DUO2015 of William Forsythe
with Riley Watts, Elizabeth Waterhouse, Brigel Gjoka
Brigel Gjoka and Riley Watts, both former dancers of The Forsythe Company, practicing for long time together, are face to the practice of entrainment as a form of progressive work, reaching a level of interrogation on how connections, composition, rule brea- king andlistening can create a dialogue between individuals. The work will be focused on explaining and exploring how connections can be acquired through entrainment. “DUO2015” is the latest work of William Forsythe in which both artist are facing and confronting each other in constant research for new dimensions of being creative.
In this residency we have also Elizabeth Waterhouse, a theo- rist and also a former dancer of The Forsythe Company. Since 2014 Waterhouse has collaborated with Bettina Bläs- ing at the University of Bielefeld, exploring how research of William Forsythe`s choreography “Duo,” made with consulta- tion from the dancers, can productively contribute to the science of entrainment. In this residency, Waterhouse brings her perspective of the science of entrainment, as well as her experience bridging theory and practice. Working with Gjoka, Watts, and the participants, she asks: What skills have “Duo” dancers cultivated, and how do these define their sociality and sense of self? And, more generally, how do expecta- tions and procedures of research differ between dancers and scholars?
Riley Watts is a dance and visual artist, teacher, researcher, and creative consul- tant based in Portland, Maine.
Since 2010, he has worked closely with choreographer William Forsythe and The Forsythe Company, and performed Forsythe’s DUO2015 for the farewell world tour of iconic dancer Sylvie Guillem.Previous to joining The Forsythe Company, Riley danced with the Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Stadttheater Bern, and the Netherlands Dance Theater 2, and has so far traveled to 35 countries across 5 continents. He has perfor- med in choreographic installations at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Musée du Louvre and St. Eustache Cathedral in Paris, and Space Gallery in Portland.
In addition to performing around the world, Riley has been frequently invited to teach masterclasses at universities, dance companies, and choreographic research centers across Europe, Asia, Australia, and the USA. While living in Germany, he was an Associate Researcher with Motion Bank and the Dance Engaging Science workgroup, through which he developed interdisciplinary research between neu- roscience and dance. He studied dance at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts and the Juilliard School in NYC, where he received his BFA in 2007. He is a Princess Grace Award winner and was named Contemporary Dancer of the Year for the Leonide Massi- ne-Positano Prize, Italy, 2015.
Elizabeth Waterhouse is a former member of Ballet Frankfurt/The Forsythe Company (2004–2013) and a current doctoral student at the Graduate School of the Arts in Bern, where her dissertation (“Dancing Together: Entrainment and Subjectivity in the Choreographic Work of William Forsythe”) is supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Volkswagen Stiftung.
Since 2015 she has taught practices of contemporary dance at the Institut Ästhetische Praxis und Theorie at the University of Art and Design in Basel. She has also worked as a freelance performer, choreographer and dramaturg, collaborating on projects ranging from experimental musiktheater to font design. Liz has given workshops and lectures internationally and been part of innovative projects in dance education and outreach (including Störung/הערפה at Theater Freiburg and InnoLernenTanz at the Palucca Hochschule). Raised in upsta- te New York, she graduated from Harvard University with a Ba- chelor degree in physics and completed her Master degree at The Ohio State University in dance. Reconciliation of art and science continues to be a central tenet of her work.
More information can be found at: http://www.dancelikething.org
Brigel Gjoka, choreographer teacher and professional stage dancer. His artistic work engagements have taken him around the world to more than 31 countries.
Brigel was born in Albania and trained in Tirana Ballet School 1997-2004. He was a member of Cannes Jeune Ballet during his studies 2004- 06 at the Ecole Superieure de Danse de Cannes-Mougins.
In 2006 he was engaged by the Ballet De L’opera National Du Rhin, where he had the opportunity to perform different roles and work with choreographers from the international dance scene. Wanting to expend his vision, he joined Staatstheater Mainz in 2009 for one season, then joined the Nederlands Dans Theater in 2010. In January 2011 he became member of the The Forsythe Company, where he participated in new creations by William Forsythe and also performed a wide range of Forsythe’s repertory until the closure of the company in 2015. As a unique experience also in 2015, he was part of “Life in Progress,” the farewell world tour of Sylvie Guillem, traveling and performing Forsythe’s DUO2015 around the world.
Together with Riley Watts, he was awarded the ‘’Leonide Massine’’ Prize in the Positano premia la danza, Italy, as Dancer of The Year on The Contemporary Dance Scene in September 2015.
He has choreographed Evo-Revolution for the Cannes Jeune Ballet (2009), the installation Front to Confront with Leggere Strutture Company, supported by Tonino Lamborghini (2012), SWTH for Maggio Danza Italy and RECRECiT for Kwang Tung Dance Company Malaysia (2013). SYNC with Hector Solari for Staatstheater Passau and BMW (2013), Eksod with Leggere Strutture Italy (2014) and Among Fog for National Academy of Performing Arts Karachi (2015), where he participated in the International Dance & Theater Festival Karachi, and DELEGATET for the Theater Vorpommern Germany (2016). September 2016 at the Philadelphia Musuem of Art, Museum as Score he performed DUO2015 from W.Forsythe at the Eighth Annual Anne d’Harnoncourt Symposium.
Since January 2014 he has been Artistic director of the Art Factory International Bologna.
Since 2015 he is Artistic Curator of Albanian Institute New York and correspondent of the Institute in Berlin, Germany.
As a lecturer and teacher, Gjoka has worked in Italy, Switzerland, France, China, Denmark, Greece, Albania, Germany, Malaysia, China, Singapore, Australia, and Japan. He teaches dance and choreography workshops based on his own work and inspired by the long rich investment of William Forsythe and The Forsythe Company.
REGISTRATION
The workshop is open to a limited number of participants.
Applicants need to submit a full C.V to :
artfactoryinternational@gmail.com