Class Dates
Digital Dance Classes
Digital Dance Class I
This class combines strengthening elements with release based exercises that emphasise breath and flow. The training begins with a focus on the center through basic yoga poses and continues with moving technical exercises (plies, foot work, floor work, curves /swings) which allow the body to open, creating length and volume. Directional changes, use of weight, fusion of fluidity and groundedness are all key elements in weiss-mann technique, as well as rhythm and musicality. The concepts explored in the warm up are called upon again in the end phase of class with longer traveling combinations which invite the dancer to move with complete surrender.
Digital Dance Class II
This new class is a dynamic technical flow in the weissmann technique, created by me and Jennifer Mann.
I will lead you through a structured warm-up, followed by moving sequences and across the floor phrases.
Train at home and be inspired with new contemporary combinations!
Contemporary Dance Class
Contemporary dance class (weiss-mann technique*)
Heidi Weiss teaches a structured contemporary technique class (weiss-mann*) with strong roots in modern dance. The class combines strengthening elements with release-based exercises that emphasise breath and flow. The training begins with a focus on the center through basic yoga poses and continues with moving technical exercises (plies, foot work, floor work, curves, swings) which allow the body to open, creating length and volume. Directional changes, use of weight, fusion of fluidity and groundedness are all key elements, as well as rhythm and musicality. The class progresses from center to across the floor, followed by a longer combination and jumps. The concepts explored in the warm up are called upon again, challenging dancers to test their edge in the end phase of class. Aside from developing an understanding of the weiss-mann style and building upon one's technical skills, the main goal of the class is to discover the intention behind the movement. In addition, dancers are encouraged to move with authenticity, curiosity and passion!
Group Motion Workshop
Collective Dance Making in the Moment
A Creative Practice
The Group Motion Workshop is a two hour long, nonstop guided process of dance/movement improvisation with live music. Based on structures and scores created and developed by Brigitta Herrmann and Manfred Fischbeck, the Workshop combines highly refined structures of improvisation, movement meditations, and contact dance. It is an outgrowth of their work with the Group Motion Dance Company originated in 1971. It is being conducted regularly every Friday night in Philadelphia for over forty years and has toured to festivals, dance centers, colleges and schools in the US and other countries such as Japan, Taiwan, Argentina, Germany, France, Poland, Lithuania, Cyprus, Bermuda and Barbados.
This tradition is now being implemented and carried on by Group Motion WS trainees, Berlin based teachers Jennifer Mann and Heidi Weiss, and performing artist and leading Group Motion Workshop facilitator/teacher (since 2010) Laina Fischbeck from Rennes, France. An ensemble of musicians supports this interactive space with live improvised acoustic and electronic music.
No previous dance experience is required. The Group Motion Workshop offers a space for interactivity and communication which is spontaneous, deep and direct, allowing for new channels of creative potential to open. It serves as a resource for creative and authentic expression through movement and sound, and can be utilized as a creative practice for all levels and all ages.
The overlap of participants from various backgrounds and a variety of ages, adds a powerful dimension of mutual learning and exchange of movement information and encourages the integration of body, mind and spirit.
These structures are practiced in ways of playing, discovering and experiencing individually and collectively. Compositions and choreographic patterns can be spontaneously created and experienced. The Group Motion practice creates a ritual space for building community.
Photograph: Laurence Chaperon
weissmann teacher training
New Opportunity in 2024
What does it mean to be a dance teacher? How do you cultivate the skills necessary to guide a student into a safe experience that is simultaneously physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually engaging? How do you pass on the lineage of modern dance in a way that authentically expresses itself through your heart, your expression and unique voice? The art of teaching, like all art forms, requires a lot of practice, trial and error and a constant refreshing of methods, concepts and approaches.
This program is intended for dancers and dance educators who wish to awaken or deepen teaching skills. The weissmann teacher training is created for moving artists seeking an immersion into both practice and theory specifically in the weissmann technique. You should hold a diploma or higher degree in dance / dance education to join this teacher training, as well as have had experience in the weissmann style.
The training is divided throughout the year into 3 intensive modules. Each module consists of 6 training days, containing both elements of practice and theory, while highlighting specific aspects of teaching the weissmann technique. These building blocks follow a clear linear structure. The modules are layered and communicate how a weissmann class is created and the intention in which it is taught. This system can help you develop teaching skills, can be used to enrich the classes that you already teach, or can prepare you for teaching a dance class influenced by the weissmann technique.
The 3rd module culminates with an in depth feedback session. An exchange about your personal growth, teaching presence, and skills will be discussed with your mentors, with time set aside to set new goals and intentions for the next steps on your teaching journey.
