BIO
Vega Luukkonen
is a dancer, performance-artist & bodyworker made in Finland.
She studied dance & theatre pedagogy in Helsinki at the Theatre Academy of Finland, where she completed her Master´s degree in 2008. Currently she is co-hosting ROOTED IN MOTION, 10 months modular training in Contact Improvisation in Berlin with her long-term colleague, Hugh Stanier.
Vega is an expert in Contact Improvisation, and teaches at festivals, events and workshops across the world. She has danced Contact Improvisation since she was a teenager, and developed her practice in the Finnish contact community, with colleagues, friends & fellow dancers for over 20 years.
Her movement is informed & inspired by contemporary dance, aikido, floor-work & somatics. Recently, she is more & more interested in a deeper understanding of the underlying principles of Contact Improvisation, leading into fine tuning, attention to detail, deep listening, and presence.
She seeks ways to facilitate understanding of movement fundamentals, while staying connected to our own interest & journey of exploration where curiosity can stay most alive to discovery. Her classes are playful, physical, fun and creative. She also works with collective scores & composition; expanding out from duets into trios & group-compositions, seeing also solo-improvisation as vital part of contact improvisation. She understands dance as a combination of technique & flow; form & freedom; being & doing.
“Breathing, Falling, Catching”
Teacher: Vega
Level:
Pathway: Mechanics of Contact Improvisation
Falling & catching begins with our breath. We can use our natural breath cycle to synchronize and tune in with others, while playing with gravity, momentum and the ideas of falling & flying – both in solo movement, in contact with a partner, and within the shifting dynamics of a trio.
We will begin by exploring falling on a micro-scale, gradually growing our movement towards more complex actions. Through the subtle mechanics of the ‘small dance’, we can discover fluid ways of catching ourselves and each other, using momentum, suspension, reaching, swinging and bouncing. We will explore how these principles can lead into easy rides and weight-shifts, where falling, catching and flying become part of a continuous dance.
Working with the frame of the arms and counterbalance, we will look at how body tone, alignment and positioning can create both support and lightness. We will also explore grounding through the pelvis and feet, rolling into rides, staying mobile underneath a partner, and finding soft, connected landings.
From these principles we will move towards trios, exploring how three bodies can share weight, momentum and space. How do we enter or leave? How can we catch another dancer’s trajectory, support the existing dynamic, or redirect it? We will play with spiraling, orbiting, timing, pausing and changing levels, cultivating our ability to read and respond to the constantly shifting composition.
Trios can bring a wonderful combination of challenge, playfulness and care. Sometimes we fly, sometimes we catch, sometimes we simply witness and wait. By softening, listening and staying available to what is happening in the moment, we can discover unexpected pathways and let go of fixed intentions.
I will offer clear technical exercises and principles, balanced with time for research and improvisation. The aim is to integrate the material into our dancing bodies – cultivating lightness, responsiveness and trust, while enjoying the playful possibilities of dancing together.