Martha Liveri Dalaveri (Jazz reactor)

Afro-American Jazz

 

This course, which takes the Afro-American dance tradition and aesthetic (vernacular/authentic jazz) as its starting point and framework, yet is infused with the exploratory approach of contemporary dance and emphasizes improvisation and musicality, invites you to:

 

〉〉 To understand the structure of jazz music and organize your dance within it

〉〉 To learn variations—in terms of rhythm or patterns—of movements you already know

〉〉 To discover the kinematics of vernacular jazz, exploring movements guided by music of different styles

〉〉 Interact with other dancers, practicing the skill of taking material and ideas from others’ dancing while also contributing something of your own when asked

〉〉 Dare to step into a small circle that will begin to warm up through group work and continue to warm up until we feel as familiar and comfortable there as we do in our own living room.

Jazz Reactor is a workshop for dancing to jazz music, both solo and—above all—“solo with a group.” The project has enjoyed nine years of a joyful and constantly evolving presence in the Athenian swing community, during which it has accompanied two or three dozen dancers on their kinetic journey. It was created out of a personal need for a framework for the systematic study, composition, and decomposition of dance. In addition to weekly classes for beginners and more experienced dancers and the occasional thematic workshops, the project has also been invited to other jazz dance schools, in 2019–2020 at Athens Lindy Hop and Swing That Thing, and in 2024 at Stomping Ground. Furthermore, collaborations and initiatives are being developed and implemented to foster the growth and “maturation” of the dance community, such as the organization of a 3-hour workshop on musicality for dancers with the band Soul Peanuts, as well as the joint organization of the “Jazz Café,” a series of discussions on the culture that gave rise to jazz music and its dances.

 

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Rhythm Practice

A workshop that dives into rhythm and its embodiment! The Rhythm Practice workshop was developed by an engineer-dancer as she sought to find her way through “challenging” music. Guided primarily by African and Afro-fusion music, as well as plenty of jazz, folk, and traditional music, we’ll use exercises and short choreographies to work on our bounce, footwork speed, grounding, and effortless, explosive movement in space. We will step, breathe, and count in even and odd measures; we will study song structures and play with exercises in musical comprehension and improvisation, so that music serves as both inspiration and a guide for our dance. We will explore polyrhythm, stepping against or independently of the music, and we will try, with the help of our breath, to differentiate the groove of our torso from our footwork.

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SHe studied civil engineering but chose dance instead. He has trained primarily in contemporary dance, technique, and improvisation, as well as

African-American jazz. In 2016, after three years on the Athenian swing scene, she founded the Jazz Reactor, a workshop for dancing to jazz music, with an emphasis on improvisation and musicality. In addition to her regular classes in Athens, Martha has traveled to lead workshops in Chios, Thessaloniki, and Bristol, and has taught course series at three swing schools in Athens. She also trained for a decade with Christina Markopoulou in the dances of Silk Road. From 2021 to 2023, she participated in the Greek National Opera’s Intercultural Dance Workshop, representing African-American jazz. She practices ballet and yoga regularly.