The workshop was a prep course for one of the Singapore Arts Festival's performance.
The group conducting the workshop is Grinder-Man.
They are from Japan.
The instructors are Hitoshi and Maki and our wonderful interpreter, Pauline.
Details about them can be found here (but everything is in japanese).
The workshop isn't about dance nor music.
It's about free expressions.
Though the basic skills are taught, the way of expression, such as freeze pose, is up to individuals.
Everyone was very stiff at the beginning of the workshop.
We started off with warm-ups and simple works to soften our joints and muscles.
Then we tried to stretch ourselves as if there is some rope pulling us up and another pull down, and then quickly tug in to make ourselves as small as possible.
It was a swift action.
After that, we did the same stretching thing again but this time, we had to freeze pose and then drop to the floor (like a dead person falling to the ground).
It was quite painful intitally.
We did many things during the 4 hour session.
One of which was to learn how to walk.
We had to find a partner and using our fingers, press on the tail bone (somewhere just above the butt hole), and push your parnter to maker him/her walk forward.
And finally, we played with the black box, which everyone was waiting for.
A quick view of the workshop with the box (from facebook group album).
I had a big bruise on my left knee and my back is hurting badly by the end of the workshop.
Ouch~
Peiyan
