PR ARCHIVES
April Immersion 2018
Group photo after exploring boundaries, extension, weight-sharing and consent at Nelson A. Rockefeller park
Our April immersion focused on falling, consent, comfortability and extensions.
April 7th, 2018
Ione and Colleen working on extensions
Joanna working with an extension
Nancy and Gabe testing out their comfortability
Nancy working on weight-sharing with different parts of her body
Shana using extensions to explore the environment
Joanna working on weight-sharing
Gabe falling with grace
Tutorial video on Parcon Lenses
Want to try out some Parcon? Watch our first instructional video here! Let us know what you think! There are many more to come! -filming by Brandon Hoshiko
Thank you to Sam Hoshiko (son of a friend) for allowing your learning process to be shared with others!
Fall of 2017 in San Jose, CA
6 different Parcon Resilience lenses
Place, Body, Touch, Locomote(Mobilize), Connect and Imagine
Dragon Egg Presents: Triskeleon Arts 2016
Parcon NYC manipulated dozens of cardboard boxes as environment, objects and partners in a Black Box Theater for Dragon Egg Presents.
Where: Triskelion Arts (106 Calyer St, Brooklyn, NY 11222)
When: September 24, 2016
Perfomers: Dean James Beckwith, Cecilia Fontanesi, Javaka Steptoe (Parcon NYC)
Created by: Dean James Beckwith, Cecilia Fontanesi, Funda Gul, Richard Kim, Javaka Steptoe, Andrew Suseno
What: Parcon NYC performing as part of Dragon’s Egg Presents at Triskelion Arts. Parcon NYC explored using Card board boxes as an extension for expression and weight sharing with each other and the environment.
read an audience review on the “Dance Enthusiast” website here!
Radical Contact (March)- led by Aurora Westerfelt
Aurora taught Parcon at the 2nd Radical Contact Gathering for 2018! “I like that it becomes like a long trip, step by step - the clear frames with a stream of improvised talk through it like a long story....” - Aurora
Class taught and recounted by Aurora Westfelt:
Where: Sweden: Blekinge Folkhögskola
Who: Two people of color and three cis-men, and four non binary persons and a bunch of cis-women, and one child
When: Mar 30- Apr2, 2018
What: "I felt most inspired in a space upstairs that had tables and chairs and doors and stair case so we spent the first of the two hours there (starting with walking up together after telling about Parcon and what you do Andrew, as well as I could..). Then I went through all the lenses, reminding and giving examples of no-s al through, as well as going for the yes-es… I like that it becomes like a long trip, step by step - the clear frames with a stream of improvised talk through it like a long story.... People where floating and playing and climbing and almost falling asleep and also laughing and giggling some witch surprised me a bit, but it was a very giggly group… A few people said they specially liked this first part. Someone said they liked that I talked all the time, someone else that they liked how I lead it. Many liked the playfulness.
Second part we spent in the dance space. I divided them so half the group was furniture/obstacles in the space and the other half explorers and then we changed. Then I told my ideas about working with borders and we did the same thing but the obstacles being borders. People where a bit sleepy and the obstacles and borders where a lot like lumps on the floor, haha. But some where really exploring.
Aurora Westfelt
When I told the idea I noticed people where first thinking of personal borders, so I said the different kind of borders I have been thinking of - inside the body the cells, the skin towards the world, borders between people – but that I mostly was thinking of borders between countries - something that is put up by those that have power over other people, power deciding who get through and who don’t, and when and how – ruling over how peoples bodies get to travel/not travel I space… When I told my ideas I realized that there where only two people in the space that gets to experience how country borders restricts their possibilities to travel because of where they come from and the color of their skin.
I’m anyway encouraged to continue working on this thing with borders… It connects with my ideas about working with directions – different directions opening up, closing in, giving possibilities, stopping possibilities, making people move, making the body move in space (and spirals...)…"
University of London: undergrad architectural design class
This workshop highlighted how the body can be used to understand human design.
Where: City Hall 4-5-6 Subway, NYC, NY
When: 3/21/17
Who: Royal Haolloway, University of London
What: Parcon for undergraduate design students touring NYC. The workshop highlighted how the body can be used to understand human design.
Harlem Arts Festival: SPACES
Parcon partnered up with the Kaimera Productions and Human Collective to play with using Parcon to emphasize the tactile and kinesthetic cues from live local story tellers from Harlem.
Where: Mount Morris Ascension Presbyterian Church (15 Mt. Morris Park West, NYC NY)
When: June 24, 2017
Who: Akojaiye Ausar, , Cecilia Fontanesi, Funda Gul, Andrew Suseno, in collaboration with Kaimera Productions,
What: Parcon NYC partnered up with the Kaimera Productions and Human Collective to play with using Parcon to emphasize the tactile and kinesthetic cues from live story tellers.
Revolutionary Fitness: Parcon
Free Parcon classes to member of the Rev Fit East Harlem community. "Revolutionary Fitness trains our community members so they can help and empower their friends and family with the message of health and fitness."
photo by Shawn Garcia (on timer)
Where: 1637 Park Avenue, NYC, NY
When: Summer/ Fall of 2017
Who: For member of the Rev Fit community (low income POC of East Harlem)
What: Free Parcon classes to member of the Rev Fit community. "Revolutionary Fitness trains our community members so they can help and empower their friends and family with the message of health and fitness."
Stick Stroll
Poles are an extension of our limbs: vaulting, sensing the environment, gesturing through the space, and making contact.
photo by John Sheffield
What: Stick Strolls are Parcon explorations with a 6 foot hardwood dowel. Extension exploration can be done with any object: blankets, ropes, cones, books, cushions. It all comes down to how we connect with the world through our bodies and their relationships to others, objects and the world.
Where: 52 Walker St, Church st. Boxing Gym, NYC, NY 10013
When: December 10, 2017
Who: Parcon students drawn from Contact Improvisation community and Movement Creative
Click here to see some footage of the event:
Testimony:
Mixed Abilities @Nelson A Rockefeller Park - summer 2017
Summer of 2017 a handful of mover with disabilities and Andrew began to build curriculum for Mixed Abilities Parcon at the Nelson A Rockefeller Park, NYC, NY.
Mixed Abilities Parcon classes is an affinity class for people who identify or have been forced to identify as a person with a disability and allies. These workshops and classes are co-created with people with disabilities in the Parcon community to craft curriculum for all that centers the experiences of people with disabilities.
Location: Nelson A Rockefeller Park: West on Chambers St toward the Hudson, NYC NY
*All Parcon Resilience classes are physically integrated! These classes in the summer of 2017 were particularly centered on the development of affinity and tools for people with disabilities.
Testimony: "As a movement form, Parcon has the capacity to publicly expose and dismantle the limitations that society has imposed on our identities one collective exploration at a time. It's ironic the very bodies which dehumanize us in the eyes of the powerful, also serve as containers of the strength, resilience, ingenuity and creativity we use daily to thrive in environments that are often unjustly restrictive and oppressive." -Colleen Roche
Parcon Generations:
Parcon Gen seeks to build relationships between adults and children that support empathy and transformation. We seek to create curriculum that honors the development of children and the particular role to movement and the body of caregivers.
Children take to Parcon as a natural extension of what they do. They request help to meet challenges around them and will use any body part to achieve their goals. The above video shares the exploration of Lenses with Sam, the son of a friend’s in California. Through this video you will see how Parcon invites and enhances the movement dialogue between bodies of varying sizes.
Parcon Generation classes took place in the Summer 2017 (Jefferson park 1st ave and 114th st) with local parents and 4-5 year olds. Then in the school year of 2017-2018 Parcon was shared after school with children in the Central Park East 1 public Elementary school.
Immersion Weekends of 2018
The Immersion weekend is a chance to take a deep dive into the Parcon world. Any combination of classes can be put together depending on who is coming and what they are interested in. A general Immersion schedule consist of Parcon classes to orient movers to the Resilience currilculum, skill development in solo, duet, and extensions in Parcon, and social justice investigation.
Where: These weekends happen in a variety of public and private locations. Depending on the weather, public spaces may be in parks, near or on statues or on benches or it may be in a stairwell, or on the subway. Private spaces may be rentals to allow for more vulnerable and deeper investigations. It all depends on what the focus of the weekend is.
When: 9-7 with 2 hours break for lunch. In New York we try to crash the Saturday Jam space.
Who: Anyone, but especially marginalized folks who do not normally attend. We proactively reach out to populations through our regular affinity classes that happen once a week. I give discounts to weekend fee organizers in other cities if they are able to reach out to marginalized communities.
What: The Immersion weekend is a chance to take a deep dive into the Parcon world. Any combination of classes can be put together depending on who is coming and what they are interested in. A general Immersion schedule consist of Parcon classes to orient movers to the Resilience currilculum, skill development in solo, duet, and extensions in Parcon, and social justice investigation.
To read about the prior Immersions click below
June Immersion is still being processed.
Parcon Madrid
Parcon in La Plaza de Queen Sophia en Madrid, Spain!
Where: Queen Sophia's Plaza
When: late May of 2016
Who: Offered to Contact Improvisation Community in Madrid (10 attendees)
What: Parcon exploration of the Plaza
Parcon Project IDACO 2016
Film festival where Parcon NYC debutted Parcon NYC #1: Subway Stops and performed on scaffolding brought into the lobby of the Film Festival.
Where: Italian Performing Arts Center, NYC, NY
When: May 27, 2016
Who: Dean James Beckwith, Cecilia Fontanesi, Richard Kim, Javaka Steptoe (Parcon NYC) in collaboration with Jesse Danger (The Movement Creative)
What: Film festival where Parcon NYC debutted Parcon NYC #1: Subway Stops and performed on scaffolding brought into the lobby of the Film Festival.
photo credit by M. Noyale
photo credit by M. Noyale
photo credit by M. Noyale
Mixed Abilities Parcon at the Axis Project 2017
Axis Project is a a gym, rehab center, social gathering place for people with physical disabilities. Parcon Mixed Abilities is a class geared toward understanding and teaching toward their experience.
Where: Axis Project 1325 5th Avenue, NYC, NY
When: Every Wednesday 4-5 from summer of 2017 -
Who: Open to all members of the gym
What: Axis Project is a a gym, rehab center, social gathering place for people with physical disabilities. Parcon Mixed Abilities is a class geared toward understanding and teaching toward their experience.
Sticks Stroll IDACO 2017
Parcon NYC opened the Italian Dance Connection Festival with 10 minute structured improvisations using wooden poles to vault, sense, and influence each other and the environment.
Where: Baruch Performing Arts Center (55 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10010)
When: June 2 & June 4, 2017
Who: Akojaiye Ausar, Cecilia Fontanesi, Funda Gul, Andrew Suseno (Parcon NYC) in collaboration with Jose Gabriel Alvarez-Manilla Sanchez, Ruby Romero, Albert Yau (Movement Creative)
What: Parcon NYC opened the Italian Dance Connection Festival with 10 minute structured improvisations using wooden poles to vault, sense, and influence each other and the environment.
flim by Perry Sheffield
Click here to see a video of one of our performances!
Puerto Rico: Negotiating Boundaries
Parcon in PR with a phenomenal community!
“Testimony:
”PARCON in PR. The workshop of Parcon Resilience provide us an opportunity to explore the space and our relationship with the structures and ourselves as a group and as individuals. Andrew Suseno facilitated a beautiful and thoughtful workshop with our community here in San Juan, PR. Through the workshop I was able to explore body awareness thru the understanding of tension and non tension place when we relate to each other and our surroundings. PARCON gives us opportunities to understand relationships between bodies and structures as an exploration of self awareness and trust.”
”
Who: 14 attendees from the Danza Contacto community and others!
What: We examined how the tone in our body changes when our boundaries are respected versus crossed in space. This exploration informed the contact we made with each other and the places we occupy.
Photos from PR community
Parcon NYC #1: Subway Stops
Silver Judges Award for the Contact Dance International Film Festival 2017
Where: 96 st station 2/3 train Subway stop, nearby scaffolding, train, and house in the Bronx.
When: Screening NYC, [National Debut] May 27, 2016 ; Screening Venezia, [international debut] May 14, 2017
Screening Toronto, June 28 to July 2, 2017: Silver Judges Award for the Contact Dance International Film Festival 2017
Who: Dean James Beckwith, Cecilia Fontanesi, Richard Kim, Javaka Steptoe and Andrew Suseno.
What: A Latinx teenager makes her way through NYC using the subway and begins to notice interesting movement in the background of her everyday world.
Filmed and editted by Martin Martin and Satoko Sugiyama
Press here to see the short film!
Project East Harlem (LMCC)
Parcon Lenses, each one expressed at a different location on a shared walking tour of the park. By the final location the audience and performers had a Parcon moving experience together on the playground. Photo by Luka & Editting of film by Jacqueline Wade
Where: House of Duende and Jefferson Park (1st ave & 112th street)
When: September 23 & 24, 2017
Who: Akojaiye Ausar, Cecilia Fontanesi, Funda Gul, Andrew Suseno (Parcon NYC), Dorren Moglii Smith (House of Duende), and (Brianna Anderson, Leah Moriarty) Movement of the People Dance.
What: Our performance consisted of exploring Parcon from different lenses, each one expressed at a different location on a shared walking tour of the park. By the final location the audience and performers had a Parcon moving experience together on the playground. Project East Harlem was made possible in part with public funds from Creative Engagement, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.
Thanks to Jacqueline Wade for editting the camera work.
Testimony: