Contact Improvisation
WINTER INTENSIVE ’23

with Ulli Wittemann

<<< nur noch ein freier Platz! >>>

a whole month of focused training
in Contact Improvisation
at the Nature Community, Schönsee, Bavaria, Germany

20. January to 19. February 2023

 

DEUTSCHE ÜBERSETZUNG WEITER UNTEN – GERMAN TRANSLATION BELOW

In this Intensive you have the chance to dive really deep into the form of Contact Improvisation, going for a whole month of ongoing practice and intense training with a very experienced teacher in a group of dedicated dancers.

We will feed our bodies with a lot of technical tools and tricks, engage our mind longing for a deeper understanding of what we are doing when we are dancing CI and inhabiting a human body. And yes, we will nourish our soul, craving for an environment of heart-open like-minded humans, where artistic expression is just as important as fresh air, healthy food and sunlight.

We will start with the floor, connecting with gravity and our breath and inviting a deep listening as a base of contact from body to body.
From Floor Work to Shoulder Lifts, engaging in discussions and watching videos, working extensively in the studio and use the nature as a landscape to immerse ourselves… losing ourselves for finding something new. Together.

Be ready for a transformative experience in your dancing and in your life.
I already feel honoured and excited to be your guide on this journey,
Ulli Wittemann

Here some little “snacks” to feed your curiousity and give you more of an idea of how I see CI
Interview with Ulli about CI

Ulli dancing in Goa 2015

Ulli teaching at the Acroventure 2019 in Croatia

DATES

PRICES

The price consists of two parts:

1. the contribution for the Intensive with Ulli
Early Bird  990 € till December 10th
Regular Price  1.190 € from December 11th

2. Accommodation & Food at the NC
1.290 € to 1.680 € per person in a double room for the entire time
1.590 € to 1.980 € per person in a single room for the entire time

You can find all details regarding accommodation & food and book it here:
https://booking.seminardesk.de/de/nature-community/5437d2510b014c64882708afa549f76b/contact-improvisation-winter-intensive-23

The prices contain the full program, accommodation, vegan food (three meals per day), filtered spring water, tea all day long and the use of the Sauna and Wellness area two times per week

Discount
We can offer discounted spots for two helpers and two musicians – write us if you are interested in one of these positions.

REGISTRATION

1. For the Intensive:
write to Ulli at: ulliwittemann@gmail.com

With the registration you agree to transfer a deposit of 500 € per person
please pay the rest in cash upon arrival at the NC

2. For accommodation and food with the Nature Community
Buchungslink für Unterkunft & Essen bei der Nature Community

CANCELLATION
If you have to cancel your participation, you have to pay an administration fee of 100 € until the 15th of November.
From November 16th you have to pay 500 €/your deposit. From December 15th you have to pay the full fee/the Early Bird price of 990 €. If you find a substitute/a person who wants to take your spot, your deposit/payment can be used by this person.

INFO ZOOM

If you are interested in knowing more about this program and want to meet Ulli or the team of the Nature Community online,
write to Ulli to schedule a meeting and get the link at: ulliwittemann@gmail.com

 

 

CONTENT OF THE INTENSIVE

 

Reviewing the Basics

Rolling Point
Counterbalances
Push/Pull/Reach
Floor work
All kinds of Rolls and Spirals
Functional Anatomy
Clear Invitations and how to read them
Qualities of Touch

More technical aspects you will find

Lifts from low to high
Diving into the Backspace on different levels
Dynamic Supporting
Upside Down Work
Jumping & Catching
Using the body structure instead of force
Trios, Quartetts & Group Scores
360 degree awareness
The Joy of Controlled Disorientation
Practising Presence on all levels (physical, mental, emotional and energetical)
The Art of Waiting (also another great book by Martin Keogh)
Awakening your inner Jedi
Planning vs. letting it happen
Bodywork & Massage

 

In addition to the pure CI aspects we will draw from

Feldenkrais
Martial Arts
NVC (non violent communication)
NLP (neuro linguistic programming)
Acting Techniques
Consent & Boundary Work
Verbal Sharing Rounds
The Wisdom of Nature
The Collective Intelligence of this unique group organism

 

Some of the themes and questions to be researched will be

What is this? / What are we doing when we practise/dance CI?
How can we use our body in the most efficient and smooth way in solo, duet, trio and group scenarios?
What is MY DANCE?
In which way is CI political? Is it…?
How do we deal with boundaries and consent, now in 2023?
The ME and the WE in our Dance
How does my social programming influence my dancing?
What do I enjoy?
What hinders me?
Is it “okay” to mix CI with other forms?
What are the ingredients for those “magic moments”?

 

THE TEACHING LANGUAGE WILL BE ENGLISH WITH GERMAN TRANSLATION IF NEEDED –
depending on the needs of the group, we will decide what serves us best 😉

THE REGISTRATION IS STILL OPEN
So far we have 21 CI explorers on board and we have 3 SPOTS LEFT!
If you are curious, write us a mail with your intentions and experience including your full name, address and phone number and your website if you happen to have one.

We are committed to build a strong group of dedicated individuals interested in this research.
This INTENSIVE is not for total beginners – basic experience in CI is a prerequisite.
Thank you for your interest in our work and giving movement and dance a strong place in your life!
Ulli

More Information

If you have specific questions just drop us an email at
ulliwittemann@gmail.com

Ulli Wittemann – My path with Contact Improvisation

CI came into my life when I started studying Acting at the Univesity of Performing Arts in Frankfurt am Main, Germany in 2001.
We were the first Acting class who got invited to join the CI classes in the Dance Department as a new collaboration at the university.
Lucky us… with a strong background in Ballroom Dance and Martial Arts these classes with Prof. Dieter Heitkamp felt like the missing link in my movement repertoire and gave me a lot to think, feel and question on so many levels… I instantly fell in love with it and to my core I enjoyed the mix of body awareness, acrobatic skills, playfulness, artistic expression, diving into fantasy realms and getting more aware of boundaries and sensual interactions.

Later I found out how influencing and political the research and training actually was to me, e.g. dancing very intimately with another young man rubbing our beards on each other – so simple and mind blowing for me as a young man… or wildly jumping around like squirrels on LSD… it was a total game changer for me.
During the eight years as a professional actor in long term contracts in the German State Theater system CI often felt like a remedy or an oasis of creative freedom and a sacred retreat place with no need for great results.
During this period I attended some of the big international CI festivals and Intensive workshops of well known CI teachers as much as possible. So I went to study and then teach at the big Freiburg Festival for 13 times, went nine times to the magical Ibiza Festival, four times to share some work at the festival in Israel with it’s amazing CI community, taught nine times at the festival in Goa, five times in Koh Phangan, in Bali, Ladoga, Crimea, the USA, Canada, Turkey, Japan and China, at Earthdance and other Dance Hubs and these places often felt like a second home to me… each place and each community gave me more insights about my programming, about how I was taught to see the world and gaining more and more awareness about this fact seems one of the greatest gifts to me. These places would not have had such a strong influence on me if I had not met so many inspiring and lovely humans on the way. Amongst the countless colleagues and dancers who left an imprint in my system, there were a few artists, which left me with significant information in terms of movement and the way to navigate through life. I would call them my masters in CI and often beyond.
My first CI teacher Prof. Dieter Heitkamp, Martin Keogh, Jess Curtis, Keith Hennessy, Scott Wells, Nancy Stark Smith, Chris Aiken, Anjelika Doniy, Ray Chung, Nita Little, Daniel Lepkoff, Arye Burstyn, but also the Finland CI Family, the Ibiza Tribe, the CI Communities in Goa, Koh Phangan and Bali…

It was at the Ibiza Festival in 2010 when I got asked to teach a class for the first time at an international event.
I had no idea that this would be the beginning of a career with would bring me great experiences and teaching gigs in 30 countries until today… I taught classes of 60 students at Dance Academies and Universities in China, groups of psychologists and psycho therapists in China and Japan, young actors at the National School of Drama in New Delhi and the Auroville Theater Company in India, little kids in Tutus and “Golden Agers” in their 70ties, got the honour of a guest professorship at the University of Arts and Science in Sichuan, China and was the main movement teacher at a Drama School in Munich for two years, accompanying the young actors over their full education… recapturing all these places and experiences and sharing them here brings up a lot of wonderful memories.

My resident place and regular teaching is still happening in Munich and I really enjoy contributing to the growth of the community here. Nowadays I live a bit outside the city so we can easily go and jump into the beautiful river Isar and go into the forest but I still have only a short drive to my classes and workshops in the city. In 2020 I married a Yoga teacher and Cranio Sacral therapist and we have two wonderful little kids. This brings a lot of beauty and depth into my life but also strenghtens the desire to settle and grow roots, but how can I get my international friends over here so we can keep dancing and growing together with the local dancers?
Creating a one month Intensive program in a comfortable seminar house of a community seems like an attractive way to get some great dancers here and have a good time together. 🙂

Let’s MEET in January and DO WHAT WE LOVE!
Let’s DANCE, CONNECT AND GROW TOGETHER!!!

Thank you for your curiousity and reading all this!
I really appreciate it.
I appreaciate you.
Big hug,
Ulli

 

About our hosts – the Nature Community

Who we are 

Surrounded by beautiful nature, hills and forest, near the Czech border, about half  way between Munich and Prague, lies our friendly, welcoming and intentional “Nature  Community”. Founded in 2015, by now some 45 adults and 25 + children explore ways  of living and co-creating their dream of an authentic, peaceful and sustainable culture. We have created a wonderful location for workshops, conventions, festivals and events  that foster socio-cultural consciousness and political change. We love holding a safe  and trustable space for those transformative events. It is our intention for these deeply  human and intimate processes and pioneer work to be embedded in a strong field of  intentional community, beyond our on-site neighborhood. 

What we offer 

To those wanting to take an active part in the process of personal and collective transformational work and the creation of a new culture, who are ready to take both  bold and daring, as well as soft and gentle steps towards a future of trust and  cooperation… 

Workshop and seminar leaders, event organizers, midwives of a new era… You have embarked on a deep inner journey and gained knowledge, healing power and medicine that wants to be shared for the good of the whole. 

Besides being welcomed into our community during your stay with us and beyond, we  offer a beautiful and magical location for the realization of your event. A place for dance and movement, silence and meditation, for rituals and celebrations,  a place where we connect lovingly and mindfully with each other to recognize and  appreciate the beauty and power in us and in nature. 

Here, people can meet and exchange ideas, learn in a concentrated manner or experience new things in a pleasant, lively atmosphere. 

In the course of the past seven years we have built up a large community of organizers  and participants that for their part seem to have declared this place a sort of second  home and have been coming again and again to the inspiring events that have been  taking place and evolving over the time.

What the location offers 

• Our guest house offers comfortable accommodation in single, double and dorm  rooms (as well as in two suites if required) 

• 6 -7 different spaces / studios, ranging from a small meditation chamber to a  large (380 sqm) hall with a beautiful hardwood floor, ideal for large group  dances and jams 

• a spacious wellness area (sauna, hot tub, and swimming pool)  and plenty of space for your needs 

• comfortable dining room, shared with the community 

• We offer purely vegan organic food, lovingly prepared by our kitchen crew • a beautiful open view from our restaurant terrace as well as the guest rooms

• nature walks in quiet and peaceful surroundings 

Why we want you here this Winter

While summer is brimming with events and activities around the property, come winter we slow down and go inward, integrate, take in stillness, breathe out…Still our  location has a lot to offer and we would love to see it filled with live and open it up to  in-depth explorations and deep community experience also to those who do not constantly live here with us. 

While during summer quick changeover takes place and we have a LOT of coming and  going, winter requires a slower and more grounded pace. That’s why we offered our space to Ulli and this group to go deeper, beyond the diverting festival mode  of summer and experience the juiciness of extended co-creation and collaboration on  their journey of growth and transformation. 

We are so happy to host this month-long intensive with Ulli that aligns with our dream of creating “the more beautiful world  that our hearts know is possible” as Charles Eisenstein so beautifully put it.

 

What´s next 

If you have any questions regarding the community or practical aspects of staying here with us, get in touch  

via email: gwynn-parkinson@nature-community.de 

or phone/whatsapp/telegram +49 1774817946 

We look forward to hearing from you !!

Gwynn and Franziska for the Community

https://nature.community/

 

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<  DEUTSCHE ÜBERSETZUNG  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

Einen ganzen Monat lang vertieftes Training/Fortbildung

in Contact Improvisation mit Ulli Wittemann

in der Nature Community, Schönsee, Bayern, Deutschland

20. Januar bis 19. Februar 2023

 

In diesem Intensivkurs hast Du die Möglichkeit, wirklich tief in die Form der Contact Improvisation einzutauchen. Einen ganzen Monat lang kannst Du mit einem sehr erfahrenen Lehrer in einer Gruppe engagierter Tänzerinnen und Tänzer üben und intensiv trainieren.

Wir werden unsere Körper mit einer Menge technischer Tools und Tricks füttern, Schritt für Schritt in die Weichheit einladen und hin zu den herausfordernderen Elementen dieser Tanzform.

Auch unseren Geist werden wir anregen, der sich nach einem tieferen Verständnis dessen sehnt, was wir tun, wenn wir CI tanzen und einen menschlichen Körper bewohnen. Und ja, wir werden unsere Seele nähren, die sich nach einer Umgebung von herzoffenen, gleichgesinnten Menschen sehnt, in der künstlerischer Ausdruck genauso wichtig ist wie frische Luft, gesunde Nahrung und Sonnenlicht.

Wir werden mit dem Boden beginnen, uns mit der Schwerkraft und unserem Atem verbinden und ein tiefes Zuhören als Basis für den Kontakt von Körper zu Körper einladen, von der Floor Work am Boden bis zu den Schulterlifts.

Wir wollen us austauschen, diskutieren und uns Videos ansehen, ausgiebig im Studio arbeiten und die Natur als Landschaft nutzen, um einzutauchen… uns zu verlieren und etwas Neues zu finden. Gemeinsam.

Sei bereit für eine transformative Erfahrung in deinem Tanzen und in deinem Leben.

Ich fühle mich schon jetzt geehrt und freue mich darauf, Dich auf dieser Reise zu begleiten,

Ulli Wittemann

 

INHALT DES INTENSIVKURSES

Wiederholung der Grundlagen:

Rolling Pointt

Counterbalances/Gegengleichgewicht

Schieben/Ziehen/Anlehnen

Bodenarbeit

Alle Arten von Rollen und Spiralen

Funktionelle Anatomie

Klare Einladungen und wie man sie liest

Qualitäten der Berührung

 

Weitere technische Aspekte

Lifts/Hebungen von niedrig bis hoch

Eintauchen in den Backspace auf verschiedenen Ebenen

Dynamisches Unterstützen

Upside Down Arbeit

Springen & Fangen

Einsatz der Körperstruktur anstelle von Kraft

Trios, Quartetts & Gruppensituationen

360-Grad-Bewusstsein

Die Freude an kontrollierter Desorientierung

Präsenz auf allen Ebenen üben (körperlich, geistig, emotional und energetisch)

Die Kunst des Wartens (the Art of Waiting – ein großartiges Buch von Martin Keogh)

Erwecke Deinen inneren Jedi

Planen vs. geschehen lassen

Körperarbeit und Massage

 

Zusätzlich zu den reinen CI-Aspekten werden wir aus folgenden Bereichen schöpfen:

Feldenkrais

Kampfkünste

GFK (gewaltfreie Kommunikation)

NLP (Neurolinguistisches Programmieren)

Schauspieltechniken

die Arbeit mit Grenzen und Konsent

Verbale Austauschrunden

Die Weisheit der Natur

Die kollektive Intelligenz dieses einzigartigen Gruppenorganismus

 

Einige der zu untersuchenden Themen und Fragen werden sein

Was ist das? / Was tun wir, wenn wir CI üben/tanzen?

Wie können wir unseren Körper in Solo-, Duett-, Trio- und Gruppenszenarien möglichst effizient und geschmeidig einsetzen?

Was ist MEIN TANZ?

In welcher Weise ist CI politisch? Ist es …?

Wie gehen wir mit Grenzen und Zustimmung um, jetzt im Jahr 2023?

Das ICH und das WIR in unserem Tanz

Wie beeinflusst meine soziale Programmierung mein Tanzen?

Was macht mir Spaß?

Was hindert mich daran?

Ist es “okay”, CI mit anderen Formen zu mischen?

Was sind die Zutaten für diese “magischen Momente”?

 

GEPLANT IST ENGLISCH ALS UNTERRICHTSSPRACHE MIT DEUTSCHER ÜBERSETZUNG, WENN NÖTIG –
momentan sind 22 Menschen aus verschiedenen Teilen der Welt angemeldet und die Unterrichtssprache wird Englisch sein.
Falls es den Wunsch nach einer Deutschen Übersetzung gibt, ist das mögllich.

 

DIE ANMELDUNG IST NOCH OFFEN – es gibt noch zwei freie Plätze

Wenn Du neugierig geworden bist, schreibe uns eine Mail mit Deinen Absichten und Erfahrungen, einschließlich Deines vollen Namens, der Adresse und Telefonnummer und Deiner Website, falls Du eine hast.

Wir sind eine tolle Gruppe von engagierten Menschen, die mit Neugier und Freude an diesem Projekt interessiert sind.

Dieses INTENSIV-Programm ist nicht für absolute Anfänger geeignet – Grunderfahrungen in CI werden vorausgesetzt.

Vielen Dank für Dein Interesse an meiner Arbeit und dafür, dass Du Bewegung und Tanz einen festen Platz in Deinem Leben gibst!

Ulli

 

Mini CI Winterfestival im Februar

Vom 10. bis 12. Februar laden wir maximal 40 weitere Tänzerinnen und Tänzer ein, um mit uns ein Wochenende voller Workshops und Jams, Sauna, Schnee und Gemeinschaft zu erleben. Für die Teilnehmer des WINTER INTENSIVE ist die Teilnahme kostenlos.

Für die Wochenendgäste beträgt die Festivalgebühr nur 100 € zuzüglich Unterkunft und Verpflegung –

die Preise dafür liegen zwischen 120 € in einem Schlafsaal und 220 € in einem Einzelzimmer.

Du kannst also das ganze Wochenende mit allem drum und dran für nur 220 € bekommen.

 

Buche deinen Platz hier

https://booking.seminardesk.de/de/nature-community/f56fa031625e4a3da8a7d4903f83f61f/winter-jam

Mehr Informationen

Wenn du spezielle Fragen hast, schick uns einfach eine E-Mail an:

ulliwittemann@gmail.com