Every Move You Make

Michel Casanovas workshops combine feldenkrais with contemporary dance,helping learners listen to their body instead of controlling it.

At the age of seven,when his peers were still learning to pick their favourite cartoon characters and ice-cream flavours,Michel Casanovas had a crystal clear career path ready. The seemingly mundane activity of accompanying his sister for a ballet class in Perpignan (South France) became a defining moment for him. I was so fascinated by the energy and the movements of the dance form; I instantly knew that it was what I would like to do in my life, he recalls.

Years rolled by but the young boy did not lose sight of his dream. Meticulously planning his course,he studied to get a degree in dance at the Conservatoire de Toulouse,France,in 1982. Then he worked extensively with several theatre and dance companies across Belgium,France,Canada and finally Switzerland,where he shifted in 1996 and stayed for 28 years. During these years,I experimented with different forms of expressions and moved on from classical to modern to contemporary, says Casanovas,who moved to India in 2006 and set up base in Bangalore. He has since been sharing his skills of feldenkrais and contemporary dance across the country,primarily in Mumbai,Kolkata and Bangalore.

In Pune for a performance and a three-day workshop at Artsphere,Casanovas says feldenkrais is not a dance form but an educational system based on movements that create awareness and connection with oneself. Many artistes across the world practise it because of the self-development approach it offers,he says. It is also used as a therapeutic method to heal injuries internal as well as external, claims the artiste,adding that he learnt feldenkrais from San Francisco-based Paul Rubin and Julie Casson-Rubin and practised the art for a decade till 2004.

While he took to the stage on Thursday in the city,the workshop began on Friday. He shares that his workshops begin with feldenkrais. Then we move on to bigger and tougher movements. Feldenkrais makes a person less prone to injuries and they get to understand the strength of their body. During the course of feldenkrais,people learn to listen to their bodies instead of pushing and controlling it, says the 48-year-old,stressing that dance is something that can connect with anyone,even non-dancers.

Teaching and organising workshops across India has also exposed Casanovas to various dance forms in the country. However,he is particularly fond of Mohiniyattam,a dance form of Kerala. Because it combines classical and folk elements,with a contemporary approach, he says.

Currently,Casanovas is working on a dance and physical theatre project titled Majuli,in which he has collaborated with choreographer-actor Shilpika Bordoloi of Assam. In this project,there is a parallel development of her language of movement between folk form and contemporary,in an interesting and creative way, he says,adding that the premiere of the project is planned in Delhi in November.

The workshop is on at Artsphere,Near Joggers Park,Kalyaninagar,10 am to 2 pm,till June 10

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Every Move You Make

Michel Casanovas workshops combine feldenkrais with contemporary dance,helping learners listen to their body instead of controlling it.

Michel Casanovas workshops combine feldenkrais with contemporary dance,helping learners listen to their body instead of controlling it.