Jo Shapland
Accompanied by musician: Frances Bolley
Date: Friday 6th and 13th December
Time: 10am - 11:30am
Venue: Chapter, Cardiff, The Dance Studio
​​​​About class
Freshly back from a two month project in Japan, Jo will be sharing outcomes of an intensive lab and performances with internationally acclaimed Butoh dance theatre company Gekidan Kaitaisha and of her immersion into ancient Japanese theatre and dance traditions. We will play with ways that these bodymind centred approaches can radically enrich our creative practices.
In her workshops Jo Shapland brings in methods for locating and distilling the crux of an individual’s originality through physical conversations with environment, materials and other humans. Jo will facilitate ways to sensitize to your own body and your surroundings at a deeper level, preparing, awakening and attuning both individual and ensemble. Participants will gain new insights into unlocking their innate creativity and releasing their embodied imagination, providing them with new tools and approaches to making work in a variety of forms and media.
You are encouraged to bring a sketch/note book and your favourite drawing materials.
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About Jo Shapland​
Jo Shapland’s work is dance, whether through the flow of change in materials and objects, film imagery or the body moving through space. Fundamentally concerned with relating and responding to nature and a desire to witness through the body, her site-specific projects range from ruined farm-buildings to traditional proscenium theatres, from natural wilderness to urban architectural interiors. Originally trained as a Contemporary Dancer, she now practices Asian martial/meditation arts, aerial circus and improvisation, and continues to explore inner dance and its effect on presence and creativity.
Recent filmdances include Soluna, Corvid, Swyn-gân/Summoning, and her hand-drawn animation, Spectra.
Her Chrysalis, Limen and upcoming Observatree smudge the border between sculpture and performance.
She performed and facilitated the climate activist Red Rebel Brigade from its beginnings in 2019 at Extinction Rebellion’s spring uprising through to COP 26. In January 2020 Jo performed ‘Told by the Wind’ (co-created with the Llanarth Group, with whom she performed internationally 2009-2020) at ITFOK, India. Other highlights of her career include celebrating the expansion of Mostyn, Llandudno, with her 5 year Residency ‘[in]scape’; her “Being in Place” Creative Wales Major Award project led to nature-connected Rites of Passage and to build a ritualized practice of nature immersion. To this end, since 2016 Jo has been training with The Helpers Mentoring Society and from 2015-2019 Jo co-facilitated nature immersion for The Art of Mentoring UK. She has a continuing practice of co-facilitating overnight Fire Quest and Community Fire ceremonies. These celebrate, animate and respond to traditional rite and ceremony from specific indigenous cultures and have, through reciprocity, a big influence on Jo's current work.
Am Dosbarth
Yn ôl yn ffresh ar ôl dau fis o brosiect yn Siapan, mi fydd Jo yn rhannu canlyniadau labordy dwys a pherfformiadau efo cwmni theatr dawns Butoh o fri rhyngwladol, Gekidan Kaitaisha ac o'i throchiad i draddodiadau theatr a dawns hynafol Japan. Fe fyddwn yn chwarae efo ffyrdd gall yr ymagweddau corff-ganolog yma gyfoethogi ein harferion creadigol yn radical.
Yn ei gweithdai mae Jo Shapland yn dod â dulliau er mwyn lleoli a distyllu y crux o wreiddioldeb yr unigolyn trwy sgyrsiau corfforol efo’r amgylchedd, defnyddiau a phobl eraill. Mi fydd Jo yn hwyluso’r ffyrdd i sensiteiddio ein corff ein hunan a’n amgylchoedd ar lefel ddyfnach, gan baratoi, deffro a tiwnio yn unigol a fel ensemble. Mi fydd cyfranogwyr yn ennill mewnwelediad i fewn i ddadgloi ei creadigrwydd a rhyddhau ymgorfforiad dychymyg, gan roi offer a dynesiadau er mwyn gwneud gwaith mewn amryw o ffurfiau a chyfryngau.
Annogwch chi i ddod a llyfr nodiadau/braslunio ac eich ddeunyddio braslunio.
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Am Jo Shapland​
Dawns yw gwaith Jo Shapland, boed hynny trwy lif y newid mewn deunyddiau a gwrthrychau, delweddaeth ffilm neu’r corff yn symud trwy’r gofod. Yn ymwneud yn sylfaenol ag ymwneud ac ymateb i natur ac awydd i dystio trwy'r corff, mae ei phrosiectau safle-benodol yn amrywio o adeiladau fferm adfeiliedig i theatrau proseniwm traddodiadol, o anialwch naturiol i adeiladau pensaernïol trefol. Wedi’i hyfforddi’n wreiddiol fel Dawnsiwr Cyfoes, mae bellach yn ymarfer crefft ymladd/myfyrio Asiaidd, syrcas awyr a gwaith byrfyfyr, ac mae’n parhau i archwilio dawns fewnol a’i heffaith ar bresenoldeb a chreadigedd. Mae ei dawnsiau ffilm diweddar yn cynnwys Soluna, Corvid, Swyn-gân/Summoning, a'i hanimeiddiad wedi'i dynnu â llaw, Spectra.
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Mae ei Chrysalis, Limen ac Observatree sydd ar ddod yn llyfnu'r ffin rhwng cerflunwaith a pherfformiad.
Perfformiodd a hwylusodd yr ymgyrchydd hinsawdd Red Rebel Brigade o’i dechreuadau yn 2019 yng ngwrthryfel y gwanwyn Extinction Rebellion hyd at COP 26. Ym mis Ionawr 2020 perfformiodd Jo ‘Told by the Wind’ (wedi’i chreu ar y cyd â Grŵp Llanarth, a bu’n perfformio’n rhyngwladol gyda nhw. 2009-2020) yn ITFOK, India. Mae uchafbwyntiau eraill ei gyrfa yn cynnwys dathlu ehangiad Mostyn, Llandudno, gyda’i Phreswyliad 5 mlynedd ‘[in]scape’; arweiniodd ei phrosiect Dyfarniad Mawr Cymru Greadigol “Bod yn ei Le” at Defodau Tramwy a oedd yn gysylltiedig â natur ac at adeiladu arfer defodol o drochi byd natur. I’r perwyl hwn, ers 2016 mae Jo wedi bod yn hyfforddi gyda The Helpers Mentoring Society ac o 2015-2019 bu Jo yn cyd-hwyluso trochi natur ar gyfer The Art of Mentoring UK. Mae ganddi arferiad parhaus o gyd-hwyluso Chwest Tân dros nos a seremonïau Tân Cymunedol. Mae'r rhain yn dathlu, yn animeiddio ac yn ymateb i ddefod a seremoni draddodiadol o ddiwylliannau brodorol penodol ac mae ganddynt, trwy ddwyochredd, ddylanwad mawr ar waith cyfredol Jo.