Contemporary Dance

Course with Paolo Fossa

Paolo Fossa combines elements of various disciplines such as martial arts, yoga, Body Wheather, and Physical Theatre with contemporary dance techniques. His work focuses on the use of imagination and instinct. Complex actions are broken down into primary parts of the movement and analyzed to gain a deeper understanding of architecture and physical structures, thus refining one's body awareness, accepting one's limits, and learning to work with them to improve one's talents and avoid injury. During the lessons, simple movement patterns with breathing, speed, and body energy release are used to activate the connection between the centre and the joints. Participants are then invited and guided to integrate and combine the newly learned movement patterns into increasingly complex and articulated combinations, stimulating their creativity. By training our imagination, we train our nervous system, thus improving our concentration and coordination. An ideal complement to our daily work.

Paolo Fossa

Paolo Fossa

Paolo Fossa is choreographer, dancer and teacher. He has been working throughout Europe for the last 20 years, applying his knowledge of the body in movement to contemporary dance and improvisation. He teaches in many theatres, dance companies, at Folkwang University, Academy of Theatre and Dance Amsterdam University of Arts, Tanzhaus NRW in Düsseldorf, Fontys in Tilburg and DansArt Akademie in Bielefeld. In cooperation with these institutions he also realises choreographies that stand alongside his numerous independent productions. Some of his latest works: Körpererzählung (2019), Stray Dogs (2018).Due to his pronounced communicative and organisational skills, he has been running a dance education project in Shenzhen/China since 2017 together with the Giessen Dance Company, where he has been working as a ballet master for contemporary dance since 2015. The aim is to develop a curriculum for contemporary and improvisation techniques at the Shenzhen Arts School. Parallel to his work on stage, he works with private and city institutions and leads several social projects with young people. Together with the choreographer Gerda König, creator of the first project of the M.A.D.E. ( Mixed-Abled Dance Education ), he is working on the creation of a new method of studying contemporary dance, which will enable students and dancers with and without disabilities to pursue a joint education.