dance without limits

dance without limits - in czech tanec bez hranic - took place in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands in the middle of summer. three weeks of intensive dancing classes. i had the opportunity to shoot two of those. this description is divided into parts organized thematically, rather than chronologically

stretching

the necessary start of every lesson. the goal is simple. telling your body heyyy!! time to wake up. warm up so you don't break yourself! there are differences in approach. Kino's guided meditation, which aimed at resetting people's brains to help with focus, versus Terry's almost bootcamp like drill, which also kind of reset heads in a physical way. different worlds. the lessons were in the similar manner. oh, and another thing! if i did what they did during the stretching, you'd have to call me an ambulance

improvisation

diagonals - movement exercise. everybody gathers on one side of the tent to go across the dance floor in lines of 4 - 6 people in more or less limiting manner. some diagonals are clearly defined, for example 2 steps, spin, 2 steps (don't ask me about the correct terms), to any faster Pointer Sisters song, or "i want you to react to the music"  to Howling by RY X. my favorite thing to shoot. so many things happening at once. like a firing range full of targets. 

the dancing itself

there was quite a dramatic difference between lightning conditions during the day ...

... and in the evening

it's just acting!

from teacher, to a guy at the edge of breakdown, back to a teacher. in about 7 seconds. scary how believable Terry Beeman was

on the last lesson, Terry pulled out chairs and ordered the dancers to dance part of yesterday's choreo on chairs. people, that were sitting, had to act out Dermot Kennedy's song An Evening I Will Not Forget. well i was definitely forgetting to breathe when shooting these.

scholarships

at the very end of the camp's last lesson, right after the scholarships are handed out and the obligatory group shot was done, i hear a rumble right behind my back. the moment i look over my shoulder, there are people already passing by me to swarm the s*** out of them. a lot of jumping and screaming started manifesting right in front of my eyes. did i mention the firing range yet?

<3

special thanks goes to the camp "principal" Bara Štulíková for inviting me, to the teachers Fabio, Kino, Terry, Raymond, Julia and Meech for making people move they did, and to the dancers for being so good!