THE MEETING POINT BERLIN

2010-06-04T01:46:00.001-07:00

THE MEETING POINT LAB BERLIN #6

2010-06-04T01:36:00.000-07:00

interdisciplinary instant composing

June 14th , 21.00

at Schwelle 7

presenting:

Susanne Martin

Malin Astner

Valeria Primost

Alessio Castellacci

Felix Ruckert

Kelly Dalrymple-Wass

Andrew Wass

Andrea Keiz

Brenda Waite

Gabi Reuter

Julieta Figueroa

Mireia Aragones

in: living together during - instant composed evening at Schwelle 7

Curating: Malin Astner and Susanne Martin

tickets: 8/10 EUR
SCHWELLE 7 / UFERSTR.6 /13357 BERLIN / WEDDING
U8 PANKSTR /U9 NAUENER PLATZ/ S GESUNDBRUNNEN
TICKETS / INFO : 0173 6118404 oder info@felixruckert.de
www.schwelle7.de

Were you an audience member or a performer at a previous LAB? We appreciate your honest comment and will take it as part of the practice and research processes. Post your comment in the blog or send us an email at: berlin@themeetingpoint-platform.com.

2010-04-26T02:33:00.001-07:00

2010-04-26T02:26:00.000-07:00

The Living Room Practice August 8th, 2009 - Valeria’s review

From manipulating breathing to playing with pain an pleasure issues, the practice did challenge some of my personal statements about manipulation of natural processes and the use of internal trips on stage.

the tension created by my openness (to receive different information than I may expect ) and my judgment or opinionated mind, was the actual tool I used to create space in between my favorite lines for an ever renovating ability to say yes to what I’ve already said no to.

This translating in the action of dancing gave me a very exciting possibility to commit to one thing while renovating my awareness of those things I’ve already decided not to chose, or to exclude from my movement today.

the image is that of an ever renovating and not because of that less consequent way of thinking and moving.

Recycling resources!!!!

thanks Jessica, Brenda, Malin, Sarah and Julius!

Valeria Primost

THE MEETING POINT LAB BERLIN #5

2010-04-11T03:35:00.000-07:00

interdisciplinary instant composing

May 10th 2010, 21.00

Curating: Andre Wass and Kelly Dalrymple - Wass

tickets: 8/10 EUR
SCHWELLE 7 / UFERSTR.6 /13357 BERLIN / WEDDING
U8 PANKSTR /U9 NAUENER PLATZ/ S GESUNDBRUNNEN
TICKETS / INFO : 0173 6118404 oder info@felixruckert.de
www.schwelle7.de
where you an audience member in a previews session? We appreciate your honest comment and will take it as part of the practice and research processes. Post your comment in the blog or send us an email to: berlin@themeetingpoint-platform.com

2010-03-07T19:46:00.000-08:00

THE MEETING POINT LAB BERLIN #4

2010-02-28T01:22:00.000-08:00

interdisciplinary instant composing

April 12, 21.00 at Schwelle 7, Berlin

THE BACK SIDE

I propose the idea of The Back Side, after the making of a video in a back street in Yamaguchi city, Japan, where I brought my body to interact with the reality of the back side of people´s houses.

The quality of the back side is that of what is composed spontaneously, without thinking of how it looks like, but just dealing with what is available and necessary. The place where people leave the things they don´t want to have in the front, the things they won´t use for a long time, or the things they don´t know what to do with.

I invite performers and audience (within their own positions), to engage in a dialogue that will let go of anything else beyond this quality, and allow their own back side to participate without the filter of preconceived aesthetics. I invite us all to share a redefinition of the back side, to find it´s use and it´s presence in daily life and performance.

The Back Side is a way and not a subject.

V.P.
with
Curating: Valeria Primost

dance: Malin Astner, Alessio Castellacci and Valeria Primost
music: Tobias Delius (saxophone), Antonio Borghini (double base), Butz Freytag (didgereedoo)
lights:Catalina Fernandez

tickets: 8/10 EUR
SCHWELLE 7 / UFERSTR.6 /13357 BERLIN / WEDDING
U8 PANKSTR /U9 NAUENER PLATZ/ S GESUNDBRUNNEN
TICKETS / INFO : 0173 6118404 oder info@felixruckert.de
www.schwelle7.de
where you an audience member or a performer at Sonic Movers? We appreciate your honest comment and will take it as part of the practice and research processes. Post your comment in the blog or send us an email to: berlin@themeetingpoint-platform.com

Benjamin Weidekamp

2010-02-05T01:58:00.000-08:00

geboren 1977, lebt seit 1999 in Berlin, wo er Saxophon/ Klarinette und Komposition studierte.

Er ist kreativer Kopf und Bandleader der Bands Olaf Ton (Cds bei Leo-records und 2nd Floor), Stereo Lisa (Cd „Anno Onno Monno“ bei Jazzwerkstatt) und Themroc3 (nominiert für den deutschen Jazzpreis 2005).

Darüber hinaus inszenierte er die KammerJazzOperMusikTheaterperformance „Buben&Mädchen“ für 4 Musiker und eine Schauspielerin. Premiere 26.09.08 an der Schaubühne Berlin. Ferner inszenierte er im Auftrag des Hr für das 40. Deutsche Jazzfestival Frankurt a.M. das Stück „Die computerband und die Prinzessin von Kapé.“

Als Mitglied des Kollektivs Fo[u]r Alto beschäftigt er sich intensiv mit der Erweiterung der Spieltechniken auf dem Saxophon und der Erforschung und Einbeziehung von Mikrotonalität.

Sein Saxophon- Klarinettenspiel im Sinne einer interdisziplinären künstlerischen Ausdrucksweise begreifend, arbeitet er nicht nur mit Musikern zusammen, sondern auch mit anderen Künstlern wie dem Tanzkollektiv VMM (Various Material Management) um die Pariser Tänzerin Margaruite Papazoglou, Schauspielern, dem Sprechkünstler Christian Reiner sowie der „computerband“in der ein live gespieltes Computerspiel durch eine Band vertont wird.

Regelmäßige Tourneen, Konzerte, Gastspiele, CD- und Radioproduktionen im In- und Ausland ( Italien, Israel, Frankreich, Polen, Tschechien, Norwegen, Griechenland, Österreich, Schweiz, Belgien, Holland, Rumänien) mit Anthony Braxton, BikBentBraam, James Choice Orchestra, Zeitkratzer, Tá Lam und der 3Groschenoper (Regie: Robert Wilson) u.a. beim 27. int. Jazzfest Leipzig (Okt. ´03), 40. Deutsches Jazzfestival Franfurt a.M. (´09), akBank Jazzfest Istanbul (´09), Musik Trienale Köln 2007, November Music 2005, Open Systems 2005, dem Projekt “Weltfestspiele ´73 Heldinnen, Bands und Klassenbrüder” (Berlin Aug. ´03), Jazzmeile Thüringen (Nov ´04), Jazz Focus (Berlin Dez ´04), Jazz in progress (Rüsselsheim April ´05)

THE MEETING POINT LAB BERLIN #3

2010-02-05T01:47:00.000-08:00

interdisciplinary instant composing

March 15th, 21.00

curating: Benjamin Weiderkamp

vMM (various Material Management)

Christian Reiner (Viena) - actor

Margaruite Papazoglou (Paris) - dance

Vasiliki Tsangari (Bruxeles) - dance

Benjamin Weidekamp (Berlin) - reeds

Frank Gratkowski (Berlin) - reeds

Christian Marien (Berlin) - drums

The sextet will improvise, choose, reverse and shift paths

through the movement and sound composition potential.

The collective vMM / various Materials Management founded by Marguerite Papazoglou in 2006 is a variable structure for artists interested to confrontation of disciplines and to improvisation. The name, that comes from the world-business vocabulary sounds to us not only as an ironic but also an effectual name because the target is for each work to create, from heterogeneous and multidisciplinary materials, an organic or even chaotic organisation.

tickets: 8/10 EUR
SCHWELLE 7 / UFERSTR.6 /13357 BERLIN / WEDDING
U8 PANKSTR /U9 NAUENER PLATZ/ S GESUNDBRUNNEN
TICKETS / INFO : 0173 6118404 oder info@felixruckert.de
www.schwelle7.de
where you an audience member or a performer at Sonic Movers? We appreciate your honest comment and will take it as part of the practice and research processes. Post your comment in the blog or send us an email to: berlin@themeetingpoint-platform.com

2010-01-15T03:57:00.000-08:00

THE MEETING POINT LAB BERLIN #2

2010-01-15T03:34:00.000-08:00

interdisciplinary instant composing

Monday February 8th, at 21.00

Curator: Alessio Castellacci

SONIC MOVERS

(INSTANT COMPOSING FOR BODY, CELLO, VIOLIN, GUITAR ,VOICE and LIGHTS)

concept and performance: Matthieu Burner, Lara Martelli, Alessio Castellacci, and Heini Nukari. instant lights - Riccardo Frezza

Looking beyond the division of roles, taking the risk of being the 'musician' and the 'dancer' at the same time, or maybe not. Embracing their passion for the sonic and the kinetic, they let themselves slip into a landscape of soundwaves and body response. seeing what happens.

tickets: 8/10 EUR

SCHWELLE 7 / UFERSTR.6 /13357 BERLIN / WEDDING

U8 PANKSTR /U9 NAUENER PLATZ/ S GESUNDBRUNNEN

TICKETS / INFO : 0173 6118404 oder info@felixruckert.de

www.schwelle7.de

where you an audience member or a performer at Sonic Movers? We appreciate your honest comment and will take it as part of the practice and research processes. Post your comment in the blog or send us an email to: berlin@themeetingpoint-platform.com

THE MEETING POINT LAB BERLIN #1

2010-01-07T06:28:00.000-08:00

interdisciplinary instant composing

Monday January 11th, at 21.00

OLYMPICS OF CONTACT

A concept by Felix Ruckert

with

#Mireia Aragones Carol #Malin Astner #Susanne Martin

#Maya Lipsker #Litsa Kiousi #Fenia Kotsopoulou

#Alessio Castellacci #Maia Urquiola #Thomas Brian #David Brandstetter

#Jorgos Fokianos #Felix Ruckert #Heiko Senst #David Bloom

Musician: Erikk

where you an audience member or a performer at The Olympics of Contact? We appreciate your honest comment and will take it as part of the practice and research processes. Post your comment in the blog or send us an email at: berlin@themeetingpoint-platform.com.

tickets: 8/10 EUR
SCHWELLE 7 / UFERSTR.6 /13357 BERLIN / WEDDING
U8 PANKSTR /U9 NAUENER PLATZ/ S GESUNDBRUNNEN
TICKETS / INFO : 0173 6118404 oder info@felixruckert.de
www.schwelle7.de

Julius Holz

2009-09-02T03:57:00.000-07:00

Julius Holtz was born in Bremen, Germany. He is living in Berlin studies and works mainly in here but also abroad. His works include composition, directing of photography, installations and film making.

He is composing sound / music and video for theater and dance theater performances as well as film.
His short films have been screened international at film festivalls.
He is teaching the use of digital audio work stations.

his website

Jessica Jobaris

2009-09-01T05:08:00.000-07:00

Jessica Jobaris is a performer, choreographer, and instructor based in Berlin, Germany.

From 2000-2008, Jessica enjoyed an active Seattle dance career, performing with renowned Seattle companies Lingo dance theater, Scott/Powell Performance, Maureen Whiting Company, Bryon Carr Performance (NYC).

Since in Berlin, Jessica has worked with choreographers Kirsten Burger (for MTV), Jess Curtis & Maria Scaroni/Transmission Symmetry Project, and visual artist Eloise de Hauteclocque. Her love of experimental theatre has taken her to study, perform and/or choreograph in Vienna, Berlin and Amsterdam, and she has been awarded several choreographic residencies and commissions throughout Seattle, Idaho, Utah and Florida. Jessica has choreographed over 20 works for dance-theatre, musicals, film and theater.

With long-time collaborator, Luke Allen, she is Co-Artistic Director of CorpusCorpus Movement Association, a multi-media performance art company, funded by city, state and corporate sponsors. Having a great interest in merging dance with film, she has created several dance cinemas; her most recent cinema collaboration with Luke Allen premiered in Uplink’s Next Moment in Tokyo.

Their current performance project “You're the Stuff that sets me Free” will premiere in Berlin in Fall of 2009

www.corpuscorpus.org

Valeria Primost

2009-09-01T04:58:00.000-07:00

Valeria is graduated in modern dance and choreography from MTD and SNDO departments in Amsterdam Arts University.
She is the founder of The Meeting Point, international platform for instant composing arts and worked with Trisha Brown, Robert Steijn, Frans Poelstra and Julyen Hamilton, a.o.
She collaborates with the companies: The Performance Corporation in Ireland and Miks in London. And with the arts university of Caracas, a.o.
She trains Qi gong and Tai Qi, Wudang styles for the last three years
and practices the Alexander Technique and Somatic Movement techniques regularly.
Her companies: Danza Nomade (2006) and Lucky Dreamers (2008) perform collaborative works in Amsterdam and Berlin
She´s worked for the international festivals Documenta12, Montevideo Sitiada and Buenos Aires Danza.
for more information visit: www.valeriaprimost.com

Gabriele Reuter

2009-09-01T04:50:00.000-07:00

Gabriele Reuter is a dance artist based in Berlin and Nottingham. Her interest in improvisation is influenced by teachers such as Julyen Hamilton, KJ Holmes, Andrew Harwood, Kirstie Simpson, Scott Wells and Rick Nodine. As a dancer Gabriele has most recently performed for Rick Nodine, Sioned Huws Frauke Requardt and Christoph Winkler as well as in her own works and collaborations. Since 2002 Gabriele has taught company class, dance technique and workshops in improvisation and Contact Improvisation in the UK, Germany, Portugal, Norway and South America. She trained at London Contemporary Dance School and De Montfort University Leicester.
Gabriele is part of the organisational team of the monthly “Freistil” Improvisation platform at Tanzfabrik.
www.gabrielereuter.de

Butz Freytag

2009-09-01T04:38:00.000-07:00

I play music since the age of 9. My instruments are drums, keyboard, singing and didgeridoo.
I played with the bands Glenn Copulation (pop music. from 1982 till 1989),
Planetao (Brazilian jazz, bossa nova. from 1995 till 1999), As Danny Igel’s songs interpreter (pop music. From 1988 till 1991), Out of Nowhere (Folk trance music. From 1998 till 2003)
Superdruck (hip hop music. From 2000 till 2003), A.T. Yidak (Ethno Pop. since 1996)
Coryza (Folk trance. since 2003).
At venues like Quartier Latin (Berlin), Festival on Bornholm (Denmark), Olympia Stadium Berlin and at the MTV channel, formerly Music Box (1985), among others.
I also play as a Didgeridoo Entertainer: Solo Story telling and didgeridoo playing (since 1997)
Playing and composing film music: Didgereedoo zwischen Tradition und Moderne, by Katrin Hensel (documentary film, 1997/1998)

I worked as a promoter of Australian art in Berlin for The Aboriginal Arts Gallery.

Performance Art:

Kissing Facts, a performance concert in collaboration with dancer Valeria Primost and sound designer Julius Holtz, premiered on July 18th 2008 at Alberto Ukebana, Berlin.
I am part of The Meeting Point Berlin and collaborate with the Living Room Practice as a musician.

I acted in the movies:

Die Fälscher, by Stefan Buzowitzky (2007, Berlin)
Das Leben der Anderen, by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (2006, Berlin)
Beyond the See, by Kevin Spacey (2005, Berlin)
V like Vendetta, by James McTeigue (2005, Berlin)
Among others

Roland Satterwhite

2009-09-01T04:31:00.000-07:00

" I live in this beautiful world. people argue about the best way to be here. about how to govern ourselves and about what things to value over other things. I think trying to see ourselves in others is the place to start. sometimes I worry that the only thing that could bring peace on earth is the threat of an evil alien invasion. I want my music to make people feel connected to other people. not in an evil-alien-invasion kind of way, but in the way that music can."

http://www.benedekrecords.com/baker.html

Sakura Shimada

2009-09-01T04:28:00.000-07:00

Sakura Shimada is from Japan. She came to NYC in 1997. In NYC, she has worked with Shua Group, Ei Arakawa, Jenni Hong and Aydan Turker. She has been studying and working with Daniel Lepkoff for the past 5 years and traveled through Europe, Russia, and Turkey, working with people in those places. She has been working with an improvisational approach to making dances and researching and developing a way of looking at the details of movement.

Brenda Waite

2009-09-01T04:26:00.000-07:00

Brenda Waite is a performer, teacher and director. With a background in physical theatre, mime and dance, her interest is in the expressive possibilities of the body in performance.

Brenda collaborates with artists from theatre, dance, film and visual art and regularly creates performance work in alternative spaces.

She involves improvisation as a central element in her performance practise and regularly teaches classes in improvisational performance.
From 1998-2007 she established and facilitated The Flummery Room in
Bristol, a space for artistic exchange and the development of
improvisational performance skills.
She has studied improvisation with Julyen Hamilton, Al Wunder,
Andrew Morrish, Sten Rudstrom and worked with Melbourne based company
'Born in a Taxi' (1998-2007).

Malin Astner

2009-09-01T04:22:00.000-07:00

Malin Astner is a dance artist, based in Stockholm and Berlin. The last year her work has been focused on several improvisation-collaborations with musicians and dancers, performing in Berlin and touring in Switzerland.
Malin is a member of The Meeting-point/Berlin, where she has been participating and mentoring practice- sessions in instant composition.
In Stockholm Malin worked with choreographer Susanne Jaresand, Margaretha Åsberg, Jukka Korpi, Malin Elgán and in Kompani Equilibrium. Malin was educated at University College of Dance in Stockholm and at Rotterdamse Dansakademi in Rotterdam, and has also been teaching contemporary dance and improvisation at Royal Swedish Ballet School and Ballet Academy in Stockholm. In the past year Malin has received grant from Swedish Art Council, Dance Web, Anders Sandrew and Carina Air’s memorial fund, which has enabled her to study improvisation with artists including, Julyen Hamilton, David Zambrano, and Hans Van den Brock.

Sarah Mengher

2009-09-01T04:14:00.000-07:00

Sarah Menger studied fine arts at the Hochschule der Bildenden Künste Saar in Saarbrücken and New Dance and Contact Improvisation in San Francisco and at bewegungsart in Freiburg. She is a Somatic Movement Educator and Body-Mind-Centering® Practitioner. Her work as a dancer and dance teacher is influenced by different bodywork techniques (such as Yoga, Taiji, Gindler work) as well as her training and collaboration with Daniel Lepkoff (Physical Improvisation). She is based in Berlin.

PARTICIPATION

2009-08-24T06:20:00.000-07:00

The Meeting Point in Berlin is slowly growing
Different small projects are developing based on practice and daily care.

The Meeting Point welcomes collaborators in diverse scops of the work.

LIVING ROOM PRACTICE

- to be a mentor:
Mentors of the Living Room Practice are practitioners , performers, musicians, painters, or thinkers who have a background on interdisciplinary work and a personal approach to the development of colalboration work based on intstant compossing. If you would like to mentor a Living Room Practice you can contact The Meeting Point - B , with a title and a bit of a description of the work you intend to share as well as a short bio.
Notice that the mentoring is not payed, except for the voluntary collaboration that participants (no more than seven people) leave in the little cup before the go.

- To participate of the practice:
Until now the participants are invited by earlier participants who know other people who are activly working interdisciplinary and developing their own view on the work.
If you haven´t met anyone else, you are very welcome to contact us by email with any information about you who you think is important for us to get to know you. We are happy to meet new people who are seriously engaged with instant composing and interdisciplinary work!

THE LAB
click here for description

- WE SEARCH FOR SPACE!
The Lab still doesn´t have a space in Berlin.
We are happy to receive proposal for spaces which would like to host a Meeting Point Lab evening every month.
Please note that we have no subsidies yet, so we depend on the entrances money to afford all the costs involved on a LAB.
If you are interested on helping us with making it happen, please contact us and we will arrange a meeting to exchange about possibilities and interests.

-Performers
Once the LAB is running we will be in search for artists with experience in interdisciplniary performance to take part every month. Check the blog for updates or contact us to be included in the mailing lists.

COMMUNITY

The Meeting Point´s proposal as an international Platform is to create community around the practice and work on instantly compossed interdisicplinary art works.
For that we organize Trainings, Meetings, Performances, and everything that give us a ground to meet more people involved in this kind of work to gather the strength needed to develop as a community.
If you have an idea and would like it to be supported somehow by The Meeting Point Platform in Berlin, please contact us with the idea, we might be able to support it.

Containing/containers, by Valeria Primost

2009-08-23T09:45:00.000-07:00

Review by Valeria Primost (mentor)

I came to the topic "containing / containers" because of this multiple image it gives me of the existence of things which are contained within other things which are as well contained within bigger things. that summed to the ability of the containers that, as such, can contain or let go out or manifest what is contained.

In this way we acknowledge the simultaneous existence of different presences that at the same time belong to a same common presence within a bigger context (container ; ), and which have the power to exchange some of the contents they contain and therefore develop a communication process. This offered the ability to be aware as much of what was happening outside us (in the bigger containers) as of what was happening inside each of us as smaller containers sharing a space.
The awareness issue was strong and greatly nurtured by the proposed quality arousing from the action of containing and letting go. Playing and editing what´s coming , in this sense challenging the improvisers mind of being here and now: being here and now choosing to play, being here and now choosing to edit/contain what is coming and I still don´t know what it is.
Choosing to edit or contain as one more choice of playing.

The introduction towards this work, was based on a combination of a very basic qi gong exercise and the use of air/sound and bouncing/pausing as motors of a process of choice among containing or manifesting what is contained.

The work offered a strong concentration through which relationships where being build in a very integrated but impersonal way, letting the watchers make their own conclusions.

The continuation of this work offers a good base for complexity of choice and design of big and smaller containers for the making of a piece.

Thanks to everyone involved!, it´s been a very inspiring day!!

Valeria Primost.

writing a review

2009-08-15T01:46:00.000-07:00

The Living Room Practice
wants to encourage everyone who takes part as a mentor or as a practitioner
to write about your experience and the way it has enriched your practice.

The proposal wants to offer a space where the physical and intellectual experience can become articulated for the sharing with people who haven´t been there and to continue a dialogue about the work after it´s been done. To let the practice develope further through the next practices.

For that reasson we would like to offer a small guide of questions which could support the direction of your review. The intention is not to have you answering a kind of form but to let you know what we think could be the most interesting to read about after the sharing of the practice.

Questions coud be:

how did the beginning activity (or warming up) collaborated with the practice afterwards
how do you integrate all the materialas a whole.
how does this practice today, with this specific constellation of people,adds to your own practice.
how does it challenge your own vision of the work (and if you are the mentor: how did the exchange of others challenged your proposal)
which questions would you propose for a further work in this direction.

For no mentors:
not a description of the experience step by step
but a global analysis of the tools as informing to your own practice:
something that makes clear why this practice was useful for you

We are looking very much forward to your collaborations!!!
Please contact us for any questions you may have about these and any other issues related to
The Meeting Point Berlin.

reviews on: AUGUST 8 : ¨NAVIGATING RESOURCES¨ by Jessica Jobaris

2009-08-14T03:26:00.000-07:00

The Living Room Practice August 8th, 2009 - by Jessica Jobaris.

Navigating Resources; how improvisation can become a practice of integration.

Starting with meditation and listening, we find connection to our environment,
the individual spine, the group spine, the spine of the room, the city...

but then just as well with the sensitivity of the skin,
or the voice vibrating thru the air, with our partners supportive palms,
or the way pain and pleasure bring us to the present moment in our environment.

What are the ways we embrace or run from integration? What are the ways we embrace or run from solo/individual?
How much do we question our level of willingness and trust in order to apply what is needed in the spontaneity of a moment?

On Saturday, we navigated these resources, the details of the body, as the vehicle thru which we
create conscious truthful connection with each other in improvisation.
We set in motion these resources as individuals and also collectively; giving room
to retreat, participate or make space.

Incorporating our musician, Julius, in the physical warmup allowed for a more whole group connection, and influenced his participation, allowing for more play which is the highest aim!
It was delightful having him there, with his engaged body. His music/sound spaces were a great support and initiator for the time together.

The strength of willingness of the participants culminated in a very vibrant container of hellos, goodbyes, coming and goings...perfect send off for my heading back to the States.
Thanks Valeria et All!

The Living Room Practice August 8th, 2009 - Valeria´s review

From manipulating breathing to playing with pain an pleasure issues, the practice did challenge some of my personal statements about manipulation of natural processes and the use of internal trips on stage.
the tension created by my openness (to receive different information than I may expect ) and my judgement or opnionated mind, was the actual tool I used to create space in between my favorite lines for an ever renovating ability to say yes to what I´ve already said no to.
This translating in the action of dancing gave me a very exciting possibility to commit to one thing while renovating my awareness of those things I´ve already decided not to chose, or to exclude from my movement today.
the image is that of an ever renovating and not because of that less concequent way of thinking and moving.
Recycling resources!!!!
thanks Jessica, Brenda, Malin, Sarah and Julius!
Valeria.

On music and dance dialogues

2009-07-06T12:34:00.000-07:00

By Valeria Primost (mentor)

Starting by experiencing the physical space through sound and movement, musicians and dancers equally involved on both practices, we begann a common exchange on perception and production of material.
Following with an excersice on rythm we intended to excersise constant activity as oposse of event making without a constant rythm or timing. Playing simultaneusly in duets and perceiving the change from constant to event or all the way around, by our partner.
The excersise offers the clear physical experience of the imposibility to perform a non constant activity: every activity contains constancy if perceived in its micro dymension and its perception changes when it is related with an activity which can be seen as constant in its macro dymension.
It is a good excersise for experiencing physically what the material is made of and how we can relate directly with materials creates by other elements: as a music instrument, a body or any other media: painting, video and so on.

Berlin, July 6th 2009

Subject: Beggining and End - June 27, 2009

2009-07-06T12:18:00.000-07:00

by Malin Astner (mentor) :
The topic of Livingroom meeting 27/6 was; beginning and end, from some different perspectives. starting with the body. By giving hands and touch to one person, touch the surface, what can be the beginning and the end off your body. Giving the person in focus, help with sensing the hole of the body by being touched by the others. Second part was experience the hands simultaneously leaving and returning, this to allow the experience of how far the body's energy can extend in space. Last step was to move with the touching hands to emphasize the feeling of the space we work in. From this body-focus we continued the work with movements and sounds, where they begin and where they end. I proposed a 45 min improvisation in an "open" space, building from the elements and also the addition of phrasing. This because it arises in attention as we work with the subject of beginning/end, what is in the middle?? My experience of the improvisation, which was nice was, that I felt the group starting from a quite separate place, working with the body a bit on ones own. But then more and more we started to go into the listening and we got musicality, rhythm, phrasing and silences that where very nice. Within the listening I felt it strong enough in order to allow myself to let go of the material and the movement and give that attention to the listening and the group.

Berlin, June 29th 2009.

by Valeria Primost (host and participant)

the topic of finding the edge, the beggining and the end of the body and later working on movement as a body itself, which has a begining and an end, was extremelly interesting, because it gave the opportunity of relating simultaneusly with the beginnings and ends inside the body and with the beginings and ends outside the body. The relationship of movement as part of both the body and the space, made the body a clear place where the space continues and therefore inscribes experiences and responses to what is very simple to relate. And this experience made the interdisciplinary communication fluid and simple in all its complexity. It was easy to be aware of multiplicity because of reading it in a simple and direct way. thank you Malin!!

Berlin, July 6 2009.

Calendar

2009-03-14T11:54:00.001-07:00

Subject: "silence" and "three-part-game" by Malin Astner

2009-03-14T10:18:00.000-07:00

silence
Chosen from my last three months of work, specially in collaborations with musicians. I have found the powerful moment of the arrival of the silence in the space. I wanted to try out and see, what could happen if I, in an open impro session put emphasis on listening to sounds and silence. What could happen to the quality of movement and the movement in space with the headpoint of silence.

I gave the suggestions within the frame of three steps:

1. Hearing, listening and opening the body to let all sorrounding sounds enter and leave, same with the sounds inside our body and in between the bodies in the room. When can you experience it as silence and how do you listen to the silence?

2. What can you do with it? What happens in you when you "hear" the silence. Do you find it powerful, demanding, limiting, paralysing. How can we deal with its power. Does it underline the movements you give it? Opening the awareness of when it happens.

3 Can you create silence? if so, can you with that silence create focus or change focus towards you or towards your partner. Direct the silence. Direct the dance with silence.

I was interested in, not only, the research of silence but also if there would come any indirect consequences caused by the focus. Would movement between silences become clearer? Would it give loudness, volume and speed to the work?

From what I experienced from the outside this did not happen. But what I found interesting to see was, with what clarity in fraceing and sequensing everybody was working. I also experienced a feeling of carefulness and perhaps a bit suppressed energy, as if we could hear a lot better and didn't want to interrupt someone else's work with being loud.

three-part-game
In the end we did a more structured exercise with a trio-task. Three people in the space, each with one specific role as leader, follower or choreographer. This exercise worked well and gave the free impro-work an interesting landscape, just by directing it a bit. It rises the questions of accepting that we are always playing a role, in every context, in every creative space, even though we are not always aware of it or can deal with it. This gave a moment of work to remember that by doing it full out, as decisions, exercising it in changes, experiencing it, this can give us the choice of using it clearly. And also just for the fun of it.

Malin

Subject: "micro view on image crystallization (and how not to do that) ", by Valeria Primost

2009-02-18T13:16:00.000-08:00

Based on the process which creates an image in the mind as a movement is just started and although it is not yet finished...
if the mind wants to know where we are going for safety reasons, can we chose another way in between the beginning of the movement and its "safely propossed end" ?
can we be aware of the many options in between here and "there" and be 100 percent present in our choice from those options?
and then: where does the movement begins and where does it go through? can we perceive movement at a cell level in order to be up to date in communication with the movement and not need to wait until the movement arrived from the shoulder to the elbow to give our presence a continuity?

It is a propossal for a micro view on image cristallization and how not to do that...
We found a difference among this task and the task of " moving away from your ideas" or "not doing what you think of doing". (macro)

It seems that the last one applies more to the body as a whole. Offering the practice of a dissatached presence of each move, more related to space.

and the Micro proposal, looking at cell level perception, offering more of an opening up of smaller pathways or the undoing of patterned moving within the body.

from the Living Room Practice on February 7th, mentored by Valeria Primost

V.P.

Subjects: bounce, by Valeria Primost

2009-02-18T08:00:00.001-08:00

I already had the idea to work on bouncing movements when the practice began, but as i started moving and sensing other people practicing their entrance in this place i realized that i didn´t want to cut what was happening to propose something different... so i started working myself on bouncing movements and shared it with the others by sharing the same space and sometimes having physical contact. the whole thing developed into a dance where we all were playing our own interpretation of this bouncing proposal. The practice beginning was a transit through small composintions in a totally open context. the moment of conection were therefore very strong and clear: there was no agreement just play.

as we worked on bouncing duets different subjects came out:
- the bouncing motion gives a constant here and now reminder
- it seems to block direct action : specially when the inspiration we have can not be made by bouncing. but in fact in this way it just challenges the awareness of what is actually the way from here to "there". And it is allways possible to change the bouncing rythm and the ground of the bounce.
- visually it many times seems to show a slow motion movie or a rewinded movie...
- there is anathomic consequence visible in the dance which is directly affected by the rythm and timing of the bounce.
- there is an interesting contrast among the "i don´t care" quality of bounce and the attentive mind caring for an awareness of the whole space with which is relating.

from the Living Room Practice on February 7th 2009, mentored by Valeria Primost

V.P.

flexible structure and actual questions

2009-02-18T07:52:00.000-08:00

What is the Living Room Practice today:

- it is a space-time for practicing instant composing
- including the diversity of approaches brought by all and each of us
- not product-directed
- the disciple is instant composing and the media can be of any kind. we propose the body as the first tool for perception.
- happening every two weeks on saturdays from 15 till 18
- in a living room
- transforming its basic form as different people with different interests take part.
- it includes the practice and the process of creating the practice.

The basic form today:

1- entering the living room begins the practice (arrivals at the kitchen)
2- there is a time until everyone began his or her own relation to practice
3- the day´s mentor invites to specific action after being affected by the presence of everyone in the living room
[ MENTOR: to have a mentor each day means to open our practice to somebody else´s based on unhierarchical thought and confidence.
ACTION: depends on the specific approach of the mentor and includes warming up of any kind and a fair time of instant composing practice in any form.]
4- time to talk, criticize, question, celebrate, disappear.... (don´t be polite. be respectful)

Questions of today:

- what does instant composing mean for different persons ?
- what are other person´s questions about the work?
- how do other persons develop their works?
- how is my understanding of the discipline changed or not through this exchange?
- how does instant composing as a discipline (or its community - or practitioners) relate to the society where it is practiced?

The context for the Living Room Practice.... today : )

- it is part of the project of The Meeting Point as a platform: www.themeetingpoint-impro.com
- and it is the grounding work for The Meeting Point in Berlin, which intends to extend its activities depending on the possibilities and the work developed from a practice base: www.themeetingpoint-berlin.blogspot.com
- Valeria (me) as one of the founders of the international platform, is proposing the activity and open to share the platform with other people who want to commit to the work in a personal way. so: proposals of all kinds are welcome.
- as the name says, it is developed in a living room space, at the moment at Valeria´s place, and it can change as people come with proposals. The idea is to not meet in sterile spaces, but in places with a life of their own, as a way of connecting the work with quotidian life.

Notes:

-The discipline is instant composing, the body is propossed as the first tool to perceive action and therefore to act.
On this ground I invite warming ups to be based on the intention to open up different ways of perceiving action, to continue with the instant composing work later including any tools we want: objects, sound instruments, photographs, body, ( no animals please), etc...
and off course: body as a perceptive tool is understood by everybody differently, so having driven your attention to it the door is opened for absolutely any approach.
everyone being responsible for his or her own limits.

Participation

After your first participation you are invited to propose people to join in the future.
There is a limit of seven people every time to make sure we will all have space to play and exchange visions.
The first seven to confirm participation each date will then have the space.
One of those seven people will mentor the day, you can make propossals when you would like to do it.

Contact

2009-01-26T09:47:00.000-08:00

to make contact with The Meeting Point in Berlin:

berlin@themeetingpoint-platform.com

to make contact with the international Platform:

info@themeetingpoint-platform.com

People

2009-01-26T09:37:00.000-08:00

artists collaborating with The Meeting Point Berlin

Valeria Primost , Butz Freytag , Brenda Waite , Julius Holz , Alessio Castellacci , Malin Astner, Fabiana Capriotti , Roland Satterwhite, Jessica Jobaris, Sakura Shimada, Sarah Megher, Gabrielle Reuter, Benjamin Weidenkamp, Susanne Martin, Felix Ruckert, Andrew Wass and Kelly Dalrymple-Wass

some artists collaborating with The Meeting Point Platform

Amsterdam:
Marcos Baggiani, Marisa Grande, Thomas Johanssen.
Michael Moore, Lily Kiara, Felicity Provan,
Julyen Hamilton,

Helsinki:
Giorgio Convertito

Barcelona:
Tito Albert Juan, Oriol Roca , Jordi Santanach

Milan:
Marcela Fanzaga

Buenos Aires:
Lucia Fernandez Moujan, Virginia Barcelona, Laura Tabachnik, Mariela Puyol, Gabriela Pastor, Wenchi Lazo, Alejo Due.

Viena:
Michael Fischer

Mexico City:
Constanza Herrera

Institutions

Bimhuis, Amsterdam
Festival Danza Buenos Aires
Artacts Festival, Muku - Austria
Festival Montevideo Sitiada
Espacio Urbano, IUDANZA - Caracas
WUK, Viena

Workshops

2009-01-26T09:31:00.000-08:00

- Urban Dance Adventures
at the Ping Pong Bar.

- August 26th at 19.30 - An evening of physical adventure amidst the unique decor
and ambience of the Ping Pong Bar. Glogauer Str. 21 , with Brenda Waite
redwaite@yahoo.com
http://brendawaite.blogspot.com/

- September 17 and 18 in Brussels. THE BODY AND MIND tuning training, with Valeria Primost. information and inscriptions : natisardi@yahoo.com (see flyer under and more info at www.valeriaprimost.com)

Lucky Dreamers

2008-12-26T14:45:00.000-08:00

performing at Freistil
on January 4th at 18.00
on a shared evening with Geraldo Si, David Leahy, Daniela Lehmann and Heide Moldenhauer

Valeria Primost and Butz Freytag:
dance solo, music and dance duet
yidaki and undertone singing solo

We will be happy to meet you there!

address: Möckernstr.68, D-10965 Berlin
entrance: 5 euros.-

www.lucky-dreamers.blogspot.com
www.tanzfabrik-berlin.de

Living Room Practice

2008-12-26T14:26:00.001-08:00

the LIVING ROOM PRACTICE

Is a space for the practice of instant composing, where the diversity of approaches meet without hierarchies to achieve mutual enrichment among individual practices.

It is an invitation to work in a quotidian space and include quotidian issues to the conceptual, aesthetical and organic interests of the artists.
The interdisciplinary work is one of the challenges of the proposal, always meant to construct a common practice rather than to use other disciplines as accompanying tools.

After Seven Months of existence, the LIVING ROOM PRACTICE has proved to function as a potential space to generate new collaborative processes based on the sharing of practical approaches.

A place to encounter, to challenge and to develop individual and collective ideas about art, dance, music, visuals and communication.

about the practice:

flexible structure and actual questions

guide to
Writing a review

Callendar and reviews:
2009

December 12 - SHARED MENTORING: Bring your one word!!!

this is the last Living Room Practice of the year and all the participants are invited to bring one word to the pot to combine with the word of others and create a celebration practice together.

CONFIRM YOUR PRESENCE!! places are limited!

EARLIER MEETINGS REVIEWS

November 28: Sakura Shimada (from NY) will mentor

SEPTEMBER 19: " Space Theories and City Centres " by Gabrielle Reuter

open call for reviews on this meeting!

AUGUST 22: ¨CONTAINING / CONTAINERS¨ by Valeria Primost
with Brenda Waite, Malin Astner, Butz Freytag, Anne-Gaëlle, Ann-Maree Eilis, Khang Nguyen.
REVIEWS: by Valeria

AUGUST 8 : ¨NAVIGATING RESOURCES¨ by Jessica Jobaris
with Julius Holz, Brenda Waite, Sarah Menger and Valeria Primost.
REVIEWS by Jessica Jobaris and Valeria Primost

JULY 25: ¨BODY ROOM LANDSCAPE¨ by Brenda Waite
with Jessica Jobaris, Malin Astner, Butz Freytag, Sarah Menger, Valeria Primost.

no reviews yet.

June 27th 2009 on Beginning and End , by Malin Astner.
with: Sarah Menger, Valeria Primost and Butz Freytag
Reviews by Malin, Sarah and Valeria.

June 13th 2009 by Valeria Primost: on music and dance dialogues
with: Malin Astner, Brenda Waite, Butz Freytag, Julius Holz and Roland Satterwhite.
REVIEWS by Valeria.

May 2nd 2009, by Fabiana Capriotti: on support
with Malin Astner, Sarah Menger, Juliana Piquero, Butz Freytag, Valeria Primost.

March 21st 2009, by Alessio Castellaci

with Malin Astner, Brenda Waite, Julius Holz, Roland Satterwhite.

March 7th 2009, by Malin Astner
On: "Silence " and "three-part-game"
with Alessio Castelacci, Brenda Waite, Valeria Primost and Sarah Menger.
REVIEW by Malin.

February 7th 2009, by Valeria Primost
On: "micro view on image crystallization (and how not to do that) "
On: bounce
with Malin Astner, Anja Sielaf, Silvana Suarez Cedeño.
REVIEW1 by Valeria.
REVIEW2 by Valeria

Searching for improvisers in every discipline

2008-10-31T08:34:00.000-07:00

With the intention of opening a new Meeting Point Lab in Berlin we would like to meet improvisers of every art discipline who would like to have a new stage for interdisciplinary instant composing and performance in Berlin.

The date and place of this first meeting will be announced soon, if you would like to participate, please send an email to themeetingpoint.berlin@googlemail.com and we will include you in our mailing list for this event.

Main disciplines invited: dance, music, light design, film. Visual artists of all kinds and actors are very welcome as well...

your ideas and proposals will be very important for the new event!!!

Two New Labs

2008-10-25T04:29:00.001-07:00

The Meeting Point Berlin would like to celebrate the birth of two new labs in Milan and Amsterdam.

The lab is the seed for all meeting point projects since it´s the context where new collabobrations can begin by meeting and playing with other´s for the first time or in a new formation never tryed before.

If you are planning to visit Amsterdam or Milan, and want to experience the great atmosphere of the local improvisation scene check the following dates:

26th October in Milano

http://themeetingpoint-milano.blogspot.com

27th of October 2008
Music, Movement & Laundry with Oscar Jan Hoogland, Maaike van de Westeringh, Jochen Stechmann, Roy Tukkers, Lydia Müller, Marcos Baggiani

24th of November 2008

The Body of Shadow with Marisa Grande & Anusc Castiglioni

Place: Ostadetheater (Van Ostadestraat 233d)Time: food at 19:00. performance at 20:00Please make reservations (important for the cook!) : via www.ostadetheater.nl of 020-6795096 http://themeetingpoint-amsterdam.blogspot.com

Enjoy!!!

Projects

2008-09-25T04:54:00.000-07:00

Lucky dreamers is a music, dance and performance collaboration project formed by the dancer Valeria Primost and the musician Butz Freytag.
Through their diverse instruments they tell multisensory stories for the broad perceptive experience of their audience.
They propose both a ritual and an aesthetic experience which can be developed into individual and collective philosophycal journeys.
Butz and Valeria work also in collaboration with other artists and disciplines.
for detail information about their activities visit: www.lucky-dreamers.blogspot.com

Presentations

2008-07-15T09:46:00.000-07:00

THE MEETING POINT LAB #6: Living Together at Schwelle 7, by Malins Astner and Susanne Martin

THE MEETING POINT LAB BERLIN #5: Non Fiction and Guests, by Andrew Wass and Kelly Dalrymple-Wass

THE MEETING POINT LAB BERLIN #4: The Back Side, by Valeria Primost and guests. Apri12, 21.00 at Schwelle 7.

THE MEETING POINT LAB BERLIN #3: vMM (various Material Management)curating: Benjamin Weiderkamp. March 15th, 21.00, Schwelle7.

THE MEETING POINT LAB BERLIN #2: SONIC MOVERS, by Alessio Castellacci and guests

February 8th at 21.00, Schwelle7.

THE MEETING POINT LAB BERLIN #1: OLYMPICS OF CONTACT, by Felix Ruckert and guests

January 11 at 21.00, Schwelle 7

Lucky Dreamers, simple duet

Freistil, January 4th at 18.00by Valeria Primost and Butz Freytag: dance solo, music and dance duet
yidaki and undertone singing solo
address: Möckernstr.68, D-10965 Berlin
entrance: 5 euros.-

www.lucky-dreamers.blogspot.com
www.tanzfabrik-berlin.de

a performance concert
by Julius, Butz Freytag and Valeria Primost

July 19th, 21 hrs. at Alberto Ukebana
Urbanstrasse 116, Berlin-Kreuzberg
entrance 5 euros

www.albertoukebana.blogspot.com

The Meeting Point Lab

2008-03-14T04:52:00.000-07:00

The Meeting Point LAB in BERLIN

will take place every second monday of the month at Schwelle 7

From January 2010 every month a different curator will invite artists from different disciplines to compose and evening together

Dates and Curators will be:

January 11 - Felix Ruckert : Olympics of Contact.

February 8 - Alessio Castellacci

March 15 -Benjamin Weidekamp

April 12 - Valeria Primost

May 10 - Andrew Wass and Kelly Dalrymple-Wass

June 14- Malin Astner and Susanne Martin.

CLICK ON THE DATE TO SEE DETAILS OF GUESTS AND CONCEPT.

Starting at 21.00 at Schwelle 7,

Uferstrasse 6, HH 1. Stock, 13357 Berlin

enrtance 8-10 euros.

WWW.SCHWELLE7.DE

The Meeting Point LAB

is an interdisciplinary instant composing performance event organized in a regular basis depending on the needs of each community. Every new event is organized by a different curator who invites a group of artists working on different disciplines to create a work in one evening.

The LAB is an invitation for artists and audience to meet in an experimental context where to develop performance and observation tools, a context of exchange and an opportunity to enjoy the abilities of spontaneity and risk taking.

The LAB is the originating project of The Meeting Point as a platform, started in 2004 running for two years at Bimhuis Amsterdam, it has been the inspiration for other artists communities in Europe and America, to join the efforts for the opening up of new fertile and creative spaces where artists and audiences can enrich their art and art loving, as well as their communication skills.

Today the LAB is functioning with different names in Barcelona: CREA, Helsinki: HMP, Berlin: NAME IT! and Milano: UNDER THE ROOF, and has nomadic events at different festivals and art meetings around the world.

The format of the LAB is adaptable to the needs of each community

The Main goals of a lab are:

-To help articulate a local arts community among its different disciplines and interests, by bringing together people and artists who would have never met otherwise.
-To collaborate with the communication among artists and audience by offering a context of no-expectations where everybody is exploring and where audience and performers can meet and talk about the process in an informal way. This leads ultimately to the broadening of the audience for the different disciplines as well.
- To collaborate with a honest development of a discipline that is becoming interesting for more people every time and which needs of the actual practice to generate good quality projects.
- To set a study ground for improvisation as common tool to all human activities and which can help understanding diversity among professions, people and cultures.