stefan crainic & josephine haas
human animal
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program
track a track b
title
Soft Acrobatics & Improvisation
focus
acrobatics
description
This workshop explores the intersection between improvisation, acrobatics, and coordination. Over the course of several days, we will learn acrobatic patterns through an explorative approach - focusing on how to make the most of our strengths while understanding and respecting our limitations. This allows us to maintain autonomy and develop a personal interpretation of each movement. Our aim is not just to broaden your vocabulary, but to share how acrobatics can be learned in a way that allows them to integrate seamlessly into improvisation, relying not on memory, but on awareness, attention, and attunement. In dance, acrobatics are not only a display of athleticism, but an opportunity for creativity, individuality, and spontaneity. Through improvisation, we will explore questions such as:
– What makes acrobatics authentic and alive?
– How can stable performance emerge through playful task exploration?
– How can improvisation serve as a tool for learning, creativity, and adaptability?
The coordination practice will involve learning sequences that draw from contemporary dance, capoeira, and the Fighting Monkey practice - training rhythm, elasticity, and precision, while also improving memory, the ability to learn through emulation, and the ability to integrate the whole body into a coherent and musical unity.
biography / stefan crainic
Stefan is a movement teacher with a background in martial arts (mainly capoeira) and dance. His journey into movement began with music and competitive swimming, eventually leading him to explore capoeira and study medicine. His entry into dance began through the Fighting Monkey practice, which sparked a deeper and ongoing research within the field of movement and beyond. His main focus is on teaching, with a strong interest in motor learning & skill acquisition, applied creativity, embodiment and health & longevity through movement. Stefan is dedicated to spreading a love for movement and helping dancers, martial artists, athletes, and the general public bring creativity and joy into their practice, while moving toward their desires, goals, and dreams. Together with his partner Josephine Haas, he has taught workshops around the world and offered online programs and training, working with professional dancers, athletes, olympic teams, and the general public.
biography / josephine haas
Born and raised in upstate New York, Josephine Haas trained at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, SUNY Purchase, and Codarts University of the Arts in Rotterdam. In 2016, she joined the internationally touring Edge Company, based at The Place in London. Since transitioning to freelance work in 2018, she has collaborated across Europe, including a notable partnership with Cía. Denis Santacana for the creation Sharing Home in Bilbao, Spain, which premiered at the 2019 DFERIA Festival in San Sebastián. After relocating to Berlin, she continued—and continues—to work with a wide range of artists. Most recently, she performed in #UNDERMYSKIN, an interactive dance film by Enrico Paglialunga (2023). Josephine initiated her self-funded solo project swallow me in 2020, a work rooted in physical theatre. With support from Dachverband Tanz Deutschland in 2022, she expanded the piece, premiering it at Hošek Contemporary and later presenting it at Acker Stadt Palast in 2023 and 2024, with a return scheduled for October 2025. Together with her partner, Stefan Crainic, she teaches internationally and online, offering workshops and long-form trainings for professional dancers, athletes, Olympic teams, and the general public.