by caroline alves & martina garbelli 

Shared Dynamics emerges from my long-term collaboration with Martina Garbelli. After more than a decade of creating together, in 2024 we begin an independent research journey into interdependence as a movement principle. Drawing from contact improvisation, contemporary dance, and acrobatics, this practice investigates how trust, support, and shared risk generate a physical and sensitive vocabulary where technique and partnership meet.

In partnering dance, shared dynamics and interdependence are lived experiences where each movement and decision influences and supports the other. In this workshop, we build a foundation of safety and trust to explore more daring movements. We examine the role of mutual influence in creating partnering choreographic compositions, and the transformations in our dance practice when fully embracing the principles of interdependence. We start with exercises designed to enhance body awareness and physical responsiveness. Through directed tasks, we encourage improvisation and movement research, working with gravity and momentum, using falling, rolling, and centrifugal force to facilitate movement.

We then advance to partnering exercises, developing sequences that incorporate tools from contact improvisation, contemporary dance, and acrobatics. We focus on sharing and supporting each other’s weight, creating a dynamic balance through lifting, leaning, and counterbalancing.

As we progress, the exercises grow more complex, incorporating acrobatic movements that lead to the final partnering combination. We provide specific material for practising lifts, jumps, and principles of shared dynamics, culminating in a cohesive and fluid choreographic score.

>> UPCOMING WORKSHOPS <<