April 10th → 15th , 2022

BOULDER, Colorado, USA

THE 20 MOVEMENTS OF JACQUES LECOQ

La rose des efforts, Jacques Lecoq (1997) (The rose of efforts)

The 20 Movements (20M) are a series of movements devised by Jacques Lecoq and taught at his school as a form of practice for the actor. They contain some fundamental principles of movement in the theatrical space. Each of these movements is a “form” to be learnt, practiced, rehearsed, refined and performed.
As in martial arts or in any artistic discipline (music, dance, painting, sculpture… ), in the 20M we find the notion of “a set form” in which the artist applies some of the fundamental rules of this art. Similar to what in music is an “exercise de style” or a “divertimento,” each of the 20M is a piece of writing in which the actor practices and explores one, or more, specific techniques or principles.
Like scales for a musician, the 20M are a form of practice that the actor is never too good to abandon. It’s a movement training that can continue for the entire career of the actor-creator.

As referential forms, they are “impossible” in the sense that it is impossible to perform them perfectly. Therefore they can be practiced over and over, in more and more details, in the quest for the “justesse” of gestures.
They teach the humility of practice. You can always be corrected; therefore, you can always re-learn them and always re-teach them.
Each of them is a referential movement that allows the actor to understand the many expressive variations of that movement.
They are practiced in a state of neutrality. The body is constantly reminded to stay in a pre-character state. The actor’s persona disappears and THE movement appears. For this reason they are an excellent training for the neutral state.

Jaques Lecoq essentialised this notion with this statement “A verb has no opinion”.
While a verb has no option, the character does, and their opinion will appear in the particular, “personal”, way they engage with the action. The 20M allows an extremely accurate observation of this process.
The 20M are practiced by the actor alone, so they teach the individual about the necessity of taking responsibility for space, time and action, and for refining the poetic body.

Many are the benefits and pedagogic gifts of the 20M.
Here are a few:

Rigor, persistence, the necessity of rehearsing, discipline, facing one’s own limits and physical habits, quest for neutrality, commitment to space, commitment to silence, commitment to movement, the humility of making mistakes and the courage of stating them, the responsibility of creating space and time, seeing the difference between everyday movements and transposed Movement, letting go of personal adjustments and comments, losing the opinions on movement, discovering the state of “economy of movement”, integrating feedback, showing the relationship between neutrality and character and between neutral movement and expressive treatment… and …

The Discobulus, attic cup ca. 490 BC

PRACTICALITIES

ADMISSION
This workshop is addressed to theatre practitioners with previous experiences in movement based theatre and in the Pedagogy of Jacques Lecoq.

LOCATION
The training will take place in Boulder, Colorado, at the BOULDER CIRCUS CENTER. Most classes will happen indoor, and, depending on the weather some sessions will happen outdoors.

Locomotion ondulatoire, (Undulatory locomotion), Jacques Lecoq (1997)

SCHEDULE
The workshop is an intensive 6-day Masterclass, from Sunday April 10th to Friday April 15th, with the following schedule:
April 10th: 1:00 to 6:30pm
April 11th: 9am to 3:30pm
April 12th and 13th: 9:30am to 5:00pm
April 14th: 9am to 3:30pm
April 15th: 9:30am to 5:30pm

ADMISSION

HOW TO APPLY
There is no application form.
To apply please email a letter of motivation
Please include in your letter a short bio and your experience with movement-based theatre and in particular with the 20M

Please send your application to giovanni.fusetti@helikos.com

The 20 Movements workshop, Padova, December 2021

TUITION
The coronavirus crisis has provoked a significant upset in the livelihood of many theatre practitioners, so the tuition is following a sliding scale approach. The sliding scale wants to acknowledge the difficult moment we are facing and the vital urgency we all feel to practice our art and to support each others and the Poetic Field.
If you choose to pay on the the higher side of the scale you are supporting those who have been more seriously affected as well as supporting Giovanni’s work and research with the Helikos School.
If you need to choose the lower end of the scale you are allowing support to be shared. We are in this pandemic together and together we need to care for the poetic garden.

Please indicate in your application the amount that you choose to pay.

Early Bird Tuition: Sliding scale from US$400 to US$600. If full tuition is paid by March 20th.

Full Tuition: Sliding scale from US$500 to US$700. If tuition is paid after March 20th.

Once accepted, to confirm the enrollment, a deposit of $200 is due.
Please note that the deposit is non-refundable. Once the application is accepted, spots in the class will be given in the order the application was received.

Participants: minimum 8 – maximum 18

As of March 15th, the class confirmed and there are spots still available.

Please note that the tuition does not include accommodation and that participants will be responsible for organizing their staying in Boulder.
 

Once completed the enrollment, participants will receive a message containing further practical details about the workshop, as well as the most updated details of the anti-covid health and safety regulations that the group will have to comply with.

LANGUAGE
The workshop will be taught in ENGLISH and a basic understanding of this language is required.

Grimper (Climbing) Jacques Lecoq (1997)

INFORMATION AND APPLICATIONS
For further information about the content of the workshop and for applications, please contact Giovanni Fusetti at

A SAFETY MESSAGE IN TIMES OF PANDEMICS

The training will happen in the rigorous respect of the Federal, State and Local anti-Covid guidance and restrictions, as well as the rules applied by the venue that will host the workshop.
All participants will have to agree in engaging with these rules.
Vaccination will be required for all people who are eligible. On the first day of the class, all participants will need to present the result of a COVID negative test (antigen test or PCR test), taken in the 48 hours before the start, and their valid Vaccination Card.
Upon arrival on the first day of the workshop, before entry, rapid antigen tests will be provided to all participants, free of charge.
Face masks are required except during individual presentation of work, 12 feet away from the audience.

Given the extraordinary circumstances of the coronavirus global crisis, the training will be confirmed ONLY if the scenario will allow the safety necessary to travel and to practice in compliance with the health regulations. In case of cancellation of the training due to COVID, all paid deposit and tuition will be refunded.

See you in Boulder, under the gentle and powerful spell of the Rocky Mountains !