Pushing Boundaries: GILA Method – Experienced Movers Edition, aged over 50+
2nd – 4th May – DanceEast, Jerwood DanceHouse, Foundry Lane, Ipswich IP4 1DW
Applications open 30th January: close when all places are filled.
Following our Arts Council England funded project Pushing Boundaries in 2025, EncoreEast are thrilled to announce world renowned choreographer and teacher Galit Liss will be running an intensive residency – Experienced Movers Edition, at DanceEast as part of our provision for HOST 2026. The project aims to challenge expectations, raise ambitions, and increase motivation for older dancers.
There are 20 places available for this exciting opportunity.
2nd – 4th May 2025: Three-day intensive workshops at DanceEast
5th May 2025: Host https://www.danceeast.co.uk/workshops/host2026/
What to expect: Galit’s practice delves into the performative presence of the body within space. Through personal exploration, improvisation, and movement research we will cultivate somatic work, imagery, awareness of the body, its senses, and space.
20 selected dancers will embark on a three-day laboratory, exploring body research through the Gila language that examines the unique physiological aesthetics of the older body. Together, we will seek to uncover the unique movement portrait of each dancer. Moving individually and collectively, engaging in dialogue and raising questions about the presence of the body within the performative space and the creative process.
Who Can Apply: Experienced movers with a background in dance, movement, or embodied practice, who are actively engaged in physical work and curious about body research. We are looking for participants interested in investigating how the body inhabits space and presence within a performative context – Not suitable for beginners.
To apply tell us about your experience and motivation. Successful applicants will be sent a booking link.
Fee: Dancer’s contribution is £150 for 3-days intensive workshops with Galit Liss. Dancers need to cover their own travel, accommodation and expenses. There is an option to pay in three instalments. Apply here: https://forms.gle/dtpdWXzdx3Rx3f2k8
About Galit Liss: Galit Liss is an independent choreographer and teacher, and the founder and artistic director of Gila School of Movement and Stage Art. As part of her artistic and social agenda, Galit aspires to push the boundaries of contemporary dance beyond the acceptable perceptions and stereotypes in society and rethink the relevance of any – and every – body. She works to create an artistic space for ageing women and promote the idea of life in a society that enables self-realization and development in the older body. For the past 17 years, Liss has been developing the GiLA practice – a unique methodology for working with the mature body by exploring its distinctive physiological aesthetics. Alongside her artistic work, Galit lectures at professional conferences and events dedicated to challenging stereotypes, particularly around ageing, while exploring creative processes and the connection between art and society.
Galit Liss is the recipient of the prestigious Rosenblum Prize for the Performing Arts by the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality in the category of Artists with Promising Achievements for 2022 and was chosen as one of the ‘Heroes of the Year’ for 2022 by Keshet (Israeli Channel 12) and Mifal HaPais (The Israeli Lottery). She is a member of the Independent Choreographers’ Association, a graduate of the ‘Artists for Social Change’ program 2008 from Musrara School of Photography, Media and New Music, and holds a M.Mus from the Academy of Music and Dance, Jerusalem www.galitliss.com
About EncoreEast: EncoreEast is a performance company of older dancers. We are ambitious in promoting creative, artistic and performance innovation and excellence. We commission professional artists to teach class and workshops, make new work with us, and generate new understandings about dance and older people. Presenting positive images of age, we blur boundaries between professional and community practice.
EncoreEast co-curate HOST with DanceEast; a biennial conference celebrating Dance and Age. We began a national conversation interrogating themes that affect older dancers. The conversation was carried forward at both Ageless Festival, Yorkshire Dance and Elixir, Sadler’s Wells. It revealed a desire by participants to engage in projects that offer rigour, fostering environments that promote extended learning throughout our whole lives. We are curious about how high-quality creativity promotes wellbeing and through practice we are exploring how and why this happens. https://encoreeastdance.co.uk/ Contact info@encoreeastdance.co.uk
Photo credit Roswitha Chesher, Eli Passi, Stefano Azario
