AN INTEGRAL TRAINING BY MARTINO NICOLETTI, AIMED AT DYNAMICALLY DEVELOPING BODILY AND EMOTIONAL AWARENESS
Dancing with the dragon
(performance at the Buddhist temple of Wat Nyuttitham - Champasak, Laos)
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TRAINING
Based on wide experience
in ethnographic research in the Himalayas and on practical studies on performance
arts and Japanese Butoh dance, the Dynamic
Body Awareness (DBA) programme provides complete training aimed at actively
connecting body, mind and emotions in order to discover the body’s original
beauty and its intrinsic spontaneous expressivity.
Structured on a series of
key elements (such as body posture, body and space awareness, breathing,
visualization, movement, voice), this training is chiefly aimed at those with a
sincere desire for greater contact with their own body and the universe of
their deep emotions. This itinerary also aims at promoting integral conscious
well-being, capable of enhancing our capacity to live our daily life and meet
its challenges, as well as our relationship with ourselves, with others and with
our environment and, finally, at providing a new perspective on our own
personal and inter-personal intimate dimension.
The training is divided
into two different integrated levels:
The
first level mainly focuses on
providing the basic tools needed to discover and stabilize our own personal bodily
awareness. This stage comprises:
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exercises in grounding and relaxation;
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breathing, integrated with movement;
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static and dynamic visualisation;
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awareness of surrounding physic space and the corporeity of others;
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rhythmic awareness and the development of sensorial consciousness;
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integration of movement with specific emotional and mental states;
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static and dynamic exercises in the open air and in a natural environment;
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self-massage techniques.
The second level improves and applies the experience gained during the
first stage, its goal being to stimulate and give shape to our inner
spontaneous expressivity. Due to its specific character, this level of training
is mostly aimed at those with experience in the context of experimental dance,
performance or physical theatre.
Within this framework,
the programme includes in-depth work on both body and emotions through:
- dynamic exercises aimed
at transcending our customary use of the body and its ordinary
functionality;
- visualisation exercises,
integrated with breathing;
- vocal exercises,
integrated with movement, sound, music and dynamic visualisation;
- exercises aimed at
integrating images, feelings and memories in expressive movement.
At this level, training enhances
relations between the body and specific environments – whether urban contexts
or natural habitats (forest, sea, mountain, etc.) – so as to discover their
specific character and qualities and to find the proper “tools” to enter into
osmotic and synergetic contact with them.
At a subsequent stage, training also includes
participation in residential workshops in the Himalayas (Nepal), the Hindu Kush
(Pakistan), Thailand and Italy, focused on developing the knowledge and skills thus
acquired, in direct contact with an absolutely intact natural environment and
in close interaction with the performative and spiritual traditions of the
areas.
Individual training.
Beside involvement in workshops, training may also include work on a very
personal basis (both for adults and children), aimed at targeting specific personal
requirements and aspirations.
THE TRAINER
Martino Nicoletti is an
anthropologist, visual artist and performer. Born in Perugia (Italy) in 1968,
for over twenty years he has been engaged in anthropology and history of
religions in south and south-east Asia.
After his Master’s Degree
in Anthropology at the University of Perugia (1992) and a D.E.A. [Diplôme
d’etude approfondies] in Ethnologie générale et sociologie comparative
at the Université de Paris X (Nanterre) (1994), he specialised in oriental
languages (INALCO, Paris) and scientific cinematography (École pratique des hautes
études - EPHE et
Musée de l’Homme, Paris).
In 2007 he obtained a Ph.D. in Methodologies of Anthropological Research
at the University of Siena – Italy. In 2012 he obtained a second (practice-based)
Ph.D. in Lens-based Arts and Creative Writing at the School of Creative and
Cultural Industries of the University of the West of Scotland.
Since 1990, he has acted as director and principal investigator for research
projects funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Italian
National Research Council (CNR), Cambridge University, the University of Perugia,
the University of Rome II (Tor Vergata), UNESCO (Paris) and the University of
the West of Scotland, carrying out
numerous field-work researches in south Asia (Nepal, Tibet, Pakistan), south-east
Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Laos), the Middle East (Syria), Africa, (Senegal, Cape
Verde, Algeria) and South America (Brazil).
As the result of his investigations, he
has published numerous books on the religions of the Himalayas, multimedia
publications, photographic volumes, documentaries and literary works.
As a performer he
trained in performance and Japanese Butoh dance, participating in workshops
with Japanese, European and American masters including Masaki Iwana, Lindsay
John, Akira Kasai, Alessandro Pintus, Yumiko Yoshioka and Slobodan Dan Paich.
During several lengthy sojourns in Nepal he was also in contact with the shamanic
tradition of eastern Nepal as well as with the Tantric Buddhist dance tradition
of the Kathmandu Valley (Charya Nritya). In this connection he has taken part in
numerous public performances in Italy, Thailand, Laos, Pakistan and Nepal.
In the framework of
visual arts, Martino Nicoletti has implemented many photographic and visual art
projects in Europe, the USA, Africa and Asia. Beside the publication of artist’s
books and multimedia volumes, his artistic work has been displayed in collective
and solo exhibitions in Europe, Asia and the US.
He is currently Senior Lecturer in
Photography at the School of Art and Design of the University of Derby.
Contact: infos.martino@gmail.com.
For more detailed info: www.martinonicoletti.net
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