PROJECT CONCEPT - THE NOMADIC COLLEGE

Interdisciplinary Furthering Education
Biomechanics, Physiotherapy, Traditional and Contemporary Dance, Contact Improvisation, Music, Nutritional Science, Communication Skills, Creative Research and Performance


The guiding philosophy behind the Nomadic College is a commitment to the intensification of the learning potential of each student. Each student is invited to choose their own focus within the context of the given material, depending on individual limitations or talents. The democratic nature of the information that the AS offers allows each student to harmonise their movements with universal principles, and in so doing find their own way to dance. This unique approach sponsors community and stimulates healthy social relations among classroom participants. The Nomadic College is dedicated first to public health and safety and then to the artistic expression of the experience of living on planet Earth.

Registration and Curriculum:
Even though the workshops can be taken individually, the curriculum is concieved of as contiguous and evolutive. Therefore, after the 4th week, only those students who have studied a movement discipline regularly and who have taken at least one AS workshop will be allowed to register.

The Focus of the NC :

The main body of work that is developed in the context of the NC is The Axis Syllabus (AS); the movement analysis method created by Frey Faust in the early 90’s. The AS teaches optimal anatomical management for any physical activity. The AS relies on continually updated information from biomechanics and physics to correct faulty weight distribution and skeletal architecture in dynamic motion. For the adept, the AS elaborates a sophisticated, circular movement vocabulary for both floor and standing work. Even though the disciplines are different and the approach is different, each teacher aspires to respect the physiological, psychological health and welfare of the student.

Performance Projects
Within the context of the NC, the results of compositional laboratories or student projects will be shown in an informal setting. Space will also be made for students and teachers to present short works of their own.

Financial Support Programs
The Nomadic College Support Programm consists of workstudy and in-kind exchange, enabling students to join with a minimum of individual expenses.

Scholarships :
2002 and 2003 six dance students from Kyoto and Osaka were invited to take part to the Nomadic College. In exchange two Axis Syllabus students from europe attended workshops during the Kyoto Art Festival.

Recently a scholarship fund was set up to make the NC available to at least one interested dancer per year who comes from a country with no access to the Axis Syllabus and few possiblities for financial aid.

Scholarships applicants should apply with a full cv, photo and letter of motivation.

Work Studies:
Scince 2003, selected students have collaborated with the team during the NC for its realization in exchange for the whole or half participation fee, giving many interested and dedicated participants from all over the world the chance to intensify and deepen the study of the art of moving. see: The Teacher's in Training. The present Nomadic College Team was born out of this initiative.

The Nomadic College Team
The guiding wish-desire-goal of the NC-Team is to make the Nomadic College a special event, conducive to learning, to preserve its mission as a conduit of the AS and hub of the Axis Syllabus global community, to make the study and practice of the AS accessible to those who are interested, not only those who are wealthy.