Tanzfabrik
Berlin
School
School

27.12.2026—30.12.2026

Javanese & Balinese Dance: Embodiment, Creation & Transformation

Workshop
with Kadek Yulia Puspasari
Registration
Venue:
Kreuzberg 1
Möckernstr. 68
10965 Berlin
Dates:
Info:
Level: with movement experience
in English with translation in French and/ or in Bahasa Indonesia if needed
Price: 250/220€* 
*Early bird until 06.12.26
In the event of cancellation, the terms and conditions of our website apply. 

Description

This workshop introduces Javanese and Balinese traditional dance as an embodied experience, exploring its rituals, physical intensities, and transformative potential. These dances live within religious ceremonies, sacred rituals, court traditions, popular celebrations, and community life, connecting people with one another, with nature, and with a sense of the transcendent. Rather than treating these forms as decorative folklore, the workshop approaches them as living practices - powerful, evolving, and deeply rooted in community. Alongside an introduction to traditional forms, themes, masks, mythology, natural elements, and ancestral memory, participants are invited to engage with the practice through movement, repetition, and attention. Kadek will guide participants through fundamental elements, forms, philosophy, and the spirit of Javanese and Balinese dance. The workshop begins with meditative movement practices, sometimes in silence, and sometimes accompanied by traditional or contemporary gamelan music. The movements are flowing and attentive, with a focus on presence, energy, and connection. Through practice and repetition, participants will have space to explore their own interpretations, improvisations, and transformations, allowing the forms to become personal, collective, and alive in the present moment.
Accessibility, Content Note & Sensory Stimulations
The workshop involves standing movement, repetitive movement practices, meditation, and dance exercises. There is no floor work or jumping, and the movement is generally flowing and attentive. Music may be used during some practices, including traditional and contemporary gamelan music. You are always welcome to take a break and decline touch. Information about our location & studio access in Kreuzberg, which unfortunately are not wheelchair accessible, can be found on our website. We offer a solidarity discount (workshop spots at a reduced price) for people living in financially precarious situations, including people from crisis areas, BIPoC, trans*, queer and disabled people. For questions or further information, please contact Zoé Duflot at workshop@tanzfabrik-berlin.de. 
Biographies

Kadek Yulia Puspasari

Kadek Puspasari is an Indonesian traditional dancer, contemporary choreographer, and teacher, born in Indonesia and based in Paris since 2010. In 2013, she founded Pantcha Indra, a Paris-based company dedicated to Indonesian dance and gamelan music. She has presented and performed her work at major cultural and artistic institutions in France, including the Musée Guimet, Musée du quai Branly, Grand Palais, Carreau du Temple, Cité de la Musique and Philharmonie de Paris, as well as at UNESCO, the Indonesian Embassy in Paris, Paris conservatoires, universities, and other cultural institutions. Kadek was selected for the Royaumont Foundation’s Prototype program in 2018 and the Incubateur des Chorégraphes program in Paris in 2019. She holds an MA in Dance from the Indonesian Institute of the Arts (ISI) in Surakarta, Central Java. She has trained extensively in Balinese and Javanese dance since the age of five, studying with a range of renowned dance masters. Her artistic practice brings together traditional Indonesian dance and contemporary choreography. She has developed work in collaboration with Indonesian artist and movement practitioner Suprapto Suryodarmo and with Lin Hwai-Min, artistic director of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan. Her international experience also includes an exchange program with the Kennedy Center in the USA. As a teacher, Kadek teaches Indonesian traditional and contemporary dance through Pantcha Indra and Sekar Jagat Indonesia, as well as through workshops and educational programs at conservatoires, schools, universities, and cultural institutions including the Philharmonie de Paris, Université Paris VIII, Université de Lille, and Université Paris Nanterre.