El Colegio del Cuerpo (eCdC) was founded in 1997, in Cartagena de Indias by the dancers, choreographers and pedagogues Álvaro Restrepo (Colombia) and Marie France Delieuvin (France). A space created for children, youngsters and the general public where they find the opportunity to approach the expressive and artistic dimension of the human body, through Contemporary Dance.
eCdC is a cultural and an educative space – plural and democratic – that offers the opportunity of the construction of a new ethics of the human body, indissolubly connected to an aesthetic and artistic search; simultaneously associated with contemporary cultural, social, political and economic issues. eCdC achieves its mission through four working areas: Formation, Creation, Sensitivity and Diffusion, Investigation and Documentation.
During 15 years of uninterrupted work, approximately 8.100 children and youngsters have participated in the programs of the institution; the great majority of them receiving a free formation, due to their scarce resources life conditions. Simultaneously, eCdC has contributed to sensitize children, youngsters and teachers from educational systems in the world. Besides, the artistic work created by the Directors of eCdC and interpreted by the dancers of Compañía del Cuerpo de Indias, has been performed in Latin America, The United States, Europe, Asia and Africa.
Alvaro Restrepo is a Colombian dancer, choreographer, and pedagogue. He studied piano, literature and theatre before discovering dance when he was 24 years old. He also worked with street kids in Bogotá for two years, experience that opened his eyes to the social tragedies of his country. He began his training as a dancer in Bogotá, before going to New York with a grant from the Colombian Government, where he studied with Jennifer Muller, Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham and South Korean Cho Kyoo-Hyun, his most important master. His work as a choreographer and soloist performer began in 1986 at La MaMa Theatre in New York, and with Remy Charlip in the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). From then on his international career has taken him to more than 50 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa. He lives in Cartagena de Indias (Colombia) since 1994, where he founded in 1997, with Marie France Delieuvin, French dancer, choreographer and pedagogue El Colegio del Cuerpo (The School of the Body).
Marie France Delieuvin is a dancer, choreographer, and pedagogue of Contemporary Dance. She was formed in Paris with Françoise and Dominique Dupuy, as well as with Jérôme Andrews. Soloist of the Company Les Ballets Modernes de Paris, she continues her formation as a dancer in the United States (Harvard University and in New York), working as a soloist for Mathews / Masters Dance Company. She then starts her own choreographic work in Paris with the companies Transit and Libre Parcours, creating as well choreographic pieces for other international companies. Professor at the Superior National Music and Dance Conservatory of Lyon (France), she was commissioned by the Ministry of Culture of France, as Director of the Superior Contemporary Dance School CNDC of Angers, the first National Choreographic Center of the country. Since 1997, she has been the co-founder, the Co-Director and choreographer of El Colegio del Cuerpo with Álvaro Restrepo.
Through workshops, performances and lectures at local venues Alvaro Restrepoand El Colegio del Cuerpo will give the Hampton’s community the opportunity to directly connect to their work as dance artists. El Colegio del Cuerpo will perform at The Parrish Museum on November 9th as part of the Community Scrollathon: Repurpose, Reuse, Upcycle and will offer a workshop and performance at The Watermill Center on November 15. Additional events and times to be announced soon.