KDF disability-inclusion
14.07-16.07
Kalamata Municipal Cultural Centre
IRINI KOUROUVANI & VENETSIANA KALAMPALIKI
DANCE WORKSHOP FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
This year’s contemporary dance and improvisation workshop invites participants to a movement exploration, activating the imagination and letting the body function as a means of expression and emotional release. The workshop instructors Irini Kourouvani and Venetsiana Kalampaliki will delve into the basic principles of dance, giving time to the search for different movement patterns and gradually proceeding to the formation of a sequence of dance phrases. Playing with the tools of repetition, rhythm and pause, the three sessions propose a dance experimentation, encouraging interaction with other bodies, music and the elements that constitute the space. The workshop aims to foster a sense of trust in the group while paying attention and focusing on the personal kinetic quality of each individual.
The workshop is presented in collaboration with the KEFIAP Center of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of Kalamata.
Irini Kourouvani is a professional dancer taking part in dance festivals in Greece and internationally, while she is also a champion in athletics, weightlifting and sailing, with significant distinctions. She was born with the rare condition of arthrogryposis. She holds a degree in Political Science from the University of Athens. In 1992 the Academy of Athens recognised her for her optimistic approach to life despite her disability. She participated in the Athens and Epidaurus Festival (2007) with the Wrong Movement Dance Organization, and in the Kalamata Dance Festival, in the performance Drops of Breath by Apostolia Papadamaki, Sophie Bulbuyan, and Lia Charaki. She has been teaching inclusive dance workshops as part of the programmes Unlimited Access and iDance of the Onassis Stegi (2014-2017).
Venetsiana Kalampaliki works in the performing arts field as a dancer and choreographer. She is a graduate of the Greek National School of Dance (2016), the School of Economics and Political Sciences (University of Athens-2018) and holds an MFA in Visual Arts (Athens School of Fine Arts-2022). Her diversified studies have initiated an expanded use of media in her works that focus on the body as a central component and evolve within sociopolitical contexts of accessibility and inclusion. She develops her artistic practice through interdisciplinary collaborations extended in the fields of contemporary dance, digital and visual arts, performance and disability arts.
They have been working together since 2018, following the creation of Siobhan Hayes’ work Cherry-Picked in Malmö, Sweden, which was presented at Skanes Danceteater and as part of the iDance #2 Inclusive Dance Convention at the Onassis Cultural Centre. They then collaborated on the pieces Re-call and Re-call (reloaded), produced by Onassis Stegi within the framework of the European Program Europe Beyond Access, which were presented in international festivals in 2020-22 and are still on tour. Since 2021 they have been teaching contemporary dance workshops for people with and without disabilities together.