The Meeting Point Amsterdam

Open Workshop for season 2010/2011

2010-07-05T04:47:00.000-07:00

Hi there,
Beste mensen,

there is an open workshop again for all those interested in getting to know the Genetic Choir!

What is the Genetic Choir? click here

Er is 19 september weer een open worskhop voor iedereen die mee wil doen aan de Genetic Choir volgend seizoen, of gewoon een keer wil ruiken aan onze manier van werken.

People who consider joining the choir for the coming season are required to join the workshop. You don't need a specific voice or singing background, everybody is welcome. All you need is an open mind and interest to work as part of a group.

the date: Sunday, 19 September 2010
the time: 11:00-18:00

contribution for the workshop: 25 Euro
place of the workshop will be announced.

Please send me an e-mail if you'd like to join. (it is not a walk-in workshop, I'd like to hear from you first): thomas{AT}genetic-choir{DOT}org

Als je niet of nauwelijks Engels praat ben je trouwens ook welkom! :-) Afhankelijk van de deelnemers in het koor spreken we Nederlands en/of Engels. Wil je meer informatie omdat je geen Engels spreekt, stuur me dan een e-mail: thomas{APESTAARTJE}genetic-choir{PUNT}org

Furthermore, the dates for the choir session until Februari 2011 are:

26 September
17 October
28 November
19 December
16 Januari
13 Februari
27 Februari (concert)

All sundays, 14:30-18:00

As a new member, you first need to take part in the Open Workshop on 19 September in order to join the regular sessions.

All the best,
Thomas

Three performances by the Genetic Choir

2010-07-05T04:26:00.000-07:00

The Genetic Choir has performed in the last 5 months two times publicly, and one time informally...

My apologies that I have been not up to speed to announce these things on this blog. I am actually working on a new website: www.genetic-choir.org which will come online shortly, after the summer.

For the meantime and the sake of completeness, here the peformance dates and places: :-)

14 March 2010 Genetic Choir as guest of 'Blauw', in café Averechts, Utrecht
We performed a short piece inspired by the theme 'Ijle Klanken'. The composition will be published online on the new website...

7 May 2010 Genetic Choir performs live soundtrack in the Ketelhuis, Amsterdam.
We were asked to perform an hour of instant music, as accompaniment of the screening of 'Sound of Shadow'. See http://soundofshadow.com for more information on the filmproject.

27 June 2010 Informal concert at our rehearsal space in Amsterdam, to close the season.
A 25 minute piece by the choir and a 10 minute piece involving the audience. Both were recorded and the idea is that also these things will be published once the new website is up and running.

Thanks for this beautiful season and have a good summer!

Thomas
What is the Genetic Choir? click here

Voice for Dance workshop

2009-09-02T06:20:00.001-07:00

with Thomas Johannsen

26th September 2009
10:30-17:30

Utrecht, Netherlands

This is a workshop about using the voice in dance improvisation.
Any sound can be music, any movement can be dance. It is your awareness that creates the meaning. But when dealing with sound or voice in improvisation, we do need a different awareness than just the awareness of a skilled dancer. What is space in terms of music? What is the physicality of your voice? This workshop is about experiencing this other awareness: Of any sound as music, and of your own voice as a musical and improvisational instrument.
Next to this we will look at the skill of supporting dancers with your voice. How to open up the space for them, how to create and sustain together a close interaction between voice and dance.

The focus of this workshop will be on voice work, but dancers are especially welcome with their skills, so that we can play in the second part of the day!
Whatever your level of experience - whether you never used your voice and want to try it or you are already a singer and you are interested in the interaction with dancers - this workshop might be something for you!

To inscribe for the workshop, and for more information send an e-mail to
iris{AT}irisvanpeppen.com
or visit the website: www.irisvanpeppen.com

new season Genetic Choir 2009/2010

2009-07-16T11:47:00.000-07:00

Hello!

There is an open workshop coming up for everyone who likes to get to know the Genetic Choir.
By now, the choir has grown so much that if you want to come to the regular sessions in the coming season and you are new to the Genetic Choir, you need to come to this workshop first.

But also if you simply want to check it out and enjoy this day of singing and instant composing, you are very much invited!

Date: 6th September 2009
Time: 11:00-18:00
Place: Amsterdam

If you are interested, contact me: johannsen{DOT}t{AT}gmail{DOT}com

What is the Genetic Choir? Click here!

Genetic Choir on Europa Cantat

2009-07-16T11:43:00.001-07:00

There is a discovery atelier of The Genetic Choir on the European Choir Festival in Utrecht, Europa Cantat 2009:

21st of July 2009, 10:00-12:30, Lutherse Kerk, Utrecht

You could join it by buying a day pass to the festival - find all information on

http://www.europacantatutrecht.nl/index.php?l=english&code=DA55&a=83

Genetic Choir concert on KlankKleurFestival

2009-06-08T17:26:00.000-07:00

The Genetic Choir is giving a concert on the KlankKleurFestival in Amsterdam!

date: Thursday, 11th of June 2009

place: Uilenburger Synagoge, Nieuwe Uilenburgerstraat 91, Amsterdam.

time: from 6 pm

entry: 5,- €

Thursday is the opening event of the KlankKleurFestival (11-14 June), with:
An exhibition of newly-made sound machines; the Genetic Choir at 8:30pm; and around 9.30pm Bach's haunting Goldberg Variations played by Priya Mitchell, Elisabeth Smalt and Evelien Prakke.

More information and the rest of the programme: www.klankkleurfestival.nl

What is the Genetic Choir? Click here!

IMPS@WORK&SOUP! nr.3: Fools and Objects

2009-05-20T09:44:00.000-07:00

the 3rd installment of Imps@work@soup! will happen in Arnhem:
What is Imps@work@soup! ? Click here.

31st May 2009: Fools and Objects
time: Soup at 18:00, Performance at 19:30
place: De Zaal, Nijhoffstraat 42, in Arnhem.

The discipline of object/puppet theatre will meet this time with a specific brand of improvised theatre:

"Fooling" is a way to compose a performance in the moment, by letting all your 'inner voices' speak. In Arnhem lives and works a group of experienced Fools who regularly give instantly composed performances. On their website: www.arnhemsefools.nl they are describing in more detail how they work. (The website is in Dutch, and Dutch language might also be used in this performance.)

For Imps@work&soup! they have started a collaboration with Thomas Johannsen to explore what object/puppet theatre has in stall for them. This collaboration will culminate in a public Fools performance on 31st of May.

performers: Anita Kooij, Edgard Geurink, Fabiënne Belleflamme, Pimm, Paul Greidanus and Willem-Paul Nijs
facilitation: Thomas Johannsen

What is IMPS@WORK&SOUP! ...?

2009-05-20T08:32:00.000-07:00

THE SHORT ANSWER:

Letting the world of object/puppet/visual theatre inspire the instant composition practice and vice versa, that is the general goal of the IMPS@WORK&SOUP! series.

Every time, a group of performers will work together for a short period prior to the performance evening. The focus of the work will be a question or quest that crosses the boundary between at least two disciplines or peformance practices (from the world of instant composition on the one hand and the world of visual/puppet/object theatre on the other hand).

As improvisation is a practice that lives from a strong and generous relationship between audience and performers, we are having food (soup!) on every performance night and are eating together with our audience. An inspired cook is invited each time to compose the menu.

Examples:

27-10-2008: Music, Movement & Laundry
Dance and live music meet huge amounts of objects, all connected to the washing process

24-11-2008: The Body of Shadow
Instant composition dance engages with shadow theatre techniques

31-05-2009: Fools and Objects
The improvisation practice of 'Fooling' meets working with single objects

Below, you can find a more detailed description of the philosophy and inspiration for these interdisciplinary meetings.

Feel free to contact me if you like:
My e-mail: johannsen{DOT}t{AT}gmail{DOT}com

THE LONG ANSWER:

IMPS@WORK&SOUP! is...

IMPS
The first part of the title pays homage to the definition of improvisation as coined by Enrique Pardo: “Improvisation is imps at work”, hereby refering to the little demons/spirits that are according to folklore often of mischievous intend, living along the borders of our reality.
In the same line of thinking, he defines an impuls as 'an imp giving you a push'. Uncensored thoughts, unplanned movements, sudden unexplainable feelings, these are imps at work in and through us.
In object/puppet theatre, we usually intend to give life to inanimate objects. But there is also the notion that this proces is not so much us giving life to an object, but rather that we are trying to discover 'it's life'. So we allow for the possiblity that there is knowledge (or content/spirit) in every material and that it can teach us how to handle it. Of course there is usually an interplay between ourselves and the material, so it might be hard to define who's imps are at work when we engage with an object or a puppet.
When working on a stone sculpture, Andy Goldsworthy says: “I try to understand the stone”. This is on the one hand a practical/concrete notion, gathering information about the handling of the stone by working with it, but also an intuitive one: The information cannot easily be put into words, and the resulting stone sculpture is a mixture of Andy's intention with the stone, and the stone's response to that intention. Which is to say: Objects/materials have an inside (spirit? imp?) that is only accessible by working with them. And this 'unconscious'/inconcrete aspect of the material can be unraveled by engaging with it concretely.
To me, these definitions give a picture of the way our unconscious or intuitive selves are in play whenever we are improvising. First of all: Improvisation is more than just a clever, virtuoso act of an artist handling his discipline. Improvisation is the attempt to let those 'imps' speak to you and through you, meaning that we are trying to unveil the unconscious reality that is present in the here and now, and work with it. But also: The best route to working with this part of reality is through concreteness: A stone is a stone. Work with it. Don't get sentimental.

@ WORK
So one thing is to invite our intuitive or unconscious selves to come out and play with us. But that is not where it stops. There is no use in just taking the lid off our 'inside world' and throw everything what is in there out on the stage. There is work to be done.
“In dreams begin responsibilities”: When we bring this 'other world' into this world, we have the responsibility to handle it: Any impuls, any action is a theatrical (or musical/visual/...) fact that asks to be cared for.
One thing is to 'know your tools': Know the discipline that you are working with. But more importantly, the act of taking responsibility in itself means that we have to work. That is also why instant composition (building a piece, in front of an audience) has little in common with the notion of 'improvising freely'. With the first step, the first picture, the first word being uttered, there is no freedom anymore: Anything that follows will have a relationship to what is already there, and we as performers have to take care of that relationship.
“Free play” is certainly an important aspect of improvising. But “taking responsibility for what is there”, is just as decisive an ability. And combining both without smothering the valuable quality of one or the other is what constitutes the work.

& SOUP
'Soup' has a lot of associative meanings, but the concrete meaning to Imps@work&soup! is that there is a cook who is making a soup for us and the audience in the beginning of the evening.
Soup is food, and therefore directly related to our bowels - maybe the most unconscious parts of our bodies. Making soup, on the other hand, is very concrete work. And good cooking requires an intuitive understanding of ingredients and processes which, again, you gather through the working knowledge of concrete experience.
But most importantly, soup is nourishing and warm. There is a giving aspect to sharing soup with each other, which is, for me, also central to the notion of instant composition. If I have no intention to give, it does not make sense to invite people to come and watch me improvising.
If you want a soup to be nourishing, there also needs to be some content in it. Which means that instant composition is blatantly off balance if it is mainly circling around the process or the experience of the performers. Thinking about improvisation as something that needs to be nourishing for your audience as well as for yourself helps avoiding this trap of self-centeredness. Of course one shouldn't be trapped either by wanting to fulfill the audience's (supposed) expectations. So the work is again in finding the balance.
I cannot always make soup that is to everybody's gusto. But I can take responsibility to make a tasty and nourishing soup, according to my best knowledge of both ingredients and eaters.
Last but not least, soup is gathering: a mixture of ingredients in the same pot. And there, time is another important aspect. Time to let the different ingredients work on each other and transform the soup into something that is not merely the sum of all the parts. Remember how soup can develop extraordinary taste, after the leftovers have been sitting in the pot for one night?

I hope this gives you some idea. Feel free to contact me and I hope to see you on one of the nights!

Thomas Johannsen

Meeting / Music and dance dialogue, May 2009

2009-05-12T11:15:00.000-07:00

The master has said that writing never expresses words completely and that words never express thoughts completely and that thoughts never express movement completely and that movement is everything that touches the space.
Improvisation is an art that gives and demands...
And dialogue is improvisation.

Makiko Ito and Valeria Primost: dance / Michael Fischer: sax, violin / Marcos Baggiani: drums / Anne van Balen: lights

Wednesday, May 20th, 21 hrs
TRYTONE FESTIVAL ZAAL 100
De Wittenstraat 100, Amsterdam

Thursday, May 21st, 20 hrs
STUDIO LOOS,
Rotterdamsestraat 71, Den Haag
070 350 60 09

Summer Intensive Dance Improvisation Workshop in Italy

2009-02-28T13:15:00.000-08:00

Italy Tuscany 2-8 August 2009 lead by Marisa Grande
Study and Practice of dance as an ongoing activity interwoven with the everyday movement of life
A whole experience of being and living together where our dance can emerge as a natural and challenging way to a deeper and authentic communication

In the movement training we use body alignment, yoga, experiential anatomy and partnering work to explore and experience technical principles and aspects of the body to attune the "instrument" and discipline the mind, engaging into a deep physicality. The work focuses on the development of a kinesthetic sense of the body, increasing awareness of the body in motion.
In instant composition we practice our capacity to make dances and our natural ability to compose in the moment.
Developing directly from the physical experience we tap into the world of dance as a language and open up to its power of communication through composition.
We learn to articulate our dance while keeping our body-mind present and available. We train our capacity to make choices by being present and tuned to the moment, perceiving and moving as one organic action.

In this week emphasis will be given upon process of creation and decision making to exercise and practice a specific mind that can think and choose in a dynamic and ever changing context. We will practice dancing and dance making as a way of being and relating.

Information and Inscription
Email: marisa.wizard@gmail.com

Genetic Choir in concert

2009-02-16T08:24:00.001-08:00

The first public performance of the Genetic Choir is coming up!

Come and listen in on Friday, the 20th of February in the Smart Project Space, Amsterdam.

We are a humble part of a bigger event called 'Slow Future', kicking off the evening at 20:30 with half an hour of vocal instant composition.

But there is loads more:

Hisako Horikawa (J) - dance, co-founder of Body Weather with Min Tanaka, Pierre Mansire (F) - Action Light Installation, ETC: Jacques Foschia (BE) - clarinet and radio waves, Anthony Carcone (F) - disturbed string instruments, DFF (US) - sheet metal , Eric Thielemans (BE) - drums, 'A Snare is Not a Bell', Andy Moor (UK) - electic guitar, Genetic Choir (NL), Amstel Quartet & Ivo Bol (NL) - saxophone quartet and computer, Doron Hirsch (IS) - butoh inspired dance, Anani Dodji Sanouvi (SEN) - dance , Emma Nik Thomas (IRE) - dance, Marije Nie (NL) - tapdance, Hilary Jeffery (UK) - trombone, drones, Vilbjorg Broch (DK) - performance, Slow Food Amsterdam - slow food tasting

SLOW FUTURE
Friday 20 Feb 2009

Smart Project Space
Arie Biemondstraat 105-113 Amsterdam
Food tasting Slow Food Amsterdam @ 19:30
program starts @ 8:30 pm
Entrance €7,50

See for more information:

http://www.marijenie.com/slowfuture.htm

Genetic Choir dates February-July 2009

2009-01-25T23:28:00.000-08:00

The next open session is Sunday, 1st of February, 15:00-18:00

Send me an e-mail if you'd like to take part: johannsen{DOT}t{AT}gmail{DOT}com

If you want to know what the Genetic Choir is, look here:

http://themeetingpoint-amsterdam.blogspot.com/2008/06/genetic-choir-background.html

The other dates (regular sessions, for those who have joined the Genetic Choir):

22 March
05 April
10 May
7 June
5 July

see you around!

Thomas Johannsen

Instant Composition in Voice and Dance

2008-10-17T01:00:00.000-07:00

29 + 30 November 2008:

"...two days of composing stories with voices & bodies..."

A weekend workshop with Thomas Johannsen

This workshop is an introduction into working with your voice inside the context of Instant Composition. Starting from getting used to your voice expression and applying known improvisation principles to working with sound + rhythm, we will go deep into the theatrical consequences of having a voice on stage as well as a body.

So we will spend some time with the exploration of your voice + movement, but our main focus this weekend will be how to compose with these two, very different tools of expression.

There is a special attention needed for the listening and for finding your place in the composition as a vocal performer. It doesn't matter whether you will be speaking, singing, or producing otherworldly noises. What is your physical presence as a vocal performer and how does that affect the theatrical space and the story that emerges?

The workshop is open to both dancers/physical performers and singers: people with dance improvisation experience who are more interested in voice work, and people with voice improvisation experience who want to look at the combination with physical performance.

Thomas Johannsen is a theatre director, performer and improvisation teacher. With a classical actor's education in London as a background, he studied with many great contemporary teachers of voice, movement, dance, theatre and instant composition (e.g. Julyen Hamilton, Germaine Acogny, Enrique Pardo, Linda Wise, Franki Anderson, Andrew Morrish, Jonathan Hart Makwaia). Thomas performs regularly as a vocalist and physical actor and likes, as a theatre director, to create performances that cannot completely be controlled.

Dates: 29+30 November 2008

Times: 10:30 - 17:30

Costs: 120,- / 110,- (student)

Location: deDansvloer, Balkstraat 31 in Utrecht

Reserve your place by sending a mail to: iris@irisvanpeppen.com

More information: www.irisvanpeppen.com

SHADOW-THEATRE in Instant Composition

2008-09-24T10:43:00.000-07:00

17 & 18 November 08

WORKSHOP SHADOW-THEATRE
BODY & SHADOW
with Anusc Castiglioni & Marisa Grande

This workshop is a journey which investigates the dynamic of body, light and space. It shows the way into the poetic world of shadowplay.
Exploring its origins as a 'double' and a 'subtle body', we enter the fields of imagination and discover the evocative power of shadow.
Based on Shadow-theatre principles and techniques, integrating years of experience in the field of stage creation and pedagogy, the workshop is lead by Anusc Castiglioni (set designer and shadow-theatre director) and Marisa Grande (dancer and shadow-performer).
Both have met during their work for the worldfamous group Teatro Gioco Vita, Piacenza (Italy). More information about the teachers hereby.

For: mime players, puppeteers, dancers/movers
Amount of participants: limited to 16. First come first serve!
Place/time: Ostadetheater, Van Ostadestraat 233 d, Amsterdam
Monday 17/11/08
time: 13:00-17.00 and 19:00-22:00
Tuesday 18/11/08
time: 10:00-12:00 and 13:00 - 17:00
Fee: € 130
More information: 020 671 24 17 Ostadetheater, ask for Eliane Attinger
Registration: please fill in the form hereby

* The workshop takes place in the framework of RISK - days of visual theater, November 19 - 24, 2008 (see www.ostadetheater.nl).

* Participants of the workshop can buy tickets to all performances of the RISK festival at reduced price
* Depending on availability and curiosity to explore further, participants will have the opportunity to join the Imps@Work&Soup! on November, 24th 2008, during the RISK festival. The Instant Composition practice is initiated by Thomas Johannsen in collaboration with Ostadetheater (see www.ostadetheater.nl).

* The teachers
Anusc Castiglioni is an Italian artist based in Milan.
She works as stage designer for theater, exhibitions, location projects and fashion. In 1988 she graduated at the Academy for Stage Design of Brera, Milan. Since 1989 she collaborates with the Italian Shadow theater Company Teatro Gioco Vita creating performances and exhibitions, making stage and costume design, creating original shadow-puppets and lights.
Since 1989 she gives workshops of Visual Art and Shadow Theater for children, teachers and professionals in the field of theater. Since 2005 she teaches preliminary study for light and shadow at NABA New Academy for Visual Art of Milan.
In 2001 she directed El Retablo del Maese Pedro music opera for shadow for the musical week of Siena produced by Accademia Chigiana.
She created the exhibition/performance Un mondo di figure d’ombra – Omaggio a Lele Luzzati which since 1996 has being touring in 12 European cities including Centro Culturale di Bélem of Lisbona, World Festival of Charleville-Mézières, Festival Teatro d’Europa, Piccolo Teatro of Milan and Luzati's Museum of Genova.
In 2007 she directed the shadow theatre performance Babar produced by Teatro Giocovita touring at this moment all over Europe.
In the last four years she is collaborating as a set designer with the director Paolo Magelli between Belgrade, Fiume, Rieka.

Marisa Grande is an independent artist based in Amsterdam. The rich diversity of her education and experience has influenced her performance work, integrating various languages into one theatrical event. Since 1990, she has taught extensively, specializing in contemporary dance and movement training in physical theatre. In the last thirteen years, her pedagogical approach expanded to encompass dance and improvisation as Instant Composition.
She is giving workshops on Movement Technique, Movement Research and Improvisation throughout Holland and abroad.
In recent years, her performance work has developed from extensive research in the relationship between dance, live music, storytelling, film and video.
Among some of her works are: Dialogues with the Invisible, Aspro, Scatola Magica, Singing the bones.
In 1988 she graduated at the Theatre school of Milan in the department “Laboratorio teatro-danza” subsequently she broaden her experience in the field of physical theatre through the Jerzy Grotowsky’s work method.
In 1997 she graduated from the Amsterdam Hogeschool voor de Kunsten, division New Dance Development, here she specialized her knowledge of body and movement through the work of Body-Mind Centring, Release and Hawkins Technique, Contact Improvisation and Instant Composition.
She worked with the Italian shadow-theatre company Teatro Gioco Vita where she developed understanding of the qualities of light in relation to the body and the animation of original shadow-puppets. Within the company, she met Anusc Castiglioni with whom she collaborated to develop a specific pedagogical approach to body-shadow and Multimedia Performance Installation.

Imps@work&soup!

2008-09-14T06:38:00.000-07:00

This autumn, we have the start of a new series of Meeting Point labs, with a special theme:

IMPS@WORK&SOUP!
instant composition meets visual theater and mediterranean cooking

To find out more about Imps@work&soup! - look here:
What is IMPS@WORK&SOUP! ...?

The first two Imps@work&soup! labs were

27th of October 2008

Music, Movement & Laundry

with Oscar Jan Hoogland, Maaike van de Westeringh, Jochen Stechmann, Roy Tukkers, Lydia Müller, Thomas Johannsen, Marcos Baggiani

Cook: Raul Fernandez Anderson

and

24th of November 2008

The Body of Shadow

curated by Marisa Grande & Anusc Castiglioni
performers:

Cooks: Olive & Cookie

Place was: Ostadetheater (Van Ostadestraat 233d)
Time was: food at 19:00. performance at 20:00

What is The Genetic Choir?

2008-06-17T23:38:00.000-07:00

vocal instant composition

new website: www.genetic-choir.org

The ambition of the Genetic Choir is to instantly compose, as group, the music that any given moment asks for. Rather than being conducted, we want to be a choir that organises itself by the musical intelligence and intuition of all the members.
Although I am leading most of the sessions in terms of structuring the work, when we are improvising or performing, I am just part of the choir as one of the singers and do not fulfil a special role.

We are looking at the whole range of the human voice, what generally is called 'extended voice techniques. But we also enjoy ´straight singing', and whatever sounds we are making, we are always seeking to make the voice 'real'/meaningful (which is quite easy, but sometimes feels like the hardest part).

Next to this, developing a musical understanding of how to work inside a big group of singers is an imporant part of the training, as are instant composition techniques and principals, working with rythm, melody, textural sounds, singing solo, etc.

Please read further below for some more figurative, detailed (and maybe more conclusive) descriptions.

If you are interested to join us, check the date of the next open workshop: Click here.

Or contact me: johannsen {DOT} t {AT} gmail {DOT} com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Genetics (from the Greek genno γεννώ= give birth) is the science of genes, heredity, and the variation of organisms.

Evolution is composition. The genetic reproductive cycle with its simple rules has produced an ecosystem with a huge number of rather well-composed organisms. Given the slow pulse of the reproduction cycle this has taken a couple of millions of years, but a process like that can be easily sped up if not genes are the transmitters of information, but our volatile and flexible voices.

Based on the principle of copying (passing on information) the idea is to become, as singers, not so much 'improvisers' but rather transmitters of sound information that you receive through your ears and which converges through the processes of mutation and natural selection towards a sound eco-system, i.e. composition.

The sessions are open for everyone and explicitly inviting both professional singers and beginners alike. The concept we are working from is that the quality of the music will not depend on your virtuoso qualities (though they are very much welcome), but on the ability to listen and give yourself over to the existing sound and support it. All patterns and colours of music can arise from this, there are no boundaries in music style, amount of solo vs. group or length of the compositions. Everything from opera aria's to rap riffs can come out of this, though it might take us some time to get that confident. ;-)

The work is to a high degree exploratory and lets yourself find your own way in using your voice in a musical way. At the same time, we are working from a clear vision on improvisation that believes in constantly finding the right balance in listening (patience/being), acting consciously (compositional mind) and surrendering to 'what is' (abandon). In other words, letting yourself being taken by the moment while at the same time making and sustaining contact (with yourself, with your fellow singers, with the audience).

Note that 'singing', for me includes all conceivable sounds made by the human voice. Beauty arises from the quality of your attention and any great performance depends on the shared attention of everybody present: The amount to which an audience dares to give itself fully in the listening and the amount to which the performers dare to listen and lead the way.

Here some people and 'bodies of knowlegde' that have inspired / keep inspiring me in shaping the work with the Genetic Choir:
Jonathan Hart Makwaia, Nick Hobbs, Phil Minton, Izidor Leitinger, Haim Isaacs, Enrique Pardo, Linda Wise, The Roy Hart Voice Work, The Lichtenberg Method, Aikido

Examples of what we are going to do:

Exploration of the different phenotypes that will be part of the soundgene-pool:

e.g.:
open sounds (singing with and without the notion of scale / changing register&timbre)
labial sounds & co (lips, tongue, mouth cavity and saliva producing sounds)
breathing sounds + broken sounds (false vocal chords)
human language sounds
pulse and rhythm

Exploring different modes of producing, copying and mutating:

e.g.:
mirroring (exact copy)
1-2-1-2 and/or simultaneous copying
shedding information
concepts of supporting
pacing the reproductive cycle
absorb, let yourself be affected and produce
find the space = find your voice

We will work in couples and small groups to train the basic building blocks and from there move on to the big choir work and composition.

It is a technique that is freeing to the improviser's mind. No need to be brilliant, clever or original. Relax! By abiding to the simple rules, you become part of an ecosystem that is amazingly inventive and self-organising.

No specific singing education is required.

The sessions are taking place approximately once a month, somewhere in Amsterdam.

Thomas Johannsen

new website: www.genetic-choir.org

The Meeting Point Lab at the Bimhuis

2008-04-08T05:18:00.000-07:00

The Meeting Point was founded by Valeria Primost and Marcos Baggiani in June 2004 at the Bimhuis Amsterdam.

It was proposed as a music and dance improvisation lab, because of their own need to practice the discipline of improvised performance on stage.
For two years, every first Monday of the month, the "Meeting Point Lab" was organised in the Bimhuis and it became a fixed point in the agenda of both instant composition practitioners and their audience in Amsterdam.

While gathering a community in Amsterdam by performing and researching the lab in the Bimhuis, artists from other cities started using the same format to collaborate with their own city's communities to further develop their approaches to the discipline and to bring the material to a wider audience. See our main site for more information about the other cities.

To this date, the first Monday of the month in the Bimhuis in Amsterdam is still an evening organised in the spirit of the Lab. The programming is now done by the Bimhuis themselves and it is called the "Monday Match".
The Meeting Point Lab concept of two curators from the disciplines dance and music who invite a unique set of performers to improvise together has not changed and it is still a great place to go every month. Entrance is free. For more information see www.bimhuis.nl

Meeting Point Lab Performances
at the Bimhuis and abroad
2004-2006

2006

October 20th till November 5th 2006, The Meeting Point in Caracas and San Felipe, Venezuela
Workshops for the Instituto Universitario de Danza de Caracas and the Regional Dance Academy of San Felipe. Performance at Chacao Theatre in the context of the "I Encuentro de Danza Universitaria - Artes Integrales". Urban intervention with students at Estacion Parque del Este, in the context of the project "Escenario Urbano", for the recuperation of public spaces

June 5th 2006, Bimhuis, curating: Valeria Primost and Marcos Baggiani
Dance: Eric McKenzie, Marta Sponzilli, Marisa Grande, Valeria Primost
Music: Mark van Tongeren, Michael Moore, Guillermo Celano, Marcos Baggiani
Lights: Diana Gadish.

May 1st 2006, Bimhuis, guest curators: Eileen Standley and Michael Fischer.
Dance: Jasmina Krizaj, Nina Fajdiga, Urska Vohar, Tina Valentan.
Music: Daisuke Terauchi, Oscar Jan Hoogland, Marcos Baggiani, Michael Fischer.
Lights: Ellen Knops.

April 3rd 2006, Bimhuis, guest curator: Paul Estabrook
Dance: Natassa Katsika, Elleke Powelse, Louisa Razsyk, Paul Estabrook-
Music: Jan Martens, Felicity Provan, Daisuke Terauchi, Tamaho Miyake.
Lights: Ellen Knops.

March 6th 2006, Bimhuis, curating: Benjamin Vandewalle with The Meeting Point- Brussels. meetingpointbrussels@yahoo.com
Dance: Malaika Sarco, Valeria Primost, Albert Quesada, Benjamin Vandewalle.
Music: Ilan Manouach- saxophone, Clement Nourry - guitar, David Weemaels –drums Lights: Federica Porello

February 13, 2006, Bimhuis Amsterdam
Dance/performance: Giorgio Convertito, Lily Kiara, Risa Takita and
Julyen Hamilton Music: Michael Moore (alt sax and clarinet), Eric McEnzie
(electronics), Ahim Kaufmann (Piano) and Marcos Baggiani (drums)
Lights: Ellen Knops

January 27th to 30st , The Meeting Point on Tour
January 30th 2006, 19:30 im_flieger, http://www.wuk.at/m.fischer/wuk.at WUK, Währingerstr. 59, 1090 Vienna
January 28th 2006, 19:30 Alte Fabrik , Steyrermühl, Austria
January 27 th 2006, 20:00 at the festival 'artacts '06 http://www.muku-stjohann.at/ Alte Gerberei, St. Joahnn/Tirol, Austria
dance: Valeria Primost, Diana Gadish, Isabel Olle Carpintero, Pere Gay i Faura
music: Daisuke Terauchi, voice, theremin, electronics. Peter Huber, trumpet. Marcos Baggiani, drums. Michael Fischer, sopranosaxophone, violin

January 2nd 2006, bimhuis Amsterdam, Curating Lily Kiara
Music: Wilbert de Joode – double bass, Felicity Provan – cornet, vocals, Joost Buis – trombone, lap steel Dance: Mat Voorter, Marek Isleib, Ailed Izurieta, Lily Kiara (guest curator) Light: Ellen Knops

2005

December 5th 2005, Bimhuis, Amsterdam. Guest curator: Marisa Grande
Music: Hans Hasebos (drums/keyboards), Cristin Wildbolz (double bass), Gloribel Hernandez (voice and electronics). Dance: Bettina Neuhaus, Kenzo Kusuda, Marisa Grande (guest curator). Visual Art: Joncquil de Vries. Light: Urska Vohar.

November 20th 2005, Parque Rodo, Festival Montevideo sitiada, Montevideo Uruguay
Francisco Lapetina, Marcos Baggiani, Inés Armas, Edwin Moturi, Nina Fajdiga, Catalina del Castillo, Valeria Primost.

November 5th 2005, Bimhuis, Amsterdam
Michael Fischer, Oscar Jan, Marcos Baggiani,
Pere Gay I Faura, Radahrani Pernarcic, Valeria Primost, Ellen Knops.

October 3rd 2005, Bimhuis, Amsterdam
Carlos Fagin, Camilo Fernandez, Marcos Baggiani, Ron Bunzl, Isabel Ollé Carpintero, Grainne Delanney, Valeria Primost, Pere Guy I Faura.

September 5th 2005, Bimhuis lab , Amsterdam
Felicity Provan, Nathan Fuhr, Mark van Tongeren, Marcos Baggiani, Maria Mavridou, Montse Roig, Kyung Sun Baek, Pere Gay I Faura, Valeria Primost.

June 6th 2005, Bimhuis lab , Amsterdam
With Wilbert de Joode, Marcos Baggiani, Daizuke Terauchi, Bettina Neuhaus, Julyen Hamilton, Diana Gadish, Valeria Primost.

May 2nd 2005, Bimhuis Amsterdam
With: Marcos Baggiani, Daizuke Terauchi, Michael Fischer, Diana Gadish, Maria Mavridou, Natascha Katsika, Valeria Primost.

April 4th 2005, Bimhuis Amsterdam
With Dance: Rosana Pinhieiro, Lior Avizoor, Katrina Brown, Valeria Primost, music: Seamus Cater (electronics and others), Alex Parkinson (drums), Tom Parkinson (bass), Jeroen Kimman (guitar). Lights: Valentina Campora.

March 7th 2005, Bimhuis Amsterdam
With Dance: Daniela Graca, Michael Schumacher, Marisa Grande, Valeria Primost. Music: Peter Hubber: Trumpet, Marcello Windolph: Double Bass, Eric Boeren: Cornet, Marcos Baggiani: drums. Lights: Ellen Knops.

2004

December 13th 2004, Punto de Encuentro, Sur Despierto, Buenos Aires, Argentina
With: Montse Roig, Martin Inthamoussu, Valeria Primost, Marcos Baggiani (drums), Carlos Fagin (piano), Nacho Pola (lights).

November 1st 2004, Bimhuis, Amsterdam
with: Music: Andy Moor (electric guitar), Michael Fischer (sax and violin), Marcos Baggiani (drums).dance/performance: Eilen Stanley, Lily Kiara, Diana Gadish, Valeria Primost. Lights: Valentina Campora.

October 4th 2004, Bimhuis, Amsterdam
With: music: Michael Moore (alto sax), Alex Waterman (cello), Marcos Baggiani (drums). Dance/performance: Montse Roig, Grainne Delaney, Roser Lopez Espinosa and Valeria Primost. Lights: Ellen Knops. (assistance: Valentina Campora)

September 6th 2004, Bimhuis, Amsterdam
With: Music: Meinrad Kneer (double bass), Stephie Buttrich (voice), Petre Radu Scafaru (tenor sax), Marcos Baggiani (drums), Ivo Bol (Laptop). Dance: Katie Duck, Maria Ines Villasmil, Martin Inthamoussu, Sylvain Meret, Valeria Primost. Lights: Ellen Knops.

June 7th 2004, Bimhuis, Amsterdam
With: Music: Carlos Fagin (piano), Mary Oliver (violin), Felicity Provan (trumpet), Camilo Fernández (electric bass and double bass), Marcos Baggiani (drums). Dance: Leela May Stockholm, Manuela Tessi, Vincent Caccialano and Valeria Primost. Lights: Ellen Knops.

Instant Composition Workshop for Dance and Music

2008-03-27T03:42:00.000-07:00

A live dialogue

with Hans Hasebos and Marisa Grande for Dancers and Musicians

19-20 & 26-27 April 2008

W.A.T. studio - Werkplaats voor Actueel Theater - Amsterdam

The workshops focus on how the two disciplines of dance and music can play together towards a whole, live composition.

The aim is the development of a live dialogue between the two artistic languages, by looking at their similarities and differences allowing a common ground to be created.

In both disciplines we train and practice our intuitive intelligence and a compositional mind to engage, receive and respond as one organic action.

Musicians and dancers will work together as one group.

During the workshops the participants will have the opportunity to play and watch group improvisation sessions to learn by practice and observation.

This project is for dancers/movers and musicians willing to learn and improve their skills to compose in the moment.

The project takes place over 2 weekends. Priority is given to participants who commit to the whole period.

At the end of the 2 weekends we will have a presentation with an invited audience, as a part of the improvisation practice.

Dates

19-20 & 26-27 April 2008

Schedule

11 am to 5 pm Saturday and Sunday

Presentation 27th April at 6 pm W.A.T. studio

Place

W.A.T. studio - Werkplaats voor Actueel Theater

De Roos van Dekamaweg 1 - 1061 HR Amsterdam

Fee for 2 weekends: € 200 € 180 for students

Information and Inscription

To register send an email to
info {AT} marisagrande {DOT} com AND to
info {AT} hanshasebos {DOT} com including a short motivation letter, a brief description of your background, if you apply as a dancer or musician and with which instrument. After receiving a confirmation via email you can reserve your place by transferring a deposit of € 100 to bank account nr 6537289 t.a.v. Marisa Grande.

Please mark your transfer with the note "Dance & Music Workshop".

You can also contact Marisa via telephone 06- 49760373.

Hans and Marisa found each other in the work of Improvisation as an independent performance art form. Their passion and commitment for improvisation in their own discipline creates a strong ground for their collaboration, in which a shared vision unfolds.

Hans Hasebos Vibraphone. Multi-instrumentalist and Composer. During the eighties he becomes involved as a percussionist musician with the Jazz and improvisation scene in Amsterdam. He initiates Guitarbandits, a new look on Jazz-rock, and Bachelor Beats alternative dance music with VJ. He makes compositions and audio productions for theatre and film. Hasebos never embraced a special tradition, his eclectic approach in which classic, jazz and pop music fuse results in a personal sound. www.hanshasebos.com

Marisa Grande is an independent artist, dancer and choreographer based in Amsterdam. The rich diversity of her education and experience has influenced her performance work, integrating various languages into one theatrical event. Both her artistic and pedagogical work focus on Improvisation as Instant Composition.

The spectrum of her teaching began in 1990 developed from her experience as an artist /performer in contemporary dance and movement training in physical theatre. Since 2000, she has been active in teaching throughout Holland and abroad, and promoting performance projects collaborating with dancers, musicians and visual artists, directing and performing. www.marisagrande.com