Slow Tempo

Taught by Peter Kyle

July 15–21, 2012

Peter Kyle ~ Photo by David Tucker

Slow Tempo is an approach to physical performance that incorporates a slow movement practice with an improvisational sensibility. The Slow Tempo workshop taught by choreographer Peter Kyle combines the physical training method of Japanese theater director Shogo Ohta with contemporary dance techniques that emphasize the moment-to-moment fact of one’s “being here.” Through this work individuals develop improved concentration, sensitivity to the totality of thought and motion, and greater impact in performance.

Daily sessions begin with a thorough, full-body warm-up, followed by instruction in Slow Tempo technique. Additional structured improvisations allow for free exploration of moving in extreme slowness, where Ohta believed “we find fresh expression to defamiliarize our daily experience—to look again.” Throughout the week we will compose a movement script in which all participants will perform. Ample personal time in the natural Bearnstow setting will bring additional meaning and inspiration to this form. This program is ideal for actors, dancers, directors, choreographers, and anyone interested in movement and performance. Resident and Day Participants welcome.

Comments from previous Slow Tempo participants:

“The Slow Tempo work was astonishing! Any actor wanting to develop his or her sense of presence, economy, and immediacy in performance should explore this work.”

—Jonathan Becker, Actor, Director, Assistant Professor, Ball State University Theater Department

“Participating in Slow Tempo at Bearnstow was transformative. The balance of rigorous training, the natural beauty of Bearnstow, comaraderie and laughter made for a magical week. Peter Kyle’s teaching is clear and inviting, challenging and supportive.”

—Robin Gilmore, Director, Chesapeake Bay Alexander Studies (www.chesapeakealexander.com)

“As a longtime dancer, dance educator, I believe Slow Tempo is a particularly valuable movement experience—generous in immediate, deeply personal lessons as well as enlightening in functional and biomechanical feedback. I recommend both the form and Peter Kyle’s teaching. Months after the workshop I still think about the work and experience the influence of it in my own dancing and choreography.”

—Lucy DuBose, MA, CMA, DTR

“In August I spent a week exploring performance in Slow Tempo in a camp by a lake in Maine. Time shifted perceptibly at Bearnstow that week and has stayed shifted every since. Rarely have I walked away from a workshop with such a sense of potential.”

—Carol Dilley, Director of Dance, Bates College

Peter Kyle is Artistic Director of Peter Kyle Dance in New York City. An accomplished choreographer, teacher, filmmaker, and critically acclaimed performer (Murray Louis & Nikolais Dance, Mark Morris Dance Group and Erick Hawkins Dance Company, among others), he first encountered Slow Tempo in 2000 while working on a production of Ohta’s Mizu No Eki, in Seattle. In 2002 he accompanied Pacific Performance Project/east to Japan to work with Mr. Ohta. He is among the first instructors in the United States to teach Mr. Ohta’s work. Peter is a highly regarded teacher of dance and movement for actors. He teaches currently at Sarah Lawrence College and Marymount Manhattan College, and frequently conducts master classes, residencies and workshops throughout the United States and internationally. Peter holds an MFA in Dance from University of Washington and a BA in Dance and German Area Studies from Kenyon College. For more information go to: www.peterkyledance.org.

Download Peter Kyle’s CV (PDF).