A totally Gaga experience.
Gaga- “Very enthusiastic and excited about someone or something.”
Whilst I was working in Germany I heard many good things about the “Gaga technique”. Since then, taking a class or attending a workshop in this technique moved high up on my list of priorities that I wanted to experience as a dancer. This year, I am spending my entire summer vacation in Italy, and when I saw a three day GAGA workshop with the founder Ohad Naharin, advertised on instagram, just 3 hours from where I was staying, I jumped on the chance to attend.
The event was happening in Orsolina 28, which I can only describe as a kind of paradise for dancers. A farmhouse and its surrounding fields, lost in the rolling hills of Piemonte, have been turned into state of the art studios and a unique performing venue. The place provides an immersive retreat-like feel where all fresh food is produced on sight (including their own wine) and the accommodation is in luxury glamping tents, which are designed to spark interaction and the sharing of ideas and good energy. When I say O28 have thought of quite possibly everything for a dancer to feel inspired, rejuvenated, and get their creative juices flowing, they have done it! The place is a true sanctuary, and whilst I was there time seemed to stop still, and I was able to be lifted to a higher sense of self, more in tune, more connected and more at peace.
Now I’ve set the scene for you, I can begin to tell you what was about to take fourth. I felt almost blind going into the experience and it seemed I had very little idea about what to expect, compared to the other 55 dancers from around the world. It was rare that Naharin gave workshops abroad. There was a sense of suspense and appreciation about something special which was about to occur, I think it may’ve been down to the fact that we were easing out of a pandemic that halted all such kinds of events for a long time.
We were all in fact brought there to inaugurate the new studio at O28 called “the eye”. It had been in its creative process for 3 years, and designed around Naharins method of teaching: Instead of standing in front of his students, he stood in the middle of the room with everyone spread out facing him. The lack of mirrors contributed in giving a sense of no front or back, consequently giving significance to space and perception from all directions, equally. The floor felt like silk under the bare foot, and the circular window in the roof directed Italy’s hot sun, depending on the time of day. The “bella aria” which rolled in waves off the hills through the open sides of the studio washed the dancers with rejuvenating energy, and along with the soft breeze flew in bugs of all shapes and sizes, which was perhaps the only downfall of working in a sea of nature.
I am not about to explain to you in depth exactly what kind of information we had the privilege in exploring, as I am not even sure I have the right. Before attending the classes everyone must sign a document agreeing to not teach the Gaga methods as there are only certified teachers, and Naharins dancers whom are given permission. What we were handed, in Naharins words, were “the keys to unlock treasures that were locked inside of us all.” I can tell you most of what we learnt Naharin talks about in the second episode of the Netflix documentary “Move”. At 69 years old Naharin, having a fatal back surgery and living many years in pain, has spent his life dedicated to dance to heal, and dance to find pleasure and joy in the body, even when not all the body can. Then, finding the right way to communicate his ideas and concepts of this. Beyond this, he claims to be a “junkie for big emotions”, which contradicts his very calm and harmonic nature. I can tell you that I’ve never enjoyed dancing so much as I have being lead by him. The exploration of movement resonated with me on a more purposeful driven nature. The notes and theories that I took to apply to my training and growth as a dancer are beyond my imagination. It was not only working on concepts of movement, there were also classically technical aspects where I re-discovered the développé, plié, piqué, and tendu.
After the workshop was over we had the chance to sit down with Ohad and talk to him on a more personal level. At this point, I felt overwhelmed at everything good that dance had to offer to the world. I was left emotional being able to release things inside my body, and connect on a deeper level to what really mattered to me, and the people in my life.
I shall leave this post as it started; just as I was directed towards Gaga, if ever you’re given a chance to take a Gaga class, go for it! I hope one day I can bring a Gaga teacher to Estonia and share this experience with the dancers that I hold dear.
I am grateful to the Estonian Ballet Union for supporting me on this endeavour.
It was about time that I uploaded a video of me dancing. Taken after I got back from the workshop and with Tommaso Maganzani to accompany me :)
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