This description is regarding the frame-work of an integrative contemporary dance training that I have been developing since more than three years at the practice of my own dance center in The Netherlands  and at different dance and theatre organizations.

Contemporary Dance (Integral Training)  is an integral practice for movers, dancers, performers, teachers and actors who apply to physical conditioning and regular exercise of their creative potential. All the issues about the integral body, the moving body and the dancing body are addressed in this training frame-work. It works on the base of a professional level and aims the strength of physical endurance and self-support of the dancer and, as well, the enlargement of the artistic development.
Principally the training is targeted to those who are involved with all type of body-work, movement, dance, performance or theatre. Nevertheless the training aims, as well, to include no professionals and vocational dancers, without discriminating age or background. In this way the training enables the participation of diverse type of bodies, movers and dancers coming from diverse tendencies and experiences.

The concept of Contemporary Dance (Integral Training) approaches ‘movement’ in its widest sense. Contemporary Dance (Integral Training) introduces: breathing, grounding and  emotion as movements' engine and researches on aspects of movement and performance pointing out the integration of technique and the physical-energetic-creative layers of performers.
This particular mode of dance training focus on technical issues of the moving/ dancing body and in a later step this way of training can be applied to improvisational fields of dance and performance or to other styles of dance.

Contemporary Dance (Integral Training) is approached by Graham principles and embedded in the Laban fundamentals while integrating elements from the German school, Release technique, Floor work and Theatre when at the same time using devices from the Yoga discipline and the  mechanics of Ballet. The development of the body awareness, involving devices from Euthony, Alexander, is the first step of the training.

Regarding the progressive development of the dancer conditioning, I divided the training in three parts. The first part of the training is based in the tension-release movement principle related to the organic action of breathing.
The participants will start the training lying with back, head and feet on the ground and with bending knees regarding in a later phase to sit with cross legs (fifth position).
During the first part of the training the contents are: (1) the connection between breath, grounding and gravity; (2) the awareness of the main body centres (mind, chest and pelvis) and peripheral centres (arms and legs); (3) the body centres and peripheral centres as motor’s movement and impulses; (4) the role of weight in movement actions in/out of the floor; (5) the continuous of energy-flow as a passage for movement and pulse.

In the second part of the training participants will work from off all the standing positions: sixth, first, second, fourth (open/ close) and fifth position and locomotor movements. The tension-release movement principle related to the organic action of breathing will apply all the standing positions, transferences of weight and travellings. At this stage of the training, dance patterns will be developed while approaching a sensitive connection with space, working out opposite directions, dynamic change of fronts and levels. It is a goal of the training to achieve grounding and subtlety in the movement, specially in the connection upper- down space level.
The technical contents during this second part of the training are: (6) body's weight; (7) bounce; (8) suspension; (9) fall and  recovery; (10) balance; (11) fluidity in the transitions for the travelling to approach the diagonals and the parallels; (12) development of rhythmic understanding and musical sensitivity.

During the third part of the training there will be introduced movement sequences that will approach different materials or extracted from previous repertory. The movement sequences will be always related to technical contents coming from the first and second part of the training.
Contents of the third part of the training are: (13)phrasing; (14) intensity (in crescendo/ decrescendo tempo and energy); (15) continuity, flow and energy (16) formations, unison and canon.
At this stage is important that participants develop communication and partner/ group skills in a team.  At the end of the training there will be given tasks to (17) improvise different choreographic settings and (18) to compose new movement material out of the choreographic sequences

*Conditions: Music accompaniment (rhythm and varied percussion with drums and other instruments) or or CD music.
* Length: 1, 45 minutes
* Maximum: 25 participants.