EL COLEGIO DEL CUERPO •eCdC•
•THE SCHOOL OF THE BODY•
Founded in 1997, in Cartagena de Indias by dancers, choreographers and pedagogues
Álvaro Restrepo (Colombia) and Marie France Delieuvin (France), El Colegio del Cuerpo
(The School of the Body) has become one of the pioneer proposals in Education for Peace through the Arts, in Colombia and the world. As a non-for-profit organization, it has contributed to the creation of spaces of social inclusion and innovation, to artistic, professional, and human development of more than 10,000 children and youngsters from vulnerable populations, and to the formation the Talent Stratum, a converging methodological strategy of human diversity for the construction of Peace.
FOUNDERS AND DIRECTORS
Alvaro Restrepo Director
Is considered one of the pioneers of Contemporary Dance in Colombia and a referent of Latin American scenic arts. He studied Music, Philosophy, Literature and Theater before dedicating to Dance at the age of 24. His encounter in 1980, with the Italian priest Javier de Nicoló and with his work, focused on kids living in the streets, left him a lasting mark, not only because of the magnitude of the tragedy of Colombian abandoned children, but also due to the passion, generosity, and dedication of this extraordinary man.
With a grant from the Colombian government, he went to New York where he studied with such emblematic figures as Jennifer Muller, Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, and his most important master: South Korean Cho Kyoo Hyun. In 1986 he founded his creation nucleus Athanor Danza and premiered at La MaMa (New York) his first creation, a homage to poet Frederico García Lorca in the 50th anniversary of his assassination.
He then returned to Colombia, where he created Rebis, his most emblematic solo, as part of his homage to Lorca, traveling around the world with this piece, and receiving important recognitions; amongst them, the Great Pegasus Award 1992, at Kampnagel Theater in Hamburg (Germany).
In 1991 he was appointed as subdirector of Colombian Culture Institute and in 1992, as director of Superior Arts Academy of Bogotá (ASAB), where he created the first Dance program. His artistic work has been performed in more than 50 countries of the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. He has been invited as master and lecturer in several countries and has published numerous press articles in the national and international media.
In I997 he founded with Marie-France Delieuvin,
El Colegio del Cuerpo (The School of the Body) in Cartagena de Indias, which he considers his most important work of art and 'social sculpture'.
Marie France Delieuvin Co -Director
French dancer, choreographer, and pedagogue. She received formation in Paris with Françoise and Dominique Dupuy, as well as with Jérôme Andrew. As a soloist of the company Les Ballets Modernes de Paris, she participated in all its creations, tours, and festivals. She received a scholarship from Harvard University (USA), and continued her formation as a dancer, studying the American techniques: José Limón, Merce Cunningham, Nadine Revene (American Ballet Theater), and being a soloist in Mathews/Masters Dance Company.
She started her own choreographic work in Paris with companies Transit and Libre Parcours. As
principal master of the Superior National Dance
Conservatory of Lyon (France), she was appointed in 1991 by the Ministry of Culture of France, as Director of the Superior Contemporary Dance School of Angers, the first National Choreographic Center of the country, teaching in Europe, Africa, and Asia. In 1998, she received from the Ministry
of Culture of France the honour: Chevalier
des Arts et des Lettres.
In 1997, she founded and co-directs with Álvaro Restrepo, El Colegio del Cuerpo. She is the creator of some of the pieces of Compañía Cuerpo de Indias, and associate choreographer of Álvaro Restrepo.