Jitka Pokorná
Historical dance - baroqueShe has been involved in historical dance since 1999, starting out in the historical dance group Regia Caroli Regis. Baroque dance came to her attention in 2000, especially thanks to meeting Beatrice Massin (Fr), whose seminars and workshops she still regularly attends in the Czech Republic and abroad. This collaboration resulted in 2015 in a performance created by Beatrice on the occasion of the opening of the Baroque exhibition of the castle in Žďár nad Sázavou, in which Jitka danced together with 9 other leading dancers. At the same time, in 2015, under her direction, she worked on the longest surviving solo choreography, Chacon de Phaeton from 1704, as part of the choreographers’ coaching organized by the dance organization SE.S.TA. Within this organization, in 2004, she was also introduced to modern dance technique (S.Ambert, M. Kinsky), but especially to movement analysis (J.Ch. Paré), which still interests her today. Among other things, she has attended many other courses and seminars on Baroque dance under the guidance of W. Piollet (Fr), F. Denieu (Fr), M. Leclerq (Fr), L. Mosca (Sp), G. Jablonek (Fr), Helena Kazárová (CZ), etc. She has also been dancing Argentinean dance since 2005, with which she performed at the Vinohrady Theatre as part of the Tango Solo performance. Her interest in dance, especially Baroque dance, resulted in the (co)founding of the dance group En Garde!, where the emphasis is not only on preserving the period image, but also trying to connect the original technique with the perception of the contemporary audience. It also focuses on teaching not only beginners but even general public. En Garde! tries to put its knowledge of “baroque movement” into practice.
About The Class
The workshop is intended for dancers with experience in baroque dance. Each day will begin with a carefully structured class, during which we will ‘tune’ the body and focus on its relationship to space. We will also concentrate specifically on baroque dance technique: on the precision and expressiveness of both leg work and ‘ports de bras’ in co-ordination with the whole body so that what emerges is a flowing, natural baroque dancing body.
Having prepared the ‘instrument’ we will spend the rest of the session on creation and together create a choreography using baroque principles of space, the baroque dance movement vocabulary and aesthetic, but allowing a contemporary attitude to structure to influence the process. A particular emphasis will be placed on the quality of movement.
Baroque dance class will take place in the afternoon.