Workshops

Below you can find the most recent version of the workshop schedule. Note: small alterations may still happen! You can click on the image to enlarge it.

Workshop descriptions (Choice modules)

Also check out the teachers that are coming!

Block 1: Friday 20:30 – 22:00

 

The big five – Rian (level 3)

Did you know you have at least 5 dancepartners at any given time? Let’s meet them all today. This is a cozy little workshop where we try to expand our attention while dancing. From going inward to full attention to the whole room. We will mostly focus on couple dances. This workshop is not about perfecting your steps, but increasing your presence and attention as a dancer.

Required knowledge: comfort in basic step of the mazurka and scottish.

Singing and dancing Breton rondes – Aurélien (level 3)

Aurélien will introduce us to the sung repertoire of Haute-Bretagne: in the Tour, Pilé Menu, Rond de St Vincent, Rond de Landéda and Ridée à 6 tempos dances. Together, in a dimension of sharing and unity, we’ll learn to dance them, to follow and direct the collective movement of these earth dances. We’ll learn to feel the energy of others in the circle, each adding his or her own, amplified by dance, song and the power of play.

You don’t have to be a singer or dancer to take part: all you need is the desire to have fun and enjoy a beautiful moment of sharing.

Bourrée Berry (2t) refresher – Koen (level 3)

Basic step & style of the 2 beat bourrée en ligne (in couple, one in front of the other). On the program: Different movements for A-part & B-part, leading and following without touching, playful improvisation, individual corrections & attention for some common errors & optimal use of available space.

Prerequisites: We expect that you master the basic step of polka or rondeau en couple.

Not a Walk in The Park but in The Forest (polska variations) – Emelie (level 4)

Is the Swedish polska only a walk and a (quite difficult) turn ? That might be its most common figures but there are other ones ! So let’s climb through the forests and up the mountains to learn another type of walk (promenad), another type of turn (bakmes) and a very handy way of naming everything in Scandinavia (polkettering). To avoid getting lost, our red thread will be the irregular rhythms of these wild areas.
Prerequisites: No need to have mastered the polska turn for this workshop as we won’t be working on it, but you should be an advanced dancer in general, catching new concepts quickly.

Fandango – Eva (level 4)

Basque jumps are a type of traditional social dance from the Basque Country. Danced in a circle in the squares of towns and villages, they consist of a sequence of steps and changes of direction that require good listening to the music. The torso remains straight and the arms remain alongside the body. The steps require a lot of foot dexterity. These dances – including the fandango – fell into disuse during the French Revolution to the detriment of more “modern” dances. The dance master Juan Ignazio Iztueta, faced with the situation, collected them, and the material still exists today. Come dance, to let your body smile.

Block 2: Saturday 10:00 – 13:00
Portuguese dances – Eva (level 3)

Starting from the Parapente700 repertoire, in this workshop we will explore dances such as the Repasseado, Fado de Espinho, Pingacho, Erva Cidreira, among others. We will travel from the north to the south of Portugal, with the variety and joy characteristic of Portuguese dances. Let the body smile while dancing.

Guide to get lost – Sara & Paulo (level 3)

As dancers, we perceive dance as a dialogue, in its every perspective. This is the keyword for our work and constant research in European folk dance.
We believe that only in a state of pure deep conversation can one achieve true beauty and that is exactly what we mean to propose.
With this workshop, our main goal is not to teach dancers how to dance but to enable them to enhance their ability to sense, listen, react, interpret, create and therefore, talk without words.

More than two (Bourrée Berry (2t) variations) – Rian (level 3/4)

Bourrée is fun, Bourrée is beautiful and there is so… so much variation. Bourrée with 3, 4, 6, even 8 people. Let’s play with different choreographies and I will share a few of my favourites from different regions with you (and maybe we can even make our own).

Required knowledge: bourrée step in 2 times and 3 times shouldn’t phase you. You should be able to do all the steps and not just smuggle 😉

The Groove! Music, patterns, and all that jazz… – Remi (level 3/4)

In this workshop, we will work on breaking down the elements of dance and music – like tiny lego pieces – to further enrich our array of moves and improvisation possibilities. We’ll go from working with melodies and musical structures (the bases of musicality) to feeling and identifying rhythms and blend them together in advanced uses (off beats, polyrhythms, and so on).

— Whatever the mind can think and conceive, the body can achieve.

Dos and don’ts

“Bear” necessities: ears, limbs, an open mind, experience with couple dances in balfolk.

You won’t need: a partner, musical skills comparable only to Mozart.

Variations in bourrée auvergnate – Koen (level 4)

The bourrée auvergnate is a wonderful playful dance, where you can improvise together without touching each other. We’ll learn some advanced variations and ornamentations like different “frappés” (double, triple, flying, silent) , la Giatte, 8-like movement forward and backward, duplets…

Prerequisites: We expect that you already learned the basics of the dance before.

Block 3: Saturday 14:30 – 17:30
Musicality in dance – Eva (level 2b/3)

“Musicality in dance: the way between the ears and the feet” –  Tools to better translate music language to the dancing body. –  Where is the beat? How to identify and play with tempo such as offbeats, downbeats etc. –  Dancing, listening, reflecting on what one’s listening and how the body organically interprets it –  The body as an instrument that performs. –  Leading and following in music and dance –

Dynamics and phrasing Workshop destined to people with experience in folk couple dances that aim to develop themes such as creativity, connection and listening, connecting body work and musicality.

Jig variations and other mixers – Koen (level 2b/3)

Not only we’ll learn different variations for Jig/chapelloise and how to lead & follow them, but we’ll also discover new mixers that we can dance to the music of Circassian circle (Tovercirkel). Bonus: how to avoid and fix spirals!

Shared contact – shared dance: contact improvisation into balfolk – Sophie (level 2b/3)

In all (balfolk) dances one thing is very important; CONTACT (and having fun of course ;)). Contact with your partner, with the floor and with the music, these elements make any dance a special dance. In this workshop we’ll work with the first two elements.

Contact improvisation is a form of movement which is completely based on sharing a contact point and weight with you partner(s). There are no set steps, form or meter to adhere to, the only rules are to lean in and share contact.

In this workshop we use these basic principles to make our dances even more fun, playful and even more free. We’ll start off with working with our all-time partner; the floor and find a way to use our weight to move around the space efficiently. We’ll play around with leaning, hanging, pushing and falling into our partners. We’ll explore ways to incorporate our new body- and partner awareness to keep an open but constant connection to our partners. At the end of the workshop you’ll be able to have a more playful and strong connection with your dance partner.

Please wear sports clothing and socks for this workshop (training pants and t-shirt etc.), no dresses or skirts and jewelry.

All dancers are welcome! Please inform the teacher of any injuries beforehand.

Irregular waltzes – Rian (level 3)

Finding comfort in irregular beats and counts, maybe even learning to play with it. We will cover the basic ones 5, 8 and 11 and by the time we are done musicians that switch counts  won’t outplay you any longer.

Required knowledge: base waltz in 3 shouldn’t phase you.

Endless Bragging About Shoes And Other Scandi Things (Scandi crash course) – Emelie (level 3/4)

But what do the Nordics dance ?? Let’s follow the northern lights to discover that… they like to do French things their own way (vals), to communicate very politely (slängpolska) and to endlessly brag about their shoes (halling). They also can’t agree about language things but still understand each other very well (schottis/reinlender). Get onto that moose and let’s explore the Scandinavian forests, where the moss is so soft!

En Avant Deux! How to square off in Brittany – Alexandre (level 4)

This workshop of avant-deux, led by accordion player extraordinaire: Alexandre Sallet, will rock you off your feet with some crazy action in one of the coolest square dances of Brittany! Come discover two different types of avant-deux: the ever-popular “avant-deux d’Ancenis”, also known as “avant-deux de travers” and the incredibly fun “avant-deux Nord Ile-et- Vilaine”, in the style of “Bazouges”. Each avant-deux will be taught with two base-step variants.

Block 4: Saturday 19:30 – 20:30
Festival skills: optimize the dance space for everybody – Koen (all levels)

How to avoid spirals in jigs and cercles; it’s a real epidemic lately and no, it’s not the fault of the beginners! How to solve waltz traffic jams near the stage? How to stop my neighbours from bumping into me…?

Better floor management can make the dance experience a lot nicer for everybody. Most dancers have basic skills that give nice results on small or medium dance floors, but lack the advanced skills that are needed on (crowded) festivals. Koen has been reflecting a lot on this subject, and has some new insights to share with all of you.

Prerequisites: If you think you have nothing to learn on this topic, well … then you should definitely come to this workshop!

Born to stumble, live to dance – Rafael & Nele (all levels)

Cool moves often emerge when things take an unexpected turn, rather than through rigorous analysis. Mistakes can inspire creativity—what throws one person off-balance might turn into someone else’s awesome new move. For one hour, we invite you to let go of the pursuit of flawless balance, impeccable posture, and perfect technique. Imbalances, surges of momentum, and even literal stumbles will serve as gateways to a realm of fresh dance possibilities. Join us for a playful experience where every misstep becomes an opportunity to discover something unexpected – together.

Rondeau en couple express – Sara & Paulo (level 2b/3/4)

Did you know this could be one of the most fun and interesting couple dances? In this crash course, you’ll learn the basics steps and a couple of our favourite tips to enjoy and explore on the dancefloor.

Block 5: Sunday 10:30 – 12:30
Saving Energy – Sara & Paulo (level 3)

Every living being relies on energy to be able to perform any sort of activity, physical or cognitive.

If we think about our body as a rechargeable battery, every time we move or even only think about moving (which truly consists of a physical activity itself) we are consuming part of the energy that we have left at a given moment.

The basis of this workshop is, above all, to gain awareness of this process and find the right tools that allow us to perform a better management of the energy consumption while dancing.

Frame it! Posture and tips to become top followers and leaders – Remi (level 3)

This workshop deep-focuses on technical tools to make you a real swiss army knife of the dance floor! Approaching core subjects like balance, weight transfer and posture, I aim to share my personal view of active following and fluent leading, in order to make the connection happen as often as possible during your couple dances.

Dos and don’ts:

“Bear” necessities: a body to move with, and the willingness to try both roles

You won’t need: a partner, extensive dance knowledge (it’s beginner-friendly)

Swedish Leg Knitting Exposed (Polska) – Emelie (level 3)

I will pass you by, then you will pass me by, and our feet will look like they’re knitting something… It will seem magical to everyone else… That might be what the inventors of the Swedish polska thought among themselves. This workshop is here to teach you the inner tricks.
With the right amount of svikt (walk in the forest to find it), of steadiness (eat more cinnamon rolls) and of communication (shout at the people blocking the ski tracks), you should be able to see through the illusions.
Prerequisites: You’re a dancer with a solid experience, no matter the style. You can lead and follow in a relaxed manner. And you can count to three.

Scottish variations – Koen (level 3/4)

Different rhythmical variations for scottish, with attention for leading and following, and for the music, of course!

Ballroom blitz – revisited – Sophie (level 4)

Once upon a time some crazy person decide to run away with some traditional folk dances and refurbished them into ballroom dancing… At this current day and age, there are still a lot of similarities between the two styles, some dances even carry the same name! But, there are also big differences, for instance the dance posture, the facial expressions and the music… Another difference that we will use to our advantage in this workshop is; TRAVELING! “Traveling” means the way we are moving ourselves through the space and across the floor, in ballroom the intention is to travel as big as possible. Although we don’t need this particular skill in balfolk, it does give us some handy techniques to navigate the dance floor more easy in a waltz or polka.

In this workshop we’ll focus on specific techniques from ballroom to better our balfolk. We’ll take a look at body articulation, posture and partner contact, and of course movement through space. When we’ll have some space left in our brain, we will also take a look at some waltz variations (or figures as they call it in ballroom). Join us if you are in for some balfolk-mash-up-fusion-galore!