Iiro Näkki workshops
EPICIRQ 2019
All circus, dance and theatre professionals, students and enthusiast are welcome
Iiro Näkki is a Helsinki-based choreographer, performer and teacher working in the fields of contemporary dance and circus arts. He has graduated from the University of the Arts Helsinki (BA in dance arts, 2015 - MA in choreography, 2018). Since 2013 his choreographed performances have been touring around European festivals and theatres. As a teacher, he has trained students from beginners to professionals, worked as an instructor of contemporary dance, floor work, acrobatics, and acrodance, Chinese pole, partnering, contact work, and parkour. He has also taken part in local and international social circus projects.
​In addition, Iiro has experience working as a producer for Kinetic Orchestra dance company in Finland and as an office assistant for Circus Cirkör in Sweden.
During September 30th to October 3rd 2019 Iiro led two different workshops: ​
Partnerwork based on circus and dance methods
Partnerwork based on circus and dance methods
The subject of the first workshop is the practice of partnering in various forms. The exercises are aimed to develop kinesthetic awareness and sensitivity and to broaden the spectrum of available tools in working in contact with another body.
Both days will be divided into two sessions with a break in-between.
The first part of the workshop will consist of warming up and practicing partnering through games, play, and movement tasks. We will focus on the twisting of the spine, rotation of the joints, and opening of the thorax.Â
The goals are to practice identifying the moments that allow us to loosen our muscle tonality or require us to temporarily contract and to expand from technical training towards attentiveness to the body and spatial decisions in movement.
In the second part, we will shift towards technical training of specific skills, drills, and set movement sequences. The question lies in how the practice of games and movement tasks might influence dancing within set choreography and introduce more playful movement qualities.
Development of modern techniques through historical manifesto’s
The subject of the second workshop is a more reflective and historically framed approach to movement practice. In addition to physical work, the workshop includes short thematic introductions to dance, circus arts and movement culture followed by discussion.
Both days will be divided into two sessions with a break in-between.
The first part of the workshop will consist of warming up and meeting each other through games, play and movement tasks. The aim of the movement class is simply to get physical with one another and to get ready for sharing thoughts.
In the second part, we will reflect on our movement practice through reading and discussing. We will be taking a look at some well-known manifestos and ponder our own approach towards thematics of skill, form, and tradition of training.