Dance Workshops | Vacation | Movie Screenings | Pool Parties | Live Musicians| And more

2013 - Auroville, Pondicherry ( 8th August to 11 th August )

ABOUT

International Dance Retreat is an artistic festival that is the brainchild of Aparna Nagesh, Esteban Olives, Swapnil Dagliya & Wim Boussery. The Retreat aims at promoting dialogue & cultural exchange between the Aurovilians & the people of the world. Along with providing people across the world an excuse to get away from their 9 to 5's and experience Indian culture first hand.

The August International Dance Retreat is a 4 day weekend

held in Auroville, Pondicherry from the 8th of August to the 11th of August.

The Retreat aims at promoting dialogue & cultural exchange

between the Aurovillians & the people of the world and presents an opportunity to study dance from various International Artists in a non- competitive environment and to work towards creating awareness on dance knowledge and celebrating dance and movement arts.

WHY AUROVILLE

AUROVILLE Auroville (City of Dawn) is an township in Viluppuram district in the

state of Tamil Nadu, India, near Pondicherry in South India. 'Pondy' is a blend of spiritual aura, French colonial heritage, Tamil culture, virgin beaches and the cosmopolitan flair of many nationalities in a small but varied city.

Auroville is a place where people from all over the world come to stay, the main attraction being the calm and peaceful living that they experience.

It brims with activities like organic agriculture, village development, town planning community services to name a few, not to mention the array of multi-cuisine restaurants in and around the area.

The Auroville Performing Arts, is set up with the view of connecting with people and cultures within and beyond Auroville .CRIPA i.e. Centre for Research in Performing Arts is a( 557sqm long hall with wooden flooring) studio set up at Kalabhumi in Auroville for the same motive where events of music, dance, theatre, etc take place.

Auroville is the first and only internationally endorsed ongoing experiment in human unity and researching into - sustainable living and the future cultural, environmental, social and spiritual needs of mankind.

Dance is the art form in which human movement becomes

the medium for sensing, understanding, and communicating ideas, feelings, and experiences.

Auroville would thus be the most ideal for a dance retreat

which as the name suggests, would be a way for people to take a break from the busy life, to learn some new dance styles and have a good time while doing it.

INSTRUCTORS

Esteban Olives is a modern/contemporary choreographer based inParis, France.He has worked and trained with world renowned dance companieslike the Alvin Ailey Dance Repertory Ensemble, Hubbart StreetChicago, Houston Ballet and many more.Influenced by Martha Graham and Lester Horton, the EstebanOlives technique ranges from classical to jazz; combiningflexibility, strength, muscle force and balance of the human body.In his class, each muscle is carefully awoken and each part of thebody isolated. The solar plexus (torso) are considered to be theheart of all movement to which Esteban Olives adds the importanceof shoulders, chest, diaphragm and pelvis.All the elements explored in the warm-up can be performed with aslow or a rapid tempo as well as while turning, jumping or glidingthrough the space.Finally, his technique enables a quick thorough warm-up of thebody to fully exploit the capacity of the dancers to expressthemselves freely through their art.

ESTEBAN OLIVES

Esteban teaches :

Horton Technique class (All Levels)

Modern Dance Class (Contemporary Jazz)

Choreographic workshop(Pas de deux, floor work, exploring the space)

He has worked in companies in both France and abroad as a dancer before becoming a choreographer and dancer.

Dolores Parisi, Artistic Director of

B.Music Hip-Hop School in Bergamo, Italy and part of the house of Ninja, has completed her training in the International Student Visa Program in New York City and at the Performing Arts Academy MAS in Milan. She has choreographed various dance productions, been on television, danced in music videos and toured with various artists like American Idol's Robbie Rosen, Marina Star and Jim Lineham.

Her street jazz/ hip-hop class is a true collaboration of all techniques and styles of dance and she focuses on the lines of the body, maturity of movement and sensuality. She also teaches Stiletto Heels, Video Dance, Voguing and Waacking Classes in Europe and USA.

DOLORES PARISI

Wim Boussery started dancing salsa and

tango about 25 years ago, in a period salsa and tango was unknown in Europe and teachers were almost not to find in Europe. He learned it from the best Salsa (Cuban) and Argentinean teachers who visit Europe often.

He has been teaching for more then 15 years now and has one of the biggest schools in Belgium. He has taught more than 10,000 students during this time. He has a very atypical, “easy going way” of teaching, with a lot of attention to technique, but he also lets you freely feel the music and dance to it. It is amazing how only after only a few lessons his students are all ready to dance confidently.

WIM BOUSSERY

Swapnil's dance education involves training and graduating from Broadway Dance Center in New York City. He trained in Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Hip-Hop and various other styles. He has also attended workshops with the Pulse Faculty (Choreographers on So You Think You Can Dance) and with the critically acclaimed Pilobolus Dance Theatre/Company.He also teaches the B.A. and M.A students of theatre and dance at the Lalit Kala Kendra in the University of Pune. He recently finished schooling at Opus ballet in Florence, Italy and just got back to resume classes.

His contemporary class focuses on understanding of the body, body alignment, inner organic expression and musicality.

SWAPNIL DAGLIYA

Aparna Nagesh is a versatile dance professional with over 14 years of training, teaching and performance experience. She has trained extensively in dance styles such as Jazz, Ballet, Hip-Hop, Flamenco, Modern, Contemporary and various Latin and Ballroom styles.

A certified Reebok fitness instructor, she is also recently a graduate of the ISVP dance course at Broadway Dance Center, New York with a certificate of excellence. She also choreographed and acted in Dirty Dancing – The Musical produced by StageFright Productions .

Currently she runs her own all girl dance

ensemble, High Kicks as well as Showstoppers INC which is a talent management and entertainment solutions brand which identifies and promotes young, upcoming talents in the performing arts. She is currently in the process of setting up Chennai’s first lifestyle studio and performing arts school, as well as being involved in a number of international projects of repute.

APARNA NAGESH

She is the recipient of a prestigious

TEDx Chennai Star Award and Ba’hai Rose of Ridvan Award in 2012. She was also an inspirational speaker/performer at the TEDx Hindustan Event held in 2013

She teaches movement therapy at the Lotus Foundation School for Autistic Children and is currently under the process of being registered as a member of the International Dance Council, UNESCO.

ACTIVITIES

Workshops in various styles Salsa Tango Afro Jazz Contemporary

Bollywood Physical Theater Contact Improvisation

A visit to the French colonies and temples, a massage or spa treatment or simply just relaxing at the pool are some of the added advantages one would get among various other activities planned for the retreat.

Master Classes Movie screening Live music Brunch and pool Parties