Cristiana Casadio

Contemporary Dance

Thursdays, 18:00–19:30
Intermediate–Advanced


Contemporary for Dancers

Training for Dancers

 

 

Bio

After a professional rhythmic gymnastics career, Cristiana continued the study of ballet and contemporary dance. She was selected to join as a trainee with the Aterballetto Company, directed by Mauro Bigonzetti, and received several scholarships (eg. at the Merce Cunningham Studio and the Peridance Center, in New York).

She joined the Botega Dance Company (IT), J.K.Tyl Theater Pilsen (CZ), and for nine years, Balletto dell’Esperia (Turin, IT), in which she danced principal roles. She danced pieces by Enzo Celli, Michele Pogliani, Bronislav Rosnos, Alena Peskova, Libor Vaculìk, Inmacolada Rubio, Hervè Costa, Eugenio Scigliano, Laura Corradi, Paolo Mohovich, among others. 
Since 2010, Cristiana has been based in Berlin, taking part in different productions and projects. As a dancer and a choreographer, she presents her works in international theaters and festivals. Her piece “Tangram” (in collaboration with Stefan Sing), has been nominated for the “Total Theatre Award” at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and won the first prize for performing arts at the “Internationale Kulturbörse Freiburg”. Recently she worked as a dancer and choreographer for the Berliner Ensemble, in the piece “Menschen, Orte und Dinge”.

Class Description Contemporary for Dancers

After a gradual warm up, aimed to tone and stretch the body, the first part of the class is devoted to floor work. We place the focus on effortlessness, agility and clarity within the sequences. To allow the dancers to work on precision and fluidity, we focus on which part of the body leads and where the impulse of the movement originates, where it begins and ends. We will continue with more technically challenging combinations, playing with suspensions, out of balance, spirals, slides and falls. The class is influenced by different dance techniques mixed with my own research. In particular, the influence of ballet is present throughout, but keeping in mind that technique is a tool that makes the pleasure of moving richer.

Class Description Contemporary Dance on Thursdays

My class is influenced by different dance techniques – ballet, release technique, floor work – combined with my own personal research.We will begin with a gradual warming up, bringing awareness into the body, focusing on our weight and on our relationship with the floor, softening our bodies and at the same time stretching and toning.  The class will then develop on different levels in space, using increasingly challenging combinations, playing with dynamics, suspensions, out of balance, spirals, slides and falls. We will explore different movement qualities and textures, applying images and sensations to the sequences and sometimes using small improvisation tasks. Special focus is placed on awareness of the impulses that initiate the movement, either physical or imaginative, allowing students to work on precision and, at the same time, to find their own personal way of moving in a given phrase.Inside the phrases we will work on technique, improving agility, coordination and efficiency, and especially on increasing the movement vocabulary to allow a bigger range of physical expression.  But always keeping in mind that technique is simply a tool to make the pleasure of moving richer.