Workshop: Developing Screendance Practice

Santa Monica College, USA

April 6, 10:00 AM - April 7, 4:00 PM, 2024

Join award-winning director and artist Katrina McPherson, author of Making Video Dance and Course Leader of the MA Screendance at London Contemporary Dance School, for a practical 2-day workshop in the art of screendance. Evolve the skills to create / adapt performance for screen and explore approaches to making screendance. Please bring a camera or phone to use and wear clothes that you can move in. There will be tasks set for you to do during and following the weekend for which access to some editing software is preferable but not essential.

Santa Monica College

Dance Department Studio

1900 Pico Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90405

https://dcw2024.eventive.org/schedule/workshop-with-katrina-mc-pherson-6580ce6fc421ae005a78e714

Screendance in the Landscape workshop

with Katrina McPherson

@EAsdale Island, Scotland

SATURDAY 8TH JUNE - SATURDAY 15 JUNE 2024

We are delighted to announce new 2024 dates for the popular Screendance in the Landscape workshop with Katrina McPherson and Colin McPherson on Easdale Island on the West Coast of Scotland .

Places are limited to a maximum of 6 on the week-long workshop. A number of places in 2024 are already taken, so if you are interested in participating, please book as soon as possible.

To book, please email: colinmcpherson@mac.com

Screendance in the Landscape 2019 from Katrina McPherson on Vimeo.

A short promotional film made by Colin McPherson about the Screendance in the Landscape workshop on Easdale Island that was lead by Katrina McPherson and Colin McPherson in September 2019.

Screendance in the Landscape Workshop on Easdale Island, 2018

This course offers participants an amazing opportunity to work Katrina McPherson, one the most celebrated and innovative contemporary artists who uses dance and film to create outstanding and acclaimed bodies of work. This intensive, hands-on course will participants to learn directly from Katrina, taking as their inspiration the word that she has produced over a 30-year career. Participants will be tutored and guided into planning and making a short piece of work, which will incorporate film, dance, and the dramatic landscape of Easdale island. Professional dancers are provided as a resource, and participants will be encouraged to take a collaborative approach to making their work on the island. Katrina will be supported by her brother, Colin McPherson, a photographic artist whose work has been exhibited and published at home and abroad for nearly 30 years. He will lead a short technical session on cameras, composition and light.

In 2024, we will offer 1 course:

-Saturday 8th - Saturday 15th June

On Easdale, Katrina will lead the group in a mixture of practical exercises, both collaborative and individual, designed to encourage exploration, skill-acquisition and inquiry into the form. Opportunities will be created through: facilitated exercises; research of proposed themes; open time for play and experimentation; pushing boundaries while searching for new possibilities; and the opportunity for students to create and share their own work.

As well as exploring the creative possibilities offered by the natural landscape, Katrina is interested in sharing her observations around the nature of the dancing, embodied camera, and the inter-changing role of dancer and camera, the observer and the observed, while filming and dancing.

Places are limited to 6 participants per workshop, so please book early to avoid disappointment.

Course cost: £1,950 all inclusive. In addition to the workshop fee, your only additional cost is travel to and from Oban from where we will transport you to the beautiful island of Easdale, via a 20-minute car and 3 minute boat ride from the train station.

Accommodation and food are included in the price of the workshop. All meals are provided (vegetarian) and special diets can be catered for (vegan/gluten free). Accommodation is on the Island, in comfortable and modern cottages that look out over the Firth of Lorne to the neighbouring island of Mull and each participant will have their own separate bedroom, with shared kitchen and bathroom.

The ultimate aim of the week is to give you a break from your daily activities and to allow you to benefit from the physical and mental space to focus on making new work, exploring new possibilities, and forging new friendships, connections and collaborations, living in comfort in the most beautiful of landscapes. Participants should bring their own cameras and laptops for reviewing and editing their material generated on the workshop. Cameras can be as sophisticated or simple as you wish - even a basic DSLR will give good results. Due to the high costs of insurance, we are unfortunately unable to offer the use of any of our equipment to participants. Please do be in touch if you’d like to discuss what equipment you have/can access and it suitability.

For more information, and to book your place with a deposit of £175 please contact: Colin McPherson at colinmcpherson@mac.com

As Easdale Island is only accessible by a small boat and there are no smooth roads or pathways on the island which means sadly this particular workshop venue is not suitable for wheelchair-users, however other disabilities can be supported.

Screendance in the Landscape Workshop on Easdale Island, 2019

Feedback from participants on the 2018 workshop on Easdale Island:

The combination of physical exercises, technique, exercises in groups and time on your own with the dancers was great, as well as the recurrent catch-ups of reflection and feedback. Helen, Sweden.

I have no hesitation in absolutely recommending the course to all. Colin is a master chef and meal times were lovely. Mary, Ireland.

My confidence has grown since the workshop and I can’t wait to do more with Screendance. I was never afraid to ask questions even if it seemed obvious or silly. They would answer questions thoroughly making sure that you understand. Courtney, England.

Katrina and Colin are a good team! Really enjoyed the movement workshops in the hall, dancing in nature, watching through all of Katrina’s films in the cottage, and playing with new lenses and gimble. Lewis, Scotland.