4-day intensive workshop with Efthymia Chatzakou

Physical alertness

The series of classes focus on movement situations as well as guided material which aim to enhance the physical awareness and creative capacity of the participants. We will explore different forces that morph the body and the interplay of tension-release mechanism, in order to understand movement dynamics and tonalities of the performative body. Through given floor-work material we will gently move in dynamic positions placing emphasis on the aliveness of the spine and the vitality of the hips-feet connection. Longer combinations will test our responses in rhythm, memory and movement precision. In the second part of the class we will work on improvisation scores that will guide us into the development of different states and movement material. The workshop will end with a studio sharing.

About the artist

Fenia Chatzakou (1991, Greece) holds a BA (Hons) in Dance Education (University of Bath) and a BA in Pedagogical Studies (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki). Fenia started her training with rhythmic gymnastics before transferring to dance under the instructions of Nadia Koutziampasi and Ioannis Margaronis (Diagonal Dance School, Thessaloniki). In 2018-2019, she was part of the Bodhi Project Company (SEAD, Austria) collaborating with choreographers Guy Nader/Maria Campos, Francesco Scavetta, Jose Agudo and Lisi Estaras. From August 2020, Fenia was part of Braunschweig Staatstheater company, co-creating pieces with guest choreographers such as Ryan Mason, Annamari Keskinen, Henrieta Horn, Rainer Behr, Danae Dimitriadi and Dionysis Alamanos, Stijn Cellis, Guy Nader & Maria Campos. During the 2021-2022 season, Fenia was awarded as the ‘Young Artist of the year’ by the Staatstheatre Braunschweig. As a freelance dancer, she worked with Georgia Tegou and Michalis Theofanous, (7th New Choreographers Festival, Onassis Cultural Center/Athens, Helllenic Center/London), Marion Sparber and Karolin Stächele among others. Currently she is based in Bremen in Germany, undertaking freelance projects in Germany and the rest of Europe.

She has an ongoing collaboration with Csenger K.Szabo, with whom they co-created the duet “Still Love” and have been sharing their workshop material ‘Physical Alertness’ in various venues and educational contexts.