Lotte Jirka lives in Dresden and works as a dancer, contact improvisation teacher and organizer. She accompanies people in mindful, playful and exploratory movement processes. Both in individual work and in groups. In addition to regular courses and jams in Dresden, she organizes various festivals and formats, including the Windberg Contact Festival. Her work is inspired by Body-Mind Centering®️, a variety of workshops and seminars with a wide range of teachers and her studies in music and movement education.


www.lottejirka.de

What does it take to lift - and to really let yourself be lifted?

In this workshop we will explore the art of the lift in Contact Improvisation, embedded in somatic principles that prepare the body in a deeper way for taking and releasing weight and lifting off the floor.

We start where every lift is rooted: in feeling, in listening, in trust.

With subtle attention to alignment, center and connection to the floor, we develop presence and body intelligence that enable us to create lifts safely, powerfully - and at the same time effortlessly and organically. We work with fundamental movement qualities such as yield, push, reach, grasp and pull - developmental movements that shape our relationship to the floor, to the space and to our dance partners.
A central aspect is also falling - letting go, which is an essantial foundation for any flying experience. Because if you want to fly, you first have to trust the ground.
We practise not avoiding falling, but integrating it into the dance as a creative force - together with momentum and spiral dynamics. This creates lifts that are not born out of effort, but out of dialog.

Whether you want to venture into the air or stay firmly rooted - you are invited to explore, fall, fly - and be carried - with curiosity and lightness.