This class functions as a laboratory for embodied research, inviting students to engage in task-based improvisation as a method for questioning physical habits, exploring individual creative choices, and developing nuanced physicality.
Beginning with breath work and somatic grounding, the class progressively activates the body through a layered approach that integrates sensory attention, physical rigor, and conceptual awareness. Touch is introduced not as a passive element, but as a dynamic mechanism for opening, aligning, and transforming the body — an active massage that unlocks new physical pathways and perceptual states.
Through structured improvisations, students work with complexity, resistance, and articulation, fostering clarity in decision-making and depth in movement quality. The aim is to cultivate a critical, responsive body that thinks, listens, and moves with intention — one that navigates between intuition and precision in real time.
These classes are in close collaboration with Danish Dance Theatre and we are happy to be able to offer the classes in the Danish Dance Theatre’sstudio.
These classes are held at the Opera: Ekvipagemestervej 10, 1438 Copenhagen K. You will arrive to the stage entrance, big grey sliding door and enter the reception. We kindly ask you to meet latest 15 minutes before the class, so that it is time to find your way to the studio and register in the reception.
Marina Mascarell (she/her) is the Artistic Director of Dansk Danseteater, the National Dance Company of Denmark. She is an internationally acclaimed choreographer recognized for her thought-provoking and interdisciplinary work. Previously, Marina was Resident Choreographer at Korzo Theatre in The Hague (2011–2021) and an Associated Artist at Mercat de les Flors in Barcelona until 2022. Before transitioning into
choreography, she was a dancer with Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) and Cedar Lake
Contemporary Ballet in New York City. Beyond her independent creations, Marina has been commissioned by renowned institutions such as Nederlands Dans Theater 1 & 2, GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, Lyon Opera Ballet (Biennale de la Danse de Lyon), Skånes Dansteater, Dance Forum Taipei, and Sydney Dance
Company for the 50th anniversary of the Sydney Opera House, among others.
Her artistic practice extends beyond dance, engaging with visual arts, film, music, and theater in
interdisciplinary collaborations. Her work has been presented worldwide, including in The Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Italy, France, Greece, Taiwan, China, Korea, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. Throughout her career,
Marina has received several awards and recognitions, including the BNG Excellent Dance Award
(2015), acknowledging her impact on the field of contemporary dance.
