DESCRIPTION:

The school offers a training in Etienne Decroux's dramatic corporal mime in two years: one of initiation and another advanced level (750 hours per year). Since 2008, we also offer a third year of specialization. The duration of each level is one school year, from October to June.

The course is articulated around four main blocks of study: technique, repertoire, improvisation and composition, all related with corporal mime. With the objective of widening the study programme, there are also voice classes and theoretical or practical seminaries.

The student who completes the first level will receive a certificate of attendance and, for two years of study, a diploma.

There are various training possibilities and we usually ask for a year of training minimum, but enrolment is open throughout the year and the length of study is adaptable in some cases if requested by your personal/professional situation and depending on your experience. The most important thing we value is commitment during the time of study at the school. The course is taught in Spanish and we ask for a minimum knowledge of the language.

Technique:
In the technical part of the class, one will study corporal articulation. As for voice, articulation is a condition for the clear enunciation of thoughts. To move the head without the neck, the bust without the legs, to stop a movement on a clear line. By concentrating on clarifying the movement, the student will be able to choose what is moving and what is not, and therefore, to enhance the clarity of his/her expression.
Another part of the class will focus on walks and displacements on stage. Walking and displacing are also about articulation in space, choosing an angle, knowing where one is, how and when one moves.
Finally, one will study the placement of the weight, the use of counterweights and the dynamo-rhythms.

Improvisation:
The study of technique is meaningless without its immediate application in improvisation. To improvise, in corporal mime, can be done in various ways. Sometimes, the subject of the improvisation can be a situation, a context from which the actor, alone, in a duet or in a group, will be free to let his/her imagination flow. And sometimes, the subject is limited to a set frame or path.
The aim of all improvisation is to extend the corporal vocabulary and to allow the student to make corporeal mime his/her own language.

Repertoire:
In corporal mime, the repertoire can be divided in two parts: figures, which are short corporal poems lasting between ten seconds and a minute, and pieces. Both allow the actor to consider and study corporal mime in its origin (as technique is born out of these pieces and figures) and its application.
Through a careful approach of some of these pieces, the actor will catch a glimpse of the complexity and beauty of this art form. Moreover, the study of the repertoire is an opportunity to confront new fields of expression and to broaden his/her acting possibilities.

Composition:
To study composition is to learn how to put together all what has been learnt and experienced. It is a very wide field that can encompass the composition of a corporal sentence, how to mix of various elements such as text, movement, and music, principles of dramaturgy, relations between an actor and a group, the use of props and set and the use of space in a show. Students work on various solo or group compositions each term.

Voice:
The course offers this voice training, taught by the teachers of the school and invited teachers, because we feel that this is an ideal complement to the corporeal mime training to try to achieve a complete actor. Main aim: to recognise the instrument and to correct bad habits associated to a wrong use of the voice; discover and bring potential to a healthy and free voice; to integrate texts/songs in the composition process and learn to combine voice and movement.

End of year performance:
During the third term, the students participate in the creation process of a show, and get the opportunity to perform the work in a theatre. This performance puts an end to the training process and allows progressive assimilation of this artform, as it will be a piece devised by the students and directed by the teachers of the course. To lead the student through this creative process and show him/her all the steps towards a public presentation of the work is essential to us.

Theoretical and practical seminaries:
We also offer theory classes about themes linked to corporal mime or theatre in general, as well as various seminaries and specialized classes with the aim of widening the student's knowledge and giving him/her working tools to develop his/her personal and professional experience.
They have taught seminars at the school: Lluís Graells (Catalonia) - Commedia dell'arte, Lali Ayguade (Catalonia) - Contemporary dance, Monica Giacomin (Italy) - Pilates, Renee Baker (England) - Theatre of objects I & II, Daniel Aser (Basque Country) - Acting for the camera - Roberto Romei (Italy) - Biomechanics, Tino Carreño (Valencia) - Production and employment Counseling for actors, Anne Dennis (UK) - Etienne Decroux technique, Domenico Santo (Italy) - Street theatre, Joan Coso (Catalonia) - Pantomime, Maria Campos (Catalonia) - Dance and contact improvisation - Anna Estrada (Catalonia), Voice - Andrés Corchero (Catalonia), Dance

Evaluacion-tutoring
The teachers of the school are available at all time to listen to the students doubts and questions and follow his/her evolution throughout the year. The teachers follow and help every students in his/ her artistic and pedagogical process. The evaluations will take place on a day to day base as well as through periodic interviews with the teaching team.