Toni Jodar - Explica Dansa

Toni Jodar
Modern dance speaks
Beatriu Daniel _Toni Jodar beatriu@explicadansa.com -
www.explainingdance.com
T. +34 678 420 020
Toni Jodar explica...
contents
3 Presentation
4 Aims
5 What does the activity consist of?
What are the tools that we use?
6 Credits
7 Biography
9 Principal performances 2002-12
10 Sample programmes and press
dance
Toni Jodar explica...
presentation
The Explaining Dance project began in 2002 after sensing the audience’s
need to know and understand dance in general better; especially modern
and contemporary dance.
Toni Jodar and Beatriu Daniel, together and each using their individual
abilities (artistic first and foremost and later management), have developed
this educational activity with the aim of explaining dance history from the
perspective of real stage experience of a professional, in this case Toni
Jodar, one of the most significant contemporary dancers in Catalonia and
the Spanish State.
Over the ten years throughout which this project has been constantly
developed, we have achieved the following:
To put words to a dance and a mature dancer’s experience (something
generally difficult for dancers to do).
To prove that a dancer can remain active on stage in another way: the
need to perform and stage presence does not get lost with age, though
physical resistance may wane.
To explain dance to people in a friendly and pleasant manner; contribute
a tool to compliment and bring dance represented on stage closer to
the audience; a strategy to participate in the creation and education of
audiences.
To lay out history in a different way, adding stage experience, and
stretching beyond strictly theoretical norms.
To create different applications and formats according to various
commissions and audiences, as well as opening and sharing the process
with other professionals, with the aim of using knowledge from dancers
who are hardly or no longer on stage.
To work around a small format, so as to obtain greater flexibility to adapt
to the various needs of programming, context and space.
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Toni Jodar, explica...
aims
Distribute
the language of dance using tools and content that facilitate the
interpretation and identification of the different elements that
make up a choreography and a performance.
Explain
basic knowledge of modern and contemporary dance history to
understand how other vocabulary has been developed on a parallel
to ballet.
Get to know
movement and choreography as intelligible and significant language,
be it narrative or abstract, with the aim of familiarising the audience
with contemporary concepts.
Perceive
the possibility of expressing social and personal ambitions through
dance. Recognise that we all own a body and that it is susceptible
to movement.
Transmit
different values of dance. Educational value: the search for
creative solutions, inventiveness, flexibility, resistance, discipline,
effort, constancy, dedication, concentration. Social Values:
respect, help, gratitude, silence. Emotional Values: survival,
complex-free, trust, confidence, personal development,
self-esteem. Spiritual values: happiness, silence.
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Toni Jodar explica...
what does the activity
consist of?
what are the tools that
we use?
ildren
Activity for ch er
d ov
of 12 years an
We start off with a basic format that we later adapt to suit each commission and
collects the following information:
1.- Theoretical information
following information:
1- Theoretical information (“spoken –action” Historical chronology, Dance Styles,
Relationship between dance and other art forms)
2.- Kineseological Knowledge
(physical demonstration of a concept through static and moving images
demonstration inserted into a choreographic phrase)
3.- Visual information
(through the dancer/performers body photographs video images)
4.- Practical Information:
a workshop where the aforementioned concepts are incorporated.
The general need within cultural society to obtain information about dance lead us to
develop this project. We have created and formalized different applications, which
now form part of our flexible repertory and are modified upon the demands of each
client.
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Toni Jodar explica...
credits
Concept and script:
Toni Jodar and Beatriu Daniel
Performance:
Toni Jodar
Stage adaptation and support:
Víctor Molina and Ana Teixidó
Image:
Toni Roura
Management:
Silvia Lorente / Nats Nus
Production Assistant:
Mariona Galter
Project director:
BdDANSA-Beatriu Daniel
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Toni Jodar explica...
Biography Toni Jodar
Artist and dance teacher for over 25 years. He broadened his studies
through several stays in the USA. He combines physical training of actors,
work on postural awareness, speciality in jazz dance, and the holding of
different movement workshops for students, professionals and artists
from all spheres.
During his artistic career he has given over 900 performances worldwide.
As a dancer it is important to highlight his collaboration with
Gelabert-Azzopardi (1989-2000, 2005-12). One of his particularities
are his interventions as a performer in shows directed by: Albert Vidal
(1978-83), Carles Santos (1984-85, 1998-12), Jerome Savary
(1986-87), Magda Puyo-Marta Carrasco (1997-98), Joan Baixas &
Jordi Sabatés (1998). He has also collaborated with Dagoll Dagom,
Comediants and La Fura dels Baus, among others.
He is currently assistant director with the Gelabert-Azzopardi dance
company and has collaborated, since 2000 with the Companyia
Carles Santos, for which he has taken on choreographic responsibility.
He habitually collaborates with the Auditori de Barcelona’s Education
Service. He has choreographed Metàl·lics for Spanish Brass Luur Metalls,
as part of the “L’Escola va a l’Auditori” and “Concerts en Família”
cycles. He has acted as narrator at the “Orquestra per a joves” concert
by Britten. In 2006 he was stage director for the project “El poble de
vent i de fusta”.
He combines his choreographic work with interventions as a performer. He
created the spoken action: Toni Jodar, Explains: modern and
contemporary dance, designed to raise awareness about dance and for
which he received a Stage Arts Special Mention at the Ciutat de Barcelona
Prize of 2002 and the APDC Prize of 2006.
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moviment-performer-dancer
Toni Jodar explica...
Beatriu Daniel
Arts producer and cultural manager, specialized in dance.
B.A. In Philosophy- Fine Arts by the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. She
gets her skills as cultural manager through experience and training with the
Group Xabide (Vitoria), among others. She broaden her knowledge with
studies of coaching and NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming).
In the 1970s, as co-Director of the Magazine DANSA-79, she had an key
role in the development and creation of a contemporary dance scene in
Catalonia, documenting all the activities of that period.
She has worked with Gelabert-Azzopardi, Dance Company (she started
the company together with Cesc Gelabert and Lydia Azzopardi in 1985),
among others. Together with Catherine Allard, she started the project for
the IT Dansa (Young Dance Company of the Institut del Teatre de Barcelona).
Also, she coordinated the project TotDansa for the Bureau for Arts
Promotion of the Diputació de Barcelona (City Council), as well as Ballarins
a Palo Alto for TV3, Catalonia National Television.
She has been Director of Administration of La Caldera; Centre for Dance
and Stage Arts (2005-11), and member of the board of the Association of
Dance Professionals of Catalonia (2005-11).
As a producer she has worked on projects by La Fura dels Baus; on the
Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies of Barcelona’92 (Ovideo-BassatEsport), and on the International Puppet Festival (Institut del Teatre de
Barcelona).
In the visual arts field she has worked with the artist Frederic Amat. She has
also worked in cinema and TV for Ovídeo Productions.
Currently she is co-Director with Toni Jodar of the project Explaining Dance
and is a member of the management group Umésdos www.umedos.com
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artists
management
Toni Jodar explica...
Principal performances
2002-12
Dance for Christmas: Ton
Gerona-Group’08 and Silvia Duran
Team’09, December’10
Meekers / Rotterdam, March’10
Les Corts Community Centre–
2002+03+04+05+06+07+08+09+10
Lanònima Imperial residency in Vic (10
schools)-2003+04 Tensdansa Festival in Terrassa 2004+05+06 Terrassa en Moviment
Festival’09
Spanish Theatre Network Meeting-Donosti
2005
Mercat de Les Flors, Barcelona Presentation
of Let's Dance a Film + Dance is Nothing to be
Afraid Of cycle. 2008 +09-10+11
Co-ordination Half an Hour Before the Show,
season’10 +11 + 12; Dance is Nothing to be
Afraid Of – Libraries, May-June’10 +11+12
Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona presenting
Nederlans Dans Theater, March’09; Giselle
–Dresden Semper Opera, November’10 and IT
Dansa, March’10 + February
Festival PNRM Olot 2006
2011+ January 2012.
Extended University classrooms for the
Elderly/University of Barcelona, 2006
+07+10 +11+12
Circuito de “Danza a Escena” / Red Española de Teatros
Fundació Joan Miró, Mercè’06
Master in Spatial Design, Catalonia Politechnic
University, January’07
Centre d’Art Santa Mònica, March ’07
Tour through the regions of Albacete and
Alicante
Teatre Escorxador, Lleida 26 /01 ; Teatre
Principal, Tàrrega 04/02 ; Teatre Victória
Eugenia 21/04 Donosti; Teatre Auditori Felip
Pedrell ,Tortosa 27/04 ; Dia Internacional
danza / Centro Comercial, Albacete 28/04;
Teatro Principal Zizur Mayor/ Pamplona
11/05;Teatro Leal / La Laguna.Canarias 9/06;
L’Estruch de Sabadell 5/10 ; Teatro Rosalia de
Castro /La Coruña 11/10; Auditorium / Leioa
18 /10 ; Casa de Cultura, Almansa 17/11.
Villena,Universitat d’Alacant, Casas Ibáñez,
Higueruela, Caudete, Barrax, Almansa and Lezuza,
March ‘ 07
INTERNACIONAL
Basque Theatre Network, Bilbao 2008
Opening of gestural theatre fair Mostra de
Gest d’Esparraguera’08
Vitoria International Dance and Theatre
Festival,2008 Fashion school, Escola de Disseny
Elisava’07-08-09-10
Republic of Niger-Niamey-Centre Culturel
Franco Nigerien, CCFN, Workshop and 10
sessions on the dance history, October’09
Sadler’sWells, Londres, 7 i 8 /11/2012
Meeker’s, Róterdam, Abril /2010
County Drama College, Ourense , June’09
Tour of the Basque Country- Euskadi Dance
Circuit:
Durango, Elorrio, Amorebieta and Arrigorriaga,
October ‘09
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Toni Jodar explica...
Dance in the classroom
SAMPLE
PROGRAMMES
AND PRESS
Dance in the classroom
University / Elderly
Libraries
Libraries
Dance explainers /Gran Teatre Liceu
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Toni Jodar explica...
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Toni Jodar explica...
MODERN DANCE SPEAKS!
7 & 8 November 2012!
Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells London!
Photos: Pau Ros
Performance Reviewed & Testimonials
Review
Toni Jodar is a compact, athletic man whose body communicates a wealth of knowledge as clearly as his voice. His
solo Modern Dance Speaks! takes the form of a lecture demonstration, in which he ambitiously takes us through
the history of modern dance from Isadora Duncan to the postmodern experimentations of the Judson Church
choreographers. Jodar’s physical and verbal explanation of how one pivotal choreographer carried on from the last
both simplifies and clarifies the progression of dance from the 19th century to the contemporary from a practitioner’s
perspective. He explains what it feels like to dance in the style of each luminary, translating the technique,
motivation and intention through his own personal connection with it.
Enlightening for an uninformed dance audience and engaging for all, he’s a jack-of- all trades as he travels across
the stage in regal balletic jetés and pirouettes, emotes in contraction and release à la Martha Graham or falls and
triumphantly rebounds in Doris Humphrey’s obsession with the vertical axis. More difficult for Jodar is to
disengage with the emotions and theatrical familiarity in the execution of mechanical upper-torso curves of Merce
Cunningham, or to release his muscles in the fluid, organic improvisation of Steve Paxton and Trisha Brown.
But he’s comfortable in his rendition of angst-ridden German expressionism, in the percussive, tense moves of Mary
Wigman and the tormented lyricism of Pina Bausch’s dance-theatre.
A Catalan from Barcelona, Jodar trained in both Barcelona and New York prior to his long standing career as a
performer, teacher and choreographer and he communicates his breadth of knowledge not as an academic but as an
embodied educator. His unbridled enthusiasm for dance is infectious as is his charm and generosity on stage. He is a
commentator, not a critic and while there is some over simplification and a disconcerting lack of critical thinking,
nevertheless, he successfully illuminates what is the interesting and important core of each dance genre and the
context that produced it. As well as the extracts of danced examples and some wonderfully obscure film footage, he
embellishes his lecture with humorous reflections and anecdotes. For example, how he struggled to understand the
“emotionless robotic” style of Merce Cunningham from the position of his emotionally demonstrative Catalan identity,
but had a break through when he concluded that this was because American people had suffered less than their
war-ravaged European neighbours; therefore without having to carry around emotional baggage, American
experimental choreographers could concentrate, with detached objectivity, on movement ‘per se’. While Jodar’s use
of language and stuttering delivery is sometimes awkward, he makes up for his linguistic imperfections [in the
English language] with his physical prowess and embodied wisdom. Thoroughly likeable, he would be a welcomed
lecturer in any dance institution.
Josephine Leask. Lecturer in Cultural Studies on the BA (Hons) degree course at the London Studio Centre and
London correspondent for The Dance Insider.
Read Toni Jodar interview: http://londondance.com/articles/interviews/toni-jodar-modern-dance-speaks/
Testimonials
Modern Dance Speaks! is a highly enjoyable and instructive show, halfway between a lecture and a performance.
Toni Jodar takes the audience on an exciting journey through his selection of key choreographers of the 20 th century,
using both his body and his (charming) Spanish accent to explain and illustrate various approaches to dance. It
constitutes a unique opportunity to watch different choreographic styles performed by the same dancer and
therefore understand that a body can move in an infinite number of ways.
***
Toni Jodar delivers an engaging performance lecture in his charming, witting and endearing style. Drawing his
audience in for an hour, he entertains and informs with a snappy history of modern dance.
This is a performance that will appeal to anyone interested in dance and its history. Delivered through a
combination of movement and lecture, Toni’s warmth and wit is infectious, his use of movement to illustrate the
different schools of dance aids our understanding so much better than a straight lecture or anything that can be
gleaned from a text book.
***
This was a fantastic evening and a novel idea – using the language of dance to illustrate its history.
***
Modern Dance Speaks is a performance that shares with its audience a love of dance and a deep understanding of
its development from modern to contemporary. Toni Jodar's passion for dance is tangible and fills the stage with
movement and laughter.Thoroughly enjoyable !
***
Toni Jodar’s artistic staging Modern Dance Speaks! breaks the invisible barrier between the artist and the audience
to immerse everyone into a journey through the history of dance where the narrative melts with the choreographic
movements in a unique and magic experience.
Toni Jodar explica danza
Toni Jodar actuó la semana pasada en el Sadler's Wells,
el centro de exhibición de danza contemporánea más
importante de Londres. Lo hizo durante dos días en la
sala Lilian Baylis Studio, donde ha presentado su
espectáculo Modern Dance Speaks! (Explica Danza), un
proyecto que justo ahora cumple 10 años. Sin duda,
qué buena manera de celebrarlo, en la prestigiosa casa
de la danza londinense.
¿Por qué explicar la danza? Jodar lleva haciéndose esta
pregunta durante muchos años. Su proyecto consiste
en una especie de conferencia bailada sobre la historia
de la danza. Una performance de carácter pedagógico,
creativa y amena que muestra la evolución del clásico al
contemporáneo. Ha representado este espectáculo
en cantidad de sitios: bibliotecas, museos, casas
particulares, centros cívicos, halls de teatros, etc. Muy
ligado a los programas educativos del Mercat de les
Flors, Toni Jodar se ha convertido en un extraordinadorio divulgador de la danza entre adultos y adolescentes.
La idea básica es desacralizar la danza y acercarla a
gente que a lo mejor no está tan familiarizada con ella.
Jodar asegura que se lo pasa igual de bien estando en el
Sadler's que en un centro cívico de Albacete.
No pude ver el espectáculo, pero estuvimos charlando
la noche antes con Toni i Beatriu, su mujer y el otro
50% del proyecto, en un pub cerca del Sadler's Wells.
Iera, mi novia, sí que lo vio. Ella también es bailarina y me
lo explica con pasión y entusiasmo unos días más tarde
en nuestra pequeña habitación de Finsbury Park.
Sin más pretensión que dar cuatro pinceladas (Toni lo
explica mucho mejor que yo), el espectáculo tiene dos
partes diferenciadas, la danza en América y en Europa.
Isadora Duncan (San Francisco), considerada por
muchos como la creadora de la danza moderna, fue la
primera en quitarse las zapatillas de punta y salir del
edificio teatral. Llevar puntas era acercarse al cielo, a
los dioses, pero ella quería acercarse al suelo, tocar
tierra, descalzarse. De repente, el imperturbable eje
vertical de la danza se rompe y se hace flexible, dando
paso a un movimiento libre. Duncan ha dejado imágenes
muy bonitas pero ninguna metodología. Martha
Graham, en cambio, trabaja con la metodología del
"contract – release", es una danza más dramática,
conectada con la emoción que provoca el mismo
movimiento, en la que "contract" podría sugerir
preocupación, miedo, dolor, etc. y el "release", alivio,
bienestar, alegría. Luego aparece Merce Cunningham:
"Dance is not emotion, but motion". Toni Jodar no
entendía esta frase, ¿cómo que la danza no es
emoción? Y decidió ir a Nueva York a conocer a
Cunningham, que se acercaba a la metodología que
John Cage aplicaba a la hora de componer música. El
movimiento ya es importante en si mismo, no hace falta
que explique nada más. Son pasos, cuentas, números,
movimiento. En este momento del espectáculo, Toni
Jodar nos traslada al estudio de Cunningham en Nueva
York, si necesidad de ningún elemento de atrezzo, con
una altísima expresividad y capacidad de transmitirnos
su experiencia vital.
Mientras en Estados Unidos se desarrolla todo esto,
las dos Guerras Mundiales europeas condicionan la
evolución de la danza en el viejo continente. Mary
Wigman (Alemania), principal precursora de la danza
expresionista, condensa el dolor de la guerra y el
dramatismo en sus coreografías. Nace la danza teatro,
muy relacionada con la transmisión de una historia, un
movimiento artístico que explosiona con Pina Bausch.
Toni Jodar ilustra con su propio cuerpo el paso del
tiempo y su experiencia personal con la danza. El humor
es presente durante toda la pieza y se mete el público
del Sadler's en el bolsillo bromeando con la clásica y tan
común confusión entre "he" y "she". ¡Un tipo muy
humano!
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Bibliotecas Barcelona
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Mercat de les Flors, Barcelona
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Museu Molí Paperer
de Capellades
Albacete
Toni Jodar explica la danza en 50’
Albacete
¿En qué consiste la “acción-hablada”?
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Dantza Garaikidearen V. Zirkuitoa
V circuito de danza contemporánea
Euskadi
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MEEKER’S
Roterdam
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LA VANGUARDIA
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A teaching tool,
specialising in dance,
for educational programmes
and training audiences highly flexible
adaptable to all spaces and situations.
todos los espacios y situaciones.
The explanation in this
“spoken action”
is made accessible
for diverse audiences
Suport
In Collaboration with
La Caldera, centre de creació de dansa i arts escèniques; “Danza a Escena-circuito de
D a n z a ” R e d d e Te a t r o s d e E s p a ñ a ; M e r c a t d e l e s F l o r s ; B i b l i o t e q u e s d e B a r c e l o n a .
itanitanaudiovisuals; liquidDocs; UmésDos; Nats Nus.