Tanja Saban

bio

Tanja is a dancer, choreographer, certified Gaga teacher and Sensory SoulBody somatic movement coach. Born and raised in Switzerland, she graduated from the SEAD training program in 2007. She is a recipient of the conveyor scholarship from the Tanzquartier in Vienna, where she started her career as a freelance dancer and teacher. She collaborates with choreographers and artists of other disciplines on projects as well as creating her own work in Austria, Spain,Switzerland, Israel and New York City.The heart of her artistic practice is an ongoing research of the moving body-a space of experience, expression and personal expansion in the unfolding of physical intelligence and the sensory body.She is developing her work in different formats evolving around the lines of co-creative, immersive dance experiences oscillating between clubculture, performance and embodied practices.

class description

Gaga/people
Gaga is a movement language which Ohad Naharin developed over the course of many years and which is applied in daily practice and exercises by the Batsheva Dance Company members. The language of Gaga originated from the belief in the healing, dynamic, ever-changing power of movement, and it continues to evolve today.

Gaga is a new way of gaining knowledge and self-awareness through your body. Gaga provides a framework for discovering and strengthening your body and adding flexibility, stamina, and agility while lightening the senses and imagination. Gaga raises awareness of physical weaknesses, awakens numb areas, exposes physical fixations, and offers ways for their elimination. The work improves instinctive movement and connects conscious and unconscious movement, and it allows for an experience of freedom and pleasure in a simple way, in a pleasant space, in comfortable clothes, accompanied by music, each person with themselves and others.

Gaga/people classes are open to people ages 16+, regardless of their background in dance or movement. No previous dance experience is needed. Gaga/people classes last for one hour and are taught by dancers who have worked closely with Ohad Naharin. Teachers guide the participants using a series of evocative instructions that build one on top of the other. Rather than copying a particular movement, each participant in the class actively explores these instructions, discovering how he or she can interpret the information and perform the task at hand. Gaga/people classes offer a creative framework for participants to connect to their bodies and imaginations, increase their physical awareness, improve their flexibility and stamina, and experience the pleasure of movement in a welcoming, accepting atmosphere. Participants should wear comfortable clothes and be prepared to dance barefoot or in socks. It is advisable to bring a bottle of water and a towel for use after class.

“Gaga challenges multi-layer tasks.  We are aware of the connection between effort and pleasure, we are aware of the distance between our body parts, we are aware of the friction between flesh and bones… We are turning on the volume of listening to our body, we appreciate small gestures… we might be silly, we can laugh at ourselves. We connect to the sense of “plenty of time”, especially when we move fast, we learn to love our sweat, we discover our passion to move” – Ohad Naharin

More information about Gaga here.

Gaga/dancers

Gaga/dancers deepens dancers’ awareness of physical sensations, expands their palette of available movement options, enhances their ability to modulate their energy and engage their explosive power, and enriches their movement quality with a wide range of textures. The classes are built on the same principles as Gaga/people classes but also employ the specific vocabulary and skills that are part and parcel of a dancer’s knowledge. The layering of familiar skills with Gaga tasks presents dancers with fresh challenges, and throughout the class, teachers prompt the dancers to visit more unfamiliar places and ways of moving as well, unlocking the endlessness of possibilities. Dancers are guided to connect their effort to pleasure and to discover the virtue of silliness.

Tanja Saban

Gaga/people

Gaga/dancers

SP26 Gaga/people

bio

class description