Zeitgenössischer Tanz - Axis Syllabus

Course with Irina Hortin

Irina combines elements from diverse contemporary dance techniques and from contact improvisation, always with the aim of supporting the self-perception of the body and its functionality in dynamic situations. In Irina’s classes, the participants learn to mindfully observe their bodies and to examine them via movement research, change of perspective and by repeating different sequences. “What happens when I turn my hand, how does the torso react, how does my hand react? Where does my movement lead me in conjunction with gravity?” Irina is fascinated by the ability to let certain body parts fall and how doing so creates a motor for movement. She also directs the gaze inward and invites participants, independently of prior dance experience, to admit themselves into what is there. 

Irina Hortin

Irina Hortin

Irina Hortin first studied linguistics and literature in Germany, France and Argentina before going on to study contemporary dance in Cologne and Munich. She performs internationally, regularly choreographs for Schalktheater in Zurich, heads youth dance theatre projects and teaches contemporary dance, contact improvisation as well as tango at international festivals. The encounter with Frey Faust, an important figure within French contemporary dance and editor of movement dictionary Axis Syllabus, was of special importance for Irina’s vocational biography, and Irina, as a certified Axis Syllabus (AS) teacher, references the dictionary. The interdisciplinary AS research network surveys the functions of the human body in motion. In the process, information from biomechanics, anatomy, physics and medicine come into use to analyse our motion apparatus and to have it start to move in a functional and caring way. The focus always lies on a respectful contact with oneself and others – and, of course, on the fun in dancing!