno Sulistyorini
Retno Sulistyorini began learning dance at the age of 15 at the Indonesian Karawitan High School (SMKI) Surakarta, and continued to study dance at the Indonesian Art Institute (ISI) Surakarta. As a dance artist, Retno was awarded the Empowering Women Artist by the Kelola Foundation (2010-2011). Apart from creating her own works, she also actively collaborates with other choreographers, directors and artists.