Jo Shapland
Date: Friday 5th, 12th, 19th July
Time: 10am - 11:30am
Venue: Chapter Arts, Cardiff, The Dance Studio
Jo Shapland’s Groundwork Collective workshops, July 2024 accompanied by sound/music from Rosie Brown of Ardal Bicnic
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“A body in life is more than a body merely alive”
- Eugenio Barber.
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About class
These workshops will share Jo Shapland’s 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 sensitise 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.
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You are encouraged to bring a sketch/note book and your favourite drawing materials.
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About Jo Shapland
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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.
Gweithdai Jo Shapland efo Groundwork Collective, Gorffenaf 2024 yng nghwmni sain/cerddoriaeth gan Rosie Brown o Ardal Bicnic
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“A body in life is more than a body merely alive”
- Eugenio Barber.
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Am Dosbarth
Mi fydd y gwethdai yma yn rhannu dulliau Jo Shapland ar gyfer lleoli a distyllu craidd gwreiddioldeb unigolyn trwy sgyrsiau corfforol â’r amgylchedd, defnyddiau a pobl gwahanol.
Fydd Jo yn hwyluso ffyrdd o sensiteiddio i’ch corff eich hun ac i’ch amgylchedd ar lefel dyfnach, gan baratoi, deffro a tiwnio fel unigolyn ac fel ensemble.
Fydd cyfranogwyr yn ennill mewnwelediad newydd i dddatgloi eu creadigrwydd cynhenid a rhyddhau eu creadigrwydd, gan ddarparu offer a dulliau newydd iddynt o wneud gwaith mewn amrywiaeth o ffurfiau a chyfryngau.
Cewch eich annog i ddod a llyfr dylunio/nodiadiau a’ch hoff ddefnyddiau arlunio.​
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Am Jo Shapland
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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.