„I’m not so interested in how they move as in what moves them“
                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                  (Pina Bausch 1940-2009)

Sebastian Prantls teaching method grounds itself in a profound belief in transformation as an ongoing ‘clearing process’ towards authenticity and excellence in art making. Thus, life-connectedness and an increasing engagement for bridging cultural gaps is paramount in his working philosophy. Special improvisation techniques (flashback technique…) foster concrete skills where upon grounded awareness and well-being co-inside and potentiate themselves, creating deeper understanding.

Based on the individuality of the protagonists (students) involved – their cultural backgrounds, professional experience and technical skills – material is being collected, thus relating it to specific spaces, topics, themes, music and language codes. As various kind of analysis is being processed, at the same instance trust and confidence is building up.

It is a joyous challenge fostering individual expressiveness, sophisticated (physical) communication skills (personal dance language) and sincere ensemble building, while creating complex (choreographic) structures. This succeeds on the one hand by empowering the interrelation among the protagonists  and on the other by relating truthfully towards the audience. Specific chosen material – deconstructed and scrutinized in detail – ‘survives’ until a choreographic structure is determined and staged – investigating and maintaining content, clearing a narrative. Yet, processing it further in the presence of the spectator might be the challenge and definately the more sophisticated subject matter: Real-Time-Composition at its best.

Timing, endurance, characteristics, musicality, formation and sequence of the material undergoes catharsis ie. regeneration, contemplation and meditation within a teaching (rehearsal) process. The material will merge and crystallize within various approaches to body & mind awareness in regard to memory, personal narrative and abstraction, linking its (meta)physical, cultural and economic make-up.

He has been teaching at: the Amsterdam Dance Theatre School, Dance Hogskolan Stockholm, Ballet School of the State Opera Vienna, Bratislava Conservatory, Taipei Opera, Taipei National University of Performing Arts, Tainan National University for the Arts, Taiwan National University… Goethe Institute Shanghai and in various art programs and further educations centres. Specific teaching and community work is also part of Sebastian Prantls practice: as a biannual cooperation with the Austrian federal institute for education for hearing impaired people…