Marc Brew Company Inclusive Dance Workshop

by Marc Brew and Hayley Earlam (Australia/Scotland)

Date: 26th July | Time: 10:00am | Location: Mary Jane Bellia Studios, Gzira | Duration: 120mins

Class Description:

We will create an inclusive environment for all to explore the beauty of difference through movement led exploration, creative tasks and learning set material from Uchronia. The workshop is for disabled and non-disabled dancers. The company’s methodology uses very clear visual imagery, description and demonstrations in our teachings with the use of set exercises, improvisation and movement translation of existing traditional dance techniques. Uchronia also focuses on partner work. We not only teach dancers to dance, but to enjoy the freedom of movement and expression. Through our teaching methods we enable the dancers to think for themselves and apply our teachings to suit themselves the best that they can do. We believe through difference there are possibilities.

Workshop Target Audience: Persons with mixed abilities, disabled and non-disabled artists, practitioners working in this field.

Genre of Performance: Contemporary

Workshop Led by:

Marc Brew

Acclaimed International disabled choreographer Marc Brew trained as a professional dancer at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School and The Australian Ballet School. He has been working Internationally for over 24 years as a director, choreographer, dancer, teacher and speaker.  Marc was Associate Director with Scottish Dance Theatre, Associate Artist in 2015 at Tramway in Scotland, Artistic Director of AXIS Dance Company 2017-2021, is Associate Artist with Ballet Cymru in Wales and has been Artistic Director of his own Marc Brew Company since 2008.

Hayley Earlam

Hayley is an award-winning Dance Artist working across performance, facilitation and creation.  She trained at Northern School of Contemporary Dance and works as a performer, facilitator, choreographer, movement director and artist for dance and theatre companies on national and international stages.  Hayley’s interests lie within the body’s drive to move and our need to connect with others.

Supported by:

The Mary Jane Bellia Ballet School & La Falconeria

Flamenco Workshop: Technique and Choreography for Tangos

by Florencia Oz (Spain)

Date: 26th July | Time: 10:00am | Location: Sharon Sapienza Foundation, Naxxar | Duration: 120mins

Class Description:

Multi-level Flamenco class. The class is divided into two parts: the first part will focus on technique and rhythm, while the second part will work on choreography in a 4/4 rhythm.

Workshop Target Audience: Participants with prior knowledge

Level of Experience Required: Intermediate

Genre of Performance: Flamenco

Workshop Led by:

Florencia Oz

Florencia O’Ryan Zúñiga is a Chilean dancer and choreographer who has been living in Spain for over 18 years. She has been part of renowned companies such as the Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía, the Rafaela Carrasco Company, Marina Heredia, and David Coria, as well as collaborating with artists like Encarna Anillo and Artomático. In 2021, she premiered Antípodas alongside her sister, cellist Isidora O’Ryan, at the Festival de Jerez, where they won the Artista Revelación Award. The work has toured Europe and America, performing at venues such as the Teatro Chaillot in Paris and the Bienal de Flamenco de Sevilla. In September 2024, they premiered En Este Día, En Este Mundo at the XXIII Bienal de Flamenco de Sevilla, and in January 2025, they presented the Redux version at Teatro del Lago, Chile. Florencia has received the Premio Nacional de Flamenco (2019), the Artista Revelación Award (2021), the First Prize La Perla de Cádiz (2015), and multiple awards at the Certamen Coreográfico de Madrid, including the First Soloist Prize, Original Music for Dance Award, and the Carlota Santana New York Award (2019).

Supported by: The Sharon Sapienza Foundation, AC/E - Acción Cultural Española, PICE - programa para la Internacionalización de la Cultura Española & Embajada De España En Malta

Contemporary Dance Workshop

by Ching-Ying Chien (Taiwan)

Date: 26th July | Time: 9:30am | Location: The Dance Workshop, G'Mangia, Studio DW1 | Duration: 120mins

Class Description:

This class will involve various contemporary techniques and combinations of East Asian (Tai Chi, Martial arts & Chinese dance) and Western physical culture and thoughts. Discover the connection of breathing and the core to switch texture, rhythm, dynamic and quietness of movement, by improvisation and character/animal play to inspire your own ways of moving and exploring your personality.

Workshop Target Audience: Those who want to experience various contemporary dance techniques such as East Asian physical culture and thoughts

Level of Experience Required: Advanced/Intermediate

Genre of Performance: Various contemporary techniques and combinations of East Asian (Tai Chi, Martial arts & Chinese dance) and Western physical culture and thoughts.

Workshop Led by:

Ching-Ying Chien

Taiwanese freelance dance artist who based in London. Beside choreography for her own creations. She also a collaborator with other artists in different art forms. She has worked with Akram Khan Company since 2013 until now. Her performance in “Until the Lions” won the Outstanding Female Performance (Modern) at the 2016 National Dance Awards (UK). She is also as a Akram Khan Company rehearsal director and company repertoire workshop teacher. In 2020. She started working with James Thierrée -Compagnie de Hanneton in creation “Mo’s” and “ROOM”.   Her solo choreography piece “Vulture” made in 2018 has performed in Europe and Taiwan. It also been selected as one of twenty pieces in Aerowaves 2023.  In 2024, she choreography duet work “Penrose” for English National ballet-“Emerging dancers 2024”.Her latest duet work “Adam & Eve” co-create with world famous breaking dancer Issues park and it has presented in Taiwan Dance platform 2024.

Choreography - Systems Thinking!

by Tom Dale (UK)

Date: 26th July | Time: 11:45am | Location: The Dance Workshop, G'Mangia, Studio DW1 | Duration: 120mins

Class Description:

During a 2 hour workshop with Tom Dale participants can enjoy an insight into experiential principles of movement and choreographic crafting techniques in a symbiotic relationship to music.

Workshop Target Audience: Aspiring professional dancers or young professionals

Level of Experience Required: Participants should be in professional training or have graduated from professional training.

Genre of Performance: Contemporary

Workshop Led by:

Tom Dale

Tom Dale is a choreographer, dance artist, and the Artistic Director of Tom Dale Company (TDC), which he founded in 2010. Renowned for bringing together innovative teams of creatives, Tom explores the intersection of contemporary dance and digital art, producing groundbreaking performance works across diverse settings. Tom’s body of work reflects his deep interest in the empirical knowledge of the moving body and the intricate weaving of art forms with emerging technologies. He has created all of TDC’s critically acclaimed works to date, including Rise, I Infinite, Refugees of the Septic Heart, Step Sonic, and Digitopia, the latter of which won the award for Outstanding Production at the UK Theatre and Technology Awards in 2017. His most recent work, SURGE, was met with widespread critical acclaim, earning 4- and 5-star reviews from the national press. This piece won a National Dance Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Performer in Modern Choreography, solidifying Tom’s reputation as a visionary in the contemporary dance landscape. Tom is a graduate of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, where he was honoured with the Centre’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Choreography. He has danced with leading choreographers and companies, including Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, before dedicating himself to his own artistic practice. Beyond TDC, Tom has undertaken numerous prestigious commissions, including the award-winning Dark Clouds are Smouldering into Red with Sinfonia Viva, a National Lottery Award finalist inspired by WWI. Other notable works include Subterrania for 2Faced Dance Company, Dance Please (produced by TPO/Crying Out Loud/Theatre Is), and the critically acclaimed I Am a Believer, performed in Trafalgar Square for visual artist Reza Aramesh. Committed to education, Tom leads projects and workshops across the UK and internationally, fostering creativity in both professional and participatory settings. He has created works for the UK’s major conservatoires and National Centres for Advanced Training, inspiring the next generation of dance artists.

Gaga Dancers Class

by Andrea Costanzo Martini (Italy/Israel)

Date: 26th July | Time: 2:00pm | Location: The Dance Workshop, G'Mangia, Studio DW1 | Duration: 120mins

Class Description:

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 himself and others.

Workshop Target Audience: Gaga dancers & Gaga people

Level of Experience Required: Gaga dancers: Professional dancers or dance students 17 years old and up | Gaga people: Everyone from 17 up. No experience required.

Genre of Performance: Contemporary

Workshop Led by:

Andrea Costanzo Martini

Andrea Costanzo Martini, born and raised in Italy, trained at Danzicherie, Teatro Nuovo, and Heinz Bost Stiftung Ballet Academy. He has performed with esteemed companies such as Aalto-Theater, Cullberg Ballet, Batsheva Dance Company, and Inbal Pinto & Avshalom Pollak Dance Company. His choreographic research delves into the act of performance and its dynamic relationship with the audience, creating works that challenge conventional boundaries. His pieces have been showcased internationally at Curtain Up, Fabrik Potsdam, The Place London, and La Briqueterie. Recent works include PayPer Play (2021), Wild Thoughts (2022), and Life in Lycra (2023). Andrea’s accolades include first prize for choreography at the International Tanz Solo Competition Stuttgart, the Public Award at Mas Danza, and recognition as an “artist to watch” by TimeOut Tel Aviv. A dedicated teacher of Gaga and improvisation, he collaborates globally and is an associate artist of VAN Cultural Association.

Supported by: Istituto Italiano Di Cultura La Valletta

Workshops supported by: The Dance Workshop

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