Iskra Sukarova

Iskra Sukarova

1. Report about T.T.T. 2013 Budapest

Iskra Sukarova-performer, creator, artistic director of the contemporary dance program in Lokomotiva, and professor at the State Faculty of Music-Cyril and Methodius in Skopje (department of dance pedagogy)

Reflection concerning the outline of the program:

In the period of the TTT event in Budapest I have gained new experiences in the field of teaching and learning. In this report I will speak from the perspective of one of the participants of the group and present according to my opinion the main points that have affected our work in this period:

-We wanted as a group to explore and share an open structure of exchange of knowledge. Therefore, we established as a group a platform were we shared different ideas and teaching formats.

-Each day we followed different proposals which we used in the process of exchanging knowledge in new ways (we were focusing on new formats of teaching and learning, or more precisely of transmitting and receiving knowledge).The discussions led to exploring group dynamics as one of the essential pedagogical tools. The outcome was exploring different models of movement and dance practice which appeared within this period as a result of the open structure format that we were dealing with daily as a group. The ongoing exchange of knowledge was the main source which defined and redefined the different modes of transfer of knowledge within the frame of the open learning/teaching structure.

-We questioned formats of teaching and learning in our own practices. We also discussed models of educational systems today, questioning how the programs affect creativity in education today, more precisely in educational models within contemporary dance.

-We discussed teaching and learning approaches in our own countries and reflected on different experiences we had in education within institutions as well as in in-formal/alternative educational programs we have created or participated in.

-As part of the process we had a presentation/sharing which took place the last day of the TTT meeting. We shared our process with the local audience in Budapest. As part of the presentation we practiced exchange of knowledge within an open structure that we were dealing in the frame of this meeting. Therefore the presentation showed the practical outcome of the process and thus became a reflective artistic sharing.

Organization of the meeting:

The meeting was organized very well. The working conditions were at a good level and offered the possibility to work without disruption. Maybe it could have been more clearly pointed out in which official working language the meeting would take place. I think that this would make the working process easier, especially if this was mentioned at the beginning of the meeting.

2. Pedagogical statement

Iskra Sukarova - profesor for contemporary dance in the State faculty for Music/department for classical and contemporary pedagogy.

 I am a professor at the Academy of the faculty for Music, where there is a department for classical and contemporary dance, which has been opened recently in 2010 September, as part of the State University in Macedonia. This is a relatively new, and in the same time a big challenge in terms of education for contemporary dance in Macedonia.  

The last 20 years I was a soloist of the Macedonian Opera and Ballet.  Parallel to this activity, I am also one of the founders of Lokomotiva-as artistic director for contemporary dance in this organization. My experience as a performer of classical repertory in the Macedonian Opera in Ballet, as well as a representative of the independent dance scene in Macedonia, and my experiences as one of the founders of Nomad Dance Academy have enabled me to gain different types of experiences, from various perspectives, both from institutional and independent dance scene backgrounds. I am now looking at a kind of a hybrid model of how dance teaching can function within a set/defined structure, but also have the freedom and openness within this frame. This is my interest in the future, of how education models of this kind can be developed, and applied.

I am interested in researching, discussing and applying teaching/learning methods, not just for dance but in general as a methodology which can advance and provoke thoughts and affect my practice as an artist, and teacher as well.  I am very open for proposing ideas or participating in other ideas in order to come to certain conclusions in terms of defining certain findings, based on the structures and styles of teaching in theory and practice. As an artist, I have been exposed in many different teaching/learning experiences, and I would like to share this accumulated knowledge. I am focusing on open methods/ establishing a frame where I also feel motivated to teach and learn in the same time, as opposed to just focus on the transfer of knowledge. In relation to these questions, I am trying to find the structure of how the transfer of knowledge is done. I am very open to discussions of modes of exploring the student-teacher relations and processes of knowledge transfer in both ways. I am eager to continue this quest, especially that I took place at the TTT project in Macedonia in 2011 Nov.