Tanja Saban

SP25 Gaga/ People with Tanja Saban
18.08.–22.08.25, 17:45–18:45

Open Level

Gaga People

 

Bio

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/dancers

Gaga is the movement language developed by Ohad Naharin throughout many years, parallel to his work as a choreographer and the artistic director of Batsheva Dance Company. Gaga originated from Naharin’s need to communicate with his dancers and his curiosity in the ongoing research of movement.

Gaga provides a framework for discovering and strengthening the body and adding flexibility, stamina, agility, and skills including coordination and efficiency while stimulating the senses and imagination. The classes offer a workout that investigates form, speed, and effort while traversing additional spectrums such as those between soft and thick textures, delicacy and explosive power, and understatement and exaggeration.Throughout the class, participants are guided by a series of evocative instructions deployed to increase awareness of and further amplify sensation. Rather than turning from one prompt to another, information is layered, building into a multisensory, physically challenging experience. While many instructions are imbued with rich imagery, the research of Gaga is fundamentally physical, insisting on a specific process of embodiment. Inside this shared research, the improvisational nature of the exploration enables each participant’s deeply personal connection with Gaga.

Gaga/dancers deepens dancers’ awareness of physical sensations, enhances their ability to modulate their energy 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.
Gaga/dancers classes are open to dancers and advanced dance students ages 16+. Classes last between an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes.