On four Saturdays in June 2022, the studio 2 room of the Dance Department of ISI Yogyakarta was never quiet. The room was filled with dance students who took part in an online workshop with presenters from the Barbara Mettler Studio Arizona team. Even though the semester lecture period was over, the enthusiasm of students to gain experience and knowledge did not fade.
This activity is a collaboration program carried out by the Department of Dance with Mettler Studio. Barbara Mettler (1907-2002) was a dancer who focused on creativity, she searched for the basic elements of dance movements. Her goal was that everyone, including people with special needs, could dance. Barbara Mettler built Arizona's Tucson Creative Dance Center in 1963 as a permanent home for Mettler Studio.
The collaboration titled “The Teacher Training provides an introduction to the underlying principles and teaching methods used in Mettler-based Creative Dance” held this June was the second half of the workshop, a continuation of the first half in February. This workshop presented presenters Mary Ann Brehm, Griff Goehring, and Karenne Koo. The dance department faculty involved were Dra. M. Heni Winahyuningsih (advisor), Dr. Rina Martiara (responsible), Dra. Setyastuti, M.Sn. (Coordinator). A team of dance department lecturers also assisted the workshop, including: Erlina Pantja S, M.Hum., Ni Kadek Rai Dewi Astini, M.Sn., Galih Suci Manganti, M.A., Arjuni Prasetyorini, M.Sn., Agustin Anggraeni, M.A., and Galih Prakasiwi, M.A..
Each meeting started at 08.00 and ended around 12.00. The activity began with movement material and then continued with discussions with Karenne Koo, participants, and the workshop lecturer team. Mettler Studio provided material on the various possibilities of creating dance works that originate from daily movements. The awareness of the aspects of time, space, and form in dance was trained by Griff and Mary, ranging from individual dances to group dances. The participants actively participated in movement exercises and discussions with Mettler Studio.
