Photo: © Belinda Lawley
Presented by CONSTANZA MACRAS / DORKY PARK
When:
19 & 20 May 2025
11:00 – 14:00 h
Where:
Leipziger Str. 54, 10117 Berlin – 1st Floor, Studio 3
Free admission
Registration online: https://forms.gle/e2T9PYmTU9vdk5tZ9
Please note that due to space restrictions we can only offer limited places. First come, first served. Registration is required.
Kristián „Mr. Kriss“ Mensa is a Prague-based dancer and visual artist known for merging breaking with experimental and contemporary styles.
With over 15 years of experience, he has performed with artists like Kylie Minogue and Hania Rani, taught globally, and collaborated with WWF, Greenpeace, and Adidas Originals. His multidisciplinary work spans dance, illustration, and animation, seamlessly blending elegance, creativity, and visual poetry.
Featured in the documentary Mr. Kriss (2021) by Adolf Zika, he has been recognized by Forbes‘ „30 Under 30“ and awarded a Silver Medal from the Czech Senate for “youthful determination and inspiration.”
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Kristián has been teaching dance for over ten years, sharing his expertise with more than 5,000 students worldwide, ranging in age from 5 to 72. He has hosted workshops across the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Spain, Greece, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the United States, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Ghana. Kristián helps participants connect with their bodies through improvisation while nurturing group connection. His extensive knowledge of breaking allows him to break down complex acrobatics into playful, accessible approaches for dancers of all levels.
WORKSHOP TOPICS
ART OF FALLING
- Learn to fall with softness, ease, and grace.
- Explore ways to fall forward, backward, and sideways.
- Understand the importance of the head as a „tail“ in movement.
BODY MANIPULATION AND THREADING
- Discover how one part of the body can manipulate another.
- Practice threading techniques inspired by breaking.
ELASTICITY AND LIGHTNESS
- Develop your organic ability to move with elasticity.
- Release tension in the spine for fluidity.
- Loosen the joints to create a sense of effortlessness.
- Use „reaching“ as a dynamic movement strategy.
FLOOR WORK IMPROVISATION
- Overcome the fear of engaging with the floor.
- Use the floor as a tool to push, spin, and rotate creatively.
BREAKING AND ACROBATICS
- Learn foundational moves and tricks to expand your movement vocabulary.
- Practice swipes, windmills, and freezes inspired by breaking.
MOVEMENT MINIMALISM
- Embrace the beauty of small movements.
- Learn to do less while expressing more.
EXPLOSIVITY AND TAKING RISKS
- Build comfort with being off balance.
- Embrace the unknown and unpredictable in your movement.
- Incorporate the element of surprise into your dance.
- Release your inner „monster“ for raw and powerful expression.
- Experiment with one-leg improvisations to find new pathways.
Portrait photo: © Florence Grimmeisen
Photos: © Monika Kadlubcová, Gérard Payelle, Martin Suchánek
