Myriam Gourfink

Dancer and choreographer of over 50 works, Myriam Gourfink began her research of movement in 1996. Based on the breathing techniques of Energy yoga, her style incorporates laser-sharp attention to placement and acute awareness of space. Abstract yet sensitive, Gourfink’s slow-paced choreography requires dancers to make their own choices by reading between the lines. Whether in collaboration with the IRCAM or Le Fresnoy studio, her work includes technologies that disrupt and regenerate her choreography in real time. A figure of the international scene, she directed the choreography research programme at the Fondation Royaumont (2008-2013) and co-wrote a book on composition entitled Composer en danse, un vocabulaire des opérations et des pratiques (2020) with Julie Perrin and Yvane Chapuis. She has been working with composer Kasper T. Toeplitz since 1999.

The choreographer develops a dance that smooths metrical structures, creating a flowing rhythm that draws us in. To begin with, she introduces attendees to yoga breathing and meditation techniques, to guide their dance by the elasticity of breathing and the agility of conscience. Next comes experimentation of the rapport between thought and dance, and the individual choices that stem from the open indications of the composition. The workshop may include physical contact for those who wish.