Improvisation Tools and Repertory Workshop

by Matthew Robinson (UK)

Date: 25th July | Time: 10:00am | Location: The Dance Workshop, G'Mangia, Studio DW1 | Duration: 120mins

Class Description:

Matthew William Robinson joined ŻfinMalta National Dance Company as Artistic Director in 2024. His choreographic work seeks to translate contradictions and complex emotions, through highly physical choreographic construction. In this session participants will explore Matthew’s physical language and choreographic tools. Existing materials and improvisational structures will be utilised to develop new forms, seeking depth in texture, articulation and research.

The session will involve set vocabulary, physical improvisation and playful construction tasks. Participants should be confident or curious about working creatively independently and in collaboration with the group.

Workshop Target Audience: 16+ years

Level of Experience Required: Professional and those in Professional Training

Genre of Performance: Masterclass/Contemporary Improvisation and Repertory

Workshop Led by:

Matthew Robinson

Matthew William Robinson (he/him) is a practicing artist from the United Kingdom. He is currently Artistic Director of ŻfinMalta National Dance Company. Matthew’s choreographic work translates contradictions and complex emotions, through highly physical choreographic construction. Collaborating across forms, Matthew is engaged in ongoing partnerships in the fields of sound, fashion, theatre and technology. His own work and curated programmes have moved extensively across Europe and beyond. As curator he has commissioned over 50 new works by artists from all over the world. For many years Matthew was part of Scottish Dance Theatre, performing work by choreographers including Sharon Eyal, Damien Jalet, and Hofesh Shechter. In 2013 he was invited to become Rehearsal Director. Matthew was Artistic Director of VERVE from 2016-2021. Collaborating with world renowned and fresh choreographic voices to create distinct international touring programmes the company developed its reputation for bold commissioning and the quality of artistic training it offered emerging dance artists. From 2021-2025 Matthew was Artistic Director of National Dance Company Wales and was responsible for positioning the company at the forefront of contemporary dance in the UK. Rooted in bold collaborations, the company embraced the distinctive vocabularies of artists, inspiring audiences across Wales and the world. Matthew is a graduate of LCDS.

Shapeshifting Workshop

by Danae & Dionysios (Greece)

Date: 25th July | Time: 12:15pm | Location: The Dance Workshop, G'Mangia, Studio DW1 | Duration: 120mins

Class Description:

Working across disciplines, Danae & Dionysios seek to delve into partnering tools and the ways one can use to expand their approach when working closely to other bodies. Investing time into understanding simple and playful movement mechanisms, we will then explore how they can develop into a common language between people and become material for structuring a choreographic idea. The workshop will also focus on tasks related to the details of hands and their expressiveness, the connection of the feet to the ground and the ways information can travel from there to the upper body, in order to achieve bigger volume in space. Concluding, Danae & Dionysios will share choreographic phrases from their repertoire. 

Workshop Target Audience: Movers of any background (dancers, athletes etc) & artists of any field who are interested in movement practices. 

Level of Experience Required: Open to all levels from amateurs to professionals of any field of movement and/or art, who are interested in movement practices.

Genre of Performance: Contemporary Dance & Partnering Tools

Workshop Led by:

Danae & Dionysios

Danae & Dionysios are choreographers and dancers from Greece, as well as artistic directors of “Small Axe” dance company. Their choreographic journey counts collaborations with companies, theatres and organisations such as Scapino Ballet Rotterdam, Staatstheater Braunschweig, Skånes Dansteater, Theater Rotterdam, Onassis Foundation, the Athens and Epidaurus Festival and more. Individually, they have danced for companies and choreographers such as Akram Khan Company, ZfinMalta Ensemble, the Hellenic Dance Company, Unterwegstheater, Cocoon Dance Company and others. Their work has been awarded 8 times from competitions around Europe, while their productions have been touring in Europe, Asia, Central and Latin America and Africa, aiming for an outreach of contemporary dance as a universal medium of connection and communication. 

Partnering Workshop 

by Catarina Casqueiro & Tiago Coelho (Portugal)

Date: 25th July | Time: 2:00pm | Location: The Dance Workshop, G'Mangia, Studio DW2 | Duration: 90mins

Class Description:

Our workshop will consist in a warm-up class that will then evolve into partnering exercises, exploring the connection between bodies and their countless possibilities together. We will conclude by sharing our repertoire, teaching a bit of our language and movement quality so that the dancers can explore and have the opportunity to experience our style of work.

Workshop Target Audience: Prior experience in contemporary or ballet

Level of Experience Required: Semi-professional or Professional Dancers

Genre of Performance: Contemporary

Workshop Led by:

Catarina Casqueiro 

Graduated from the National Conservatory Dance School and began her career with a professional internship at the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company in Israel, supported by a Gulbenkian Foundation scholarship. She then joined the portuguese company Vórtice, performing in Italy, Mexico, and Portugal. She has worked with independent choreographers René Vinther, Pedro Ramos, Nélia Pinheiro, Filipa Peraltinha, Gonçalo Lobato, and São Castro with António Cabrita. In 2023, at the invitation of Daniel Cardoso, she was one of the choreographers for the Quorum Project, debuting her piece Deep(in) at Teatro D. João V, and in 2024, she will be one of the choreographers for the junior company Kayzer Ballet, premiering her new piece Transformers.

Tiago Coelho

Graduated from the Escola Superior de Dança, he continued his training in Israel, Germany, and the USA. He has performed in productions by both national and international choreographers and dance companies, including Vortice Dance Company, Quorum Ballet, Teresa Ranieri, René Vinther Pedersen, Marco da Silva Ferreira, Fabio Simões, Patrícia Henriques, Victor Hugo Pontes, Pedro Ramos, Sofia Dias & Pedro Roriz, and Sylvia Rijmer. Recently, he worked with choreographer Damien Jalet on his creation Chiroptera, presented at the Galais Opera (Paris). He was a guest lecturer at the Escola Superior de Dança from 2021 to 2023, where he taught Contemporary Dance Technique.

Supported by: EFFEA - European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists, European Festivals Association and Quinzena de Dança de Almada

Workshops supported by: The Dance Workshop

Dance Festival Malta is sponsored by: APS Bank, GSD Marketing Ltd. & Visit Malta