International
contemporary
dance workshop

REGISTER NOW

May 1 — 5

2026

The course of dance classes from teachers of the leading dance companies and dance educational centers in Europe

Riga, Latvia

REGISTRATION IS OPEN

early birds, till February 15

5

days

Continuous dance immersion, creative communication, atmosphere and inspiration

42

hours

Powerful stream of latest information on contemporary dance, matched specifically for your development

7

teachers

Combination of many years of experience, different views, approaches and techniques

2

groups

PRO & OPEN

From May 1 to May 5, 2026 Riga (Latvia) will host the 8th annual contemporary dance intensive week, which includes workshops of dance techniques, improvisation, creative laboratories and theoretical lectures from teachers of the leading dance companies and dance educational centers in Europe.

The project combines an educational program for professionals and dance enthusiasts. Everything is aimed to create best conditions for exploring and enjoying dance.

The program is formed in two groups:
PRO group
OPEN group

The program is conducted in English
Participation age 16+

Workshop teachers

Chloé Beillevaire

FRANCE

Jarkko Mandelin

FINLAND

Jonathan Burrows

UK

Milan Herich

SLOVAKIA/BELGIUM

Morning class teachers

Sintija Siliņa

Latvia

Ramona Galkina

Latvia

Olga Žitluhina

Latvia

Alise Putniņa

Latvia

Schedule

Advanced level of training for professional dancers and choreographers

PRO group
Dates: May 1-5, 2026

Click on the selected class to read the description

9:00 - 9:45

MORNING WARM-UP CLASS

Sintija Siliņa
Ramona Galkina
Olga Žitluhina
Alise Putniņa

10:00 - 11:30​

MASTERING THE SHIFT

Chloe Bellevaire

11:45 - 13:15​

TECHNICAL CLASS

Jarkko Mandelin

15:00 - 16:30

FLYING LOW

Milan Herich

16:45 - 18:15

RETHINKING CHOREOGRAPHY

Jonathan Burrows

Intermediate level of training for dance students and enthusiasts with experience in dance

OPEN group
Dates: May 1-5, 2026

Click on the selected class to read the description

9:00 - 9:45

MORNING WARM-UP CLASS

Sintija Siliņa
Ramona Galkina
Olga Žitluhina
Alise Putniņa

10:00 - 11:30

TECHNICAL CLASS

Jarkko Mandelin

11:45 - 13:15

MASTERING THE SHIFT

Chloe Bellevaire

15:00 - 16:30

RETHINKING CHOREOGRAPHY

Jonathan Burrows

16:45 - 18:15

FLYING LOW

Milan Herich

Evening program

In addition to a rich schedule of dance classes, participants will have an evening program which will include:

Evening performances

Participants will be able to attend performances by Latvian choreographers and get to know the local dance community.

The evening will take place on the stage of the theater and will be filled with an atmosphere of creativity.

Meeting evening + lecture

Participants will be able to get to know each other, teachers and organizers. Also, there will be an opportunity to listen an interesting lecture from an invited speaker.

Pleasant and informative evening in a circle of like-minded people.

Challenge jam

Improvisational dance performance. Participants will be able to be both spectators and performers. Unforgettable experience. The permanent hit of our projects.

Free evening

Free time for recuperation, walks around beautiful Riga, or any other kind of relaxation.

Final party

The perfect end to a productive week. Opportunity to chat in an informal setting, share your impressions about the project and break away on the dance floor

How to participate

Choose a group →

Choose the level of course that suits you.

Registration →

Fill out the online registration form. Be careful when entering your data.

Confirmation →

After submitting your registration form you will receive a notification email and registration fee payment details. In this email you will be notified whether or not you are accepted to our workshop, confirming your group and bank transfer information for the non-refundable registration fee.

Payment

Make a prepayment of 100 EUR non-refundable registration fee in order to confirm your participation at Riga/ON 2026. The registration fee should be paid within 1 week after receiving your acceptance email. Only after we have received the transaction your spot at Riga/ON 2026 will be confirmed.

The remaining balance of 290 EUR** is to be paid upon arrival on the first day of the festival.

* Please note that we won’t be able to accept any credit or debit cards.
** 250EUR fot Early Birds

Cost of participation

To reserve your spot at Riga/ON 2026 fill out online registration form and make a registration fee payment of 100 EUR. It is included in the total price and is non-refundalbe. The remaining balance of 290 EUR is to be paid upon arrival on the first day of the festival.

* Please note that we won’t be able to accept any credit or debit cards.

We have limited space for a maximum of 50 participants. Please register as soon as possible to ensure your participation at the festival. We will maintain a waiting list in case any spots open.

PRO group

350 EUR (early birds, till February 15)

390 EUR

Included in the price:

  • Course completion certificate
  • Evening program
  • Gift

PRO group program

  • Morning warm-up (5 classes)
  • 4 Workshops (20 classes)
Register now

OPEN group

350 EUR (early birds, till February 15)

390 EUR

Included in the price:

  • Course completion certificate
  • Evening program
  • Gift

OPEN group program

  • Morning warm-up (5 classes)
  • 4 Workshops (20 classes)
Register now

Accommodation

Rija VEF hotel

We have great opportunity for those who come to Riga/ON from other countries and cities.

“Rija VEF hotel” became a partner of the project and provide our guests with very comfortable living conditions, and the most convenient location – a 6-minute walk from the studio where master classes will be held.

For participants of Riga/ON 2026 there will be discount on the promo code for accommodation from April 30 to May 6 (6 nights).

Website of a hotel: https://www.rijahotels.com/lv/viesnicas/rija-vef-hotel

For details, and to get a promo code, please write to us on any convenient messenger – Telegram or WhatsApp

Location

Studio RITMS

Educational and performative programs will take place in the spacious halls of the studio RITMS.

RITMS, Brīvības gatve 193 A, LV- 1036 Riga, Latvia
look at google map

At the disposal of the participants will be two dance halls, measuring 170 and 180 square meters, with high ceilings, mirrors, panoramic windows, and dressing rooms.

The infrastructure near the venue of the master classes is well developed, which allows you to quickly and comfortably get to it.

Organizers of the project

DEJAS TELPA

Latvia

Is non goverment organisation created in 2016 by two dance artists Elina and Dmitrijs Gaitjukevici. The goals of organisation are to improve the level of cultural education in contemporary dance; promotion of contemporary dance in Latvia and abroad by supporting creative activity of professional contemporary dance artists.

Project is supported by:

Contact us in any convenient way.
We will be glad to answer your questions:

E-mail: rigaonworkshop@gmail.com

Messengers: Telegram | WhatsApp

Social: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube

Registration form

Fill in the form, and we will contact you

Chloé Beillevaire

Instagram
Cie La Teneur

Class description

MASTERING THE SHIFT

In this class, we will delve, through improvisation and various choreographic materials, into a diverse array of movement qualities and bodily states. We’ll work with diverse dynamics – from smooth, flowing joint movements to intense muscular tension – while experimenting with slow motion, rebounds, and releases to deepen our understanding of body control. The class also explores foundational elements like floorwork, spirals, and momentum, alongside partnering techniques, fostering a collaborative spirit. One of our objectives is to cultivate our ability to seamlessly transition between diverse movement qualities and rhythms, empowering us to adapt to different choreographic styles in the blink of an eye. By emphasizing rhythm and breath, we will treat dance as a language of communication – adding nuance, intensity, and emotional depth to each movement. « Mastering the shift » aims to enrich physical expression, cultivating a dance that is not only technically precise but also emotionally resonant and personally meaningful. 

Biography

Chloé is primarily a performer who channels her physicality to convey emotion. 

After graduating from the CNSMD in Lyon, she gained stage experience in France, notably with Olivier Dubois, and later in Belgium alongside Wim Vandekeybus at Cie Ultima Vez, where she develops and refines her own style—a choreographic language tinged with theatricality. 

She then continues her career as a performer, exploring transdisciplinarity by working with Backsteinhaus 

Produktion in Germany and with Christophe Rhules and Julien Cassier from the documentary theater Cie GDRA.
In 2021, she founded Cie La Teneur and is now passionately leading her own projects at the intersection of dance, theater and performance. She is currently in the process of creating the children’s show “Ah ta tons!” and is on tour with her collaborator Steven Chotard with their duo SCHLASS. 

Jarkko Mandelin

Website
Instagram
Kinetic Orchestra

CLASS DESCRIPTION

Jarkko Mandelin´s workshops focuses on floorwork and partnering techniques developed by Jarkko and Kinetic Orchestra company dancers. Techniques can be often seen as a base discipline of Kinetic Orchestra’s artistic work. Physicality and the ability to adapt into different ways of moving are emphasized during the workshop.

Jarkko´s floorwork is a combination of soft acrobatic skills, contemporary dance ideals and inspiration from breaking and capoeira.

While partnering practice is based rather understanding than repeating things, actual training is combination of learning different skills from acrobatics to contact improv and martial arts. Practice is all about learning new skills and then using those skills on fixed material that will lead participants to experience longer partnering sequences that are close to material Kinetic Orchestra uses on their stage projects.

Also conventional divisions into flyer-base roles are raised into question and new ways to balance and enrich partnering are being sought

Biography

Jarkko Mandelin is Helsinki based choreographer and teacher. Mandelin has dancer education from Finnish National Ballet School and Theatre Academy of Helsinki. Mandelin is know for his movement based practise and scientists like approach to movement. He has been working 25 years as a dancer, dance teacher and choreographer in fields of theatre, circus and dance.

Video

Jonathan Burrows

Website

CLASS DESCRIPTION

Rethinking choreography

Workshop title and description: Rethinking choreography: Jonathan Burrows leads a workshop rethinking what choreography might be and why people like to do it. Burrows’ approach questions the image of choreography as formal structure, focusing instead on the feeling of transition and how sequenced movement is central to the ways in which human beings move through, perceive, remember, anticipate, communicate and imagine the world.

Biography

Jonathan Burrows is a choreographer whose main focus of work is a 30 year collaboration with the composer Matteo Fargion, with whom he continues to teach and present work around the world. Their work is hard to place, combining intellectual rigour with unexpected humour, but it has its roots in a shared love of compositional forms and an approach to performance that is both anarchic and joyful. Burrows is a founder visiting member of faculty at P.A.R.T.S Belgium and has for many years been a regular collaborator for Jonzi D’s Back To The Lab hip hop theatre mentoring project at Breakin’ Convention, Sadler’s Wells London. He is the author of A Choreographer’s Handbook (Routledge) and Writing Dance (Varamo Press, 2022), and is currently Associate Professor at the Centre for Dance Research, Coventry University

Video

Milan Herich

Website
Instagram

CLASS DESCRIPTION

FLYING LOW

This workshop focuses mainly on the dancer’s relationship with the floor. The class utilizes simple movement patterns that involve breathing, speed and the release of energy throughout the body in order to activate the relationship between the center and the joints, moving in and out of the ground more efficiently by maintaining a centered state. There is a focus on the skeletal structure that will help improve the dancers physical perception and alertness. The class includes partnering work and movement phrases, which explore the primary laws of physics: cohesion and expansion.

The class begins in stillness and students are asked to read their body in a standing position. They are urged to connect their entire body with the environment: the air, floor, and the energy of others, forming an interconnection by just standing. When you are standing, the whole room is standing. This stillness jumps to running and passing through each other, running forward backward and around creating a dance web. The highways of the room are warming up. When you are moving, the whole room is moving.

The body is constantly spiraling, whether running or standing. These spirals help the dancers into the floor and out of the floor. These spirals already exist; this workshop focuses on finding them. The spirals help the dancer see themselves and the room from all sides. The dancer knows what is behind him/her as he/she goes forward. To activate these spirals, students locate their center and move all of their joints from this center. Arms, legs, hands, toes, elbows, feet become extensions of the center. The spirals propel the class all over the room, both on the ground and upright. This is the Flying Low technique.

Biography

Born in Slovakia, Milan began his dance training in the Slovakian traditional children’s dance company Dumbier, and went on to graduate from the Banska Bystrica Dance Conservatory.|

In 2002, he continued his dance education at the renowned school P.A.R.T.S under the direction of Anna Teresa de Keersmaeker, in Brussels. 

Milan worked with different choreographers and companies, including Ultima Vez / Wim Vandekeybus in the creations Puur (2005) and Booting Looting (2013). He also worked with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui to create the show Myth (2007).

For more than 19 years, he has been in continuous collaboration with David Zambrano as an assistant in classes and workshops and as an interpreter in the works: 12 flies went out at noon, 3 flies went out at noon, Rabbit Project, Soul Projectand Holes.
Milan Herich is co-founder of Les SlovaKs Dance Collective, creating the works Opening Night (2007) Journey Home (2009) The concert, live concert of traditional music and singing (2010) and their last show, Fragments.
In 2013, he also collaborated with the choreographer Anton Lachky on the creations Mind Gapand Side Effects.
Milan created together with David Zambrano A Solo for Mr. Folk, which was performed across Europe and Latin America.
He also has experience coaching and choreographing in works of the renowned circus company Rasposo, (Morsure (2014), La Dévorée(2017
In the end of 2018 he directed and choreographed a full evening performance together with Petr Forman Turn over a new leaf for the circus school, ESAC, in Brussels.In 2024 premiered dance and theatre show directed by Petr Forman” The Conference of the birds”

Video

Sintija Silina

Class description

bodyART® is a functional body & mind training focusing on the detailed movement experience and holistic approach to the workout itself. The training system is designed as an open “platform” that merges the best and most therapeutically effective of yoga, classical strength exercises, flexibility and stretching exercises, physiotherapy-based exercises, various breathing techniques, relaxation techniques and Japanese Do In massage systems additionally to bodyART® original exercises. bodyART® significantly improves strength, coordination, flexibility, balance, endurance, self-control and relieve stress due to its multidimensional impact. bodyART® is liberal in its concept assuring that you don’t need anything more than yourself to reach the awareness.

Biography

Sintija Silina is a Latvian choreographer and dancer professionally active since 2007, and certified bodyART® instructor since 2014. She received the BA in contemporary choreography from the Latvian Academy of Culture in 2007. Sintija Silina has participated in a variety of dance festivals, dance workshops and residencies around the world including b12 (Germany), ImPulsTanz (Austria), Dance Omi International Dance Collective (USA), tanzhaus nrw (Germany) and Summer Studios PARTS (Belgium) among other. In 2007 Sintija Silina received the DanceWEB Europe scholarship mentored by Jonathan Burrows. Her latest work – the dance performance ROCK BOTTOM was nominated for the first Latvian Dance Award as the noticed contemporary dance production for the two-year period – 2017 and 2018.

Ramona Galkina

Class description

The Feldenkrais Method is not a dance technique but a method of somatic (physical) learning for the sake of self-development and feeling better. The link between improving movement skills and shifts in the perception of ourselves and the world is established by the subjective experience of sensory-motor coordination. The somatic experiences are brought to the foreground and are guided along by the structure of the Awareness Through Movement (ATM) lessons. During the ATM participants explore sequences of movements in lying on the floor , sitting or standing. Each lesson can be understood as a study of the biomechanical and developmental nature of body movement through the prism of a specific function. The lessons are verbally led by a practitioner.

Biography

Ramona Galkina teaches different dance and movement disciplines to the students of dance and theatre at the Latvian Academy of Culture since 2004. She has been a qualified as a certificated Feldenkrais Method practitioner (Feldenkrais International Training Program, Vienna) since 2004 and is actively taking part in various advanced trainings and workshops. Her teaching provides an ongoing source of inspiration with opportunities to investigate her own practice and sees her teaching nationally and internationally in a variety of settings.

Olga Žitluhina

Class description

The awakening of the human body is linked to a natural dawn or sunrise.

In this time of fragmentation and endless flow of information I would like to share with you some body/mind practices (Infinity, 5 Tibetan, 5 Animal Qigong, Swinging Therapy, Vibrogymnastic, Slapping Therapy, Laughter Therapy).

We’re going to try a little bit of each of these practices and focus a little more on one of the practices each day. The class will allow you to enjoy yourself, enjoy the silence of your body and its volume, will charge you with energy and confidence for the whole day

Biography

Olga Zitluhina`s artistic bio in numbers:

57 years – dancing

45 years – choreographing

45 years – teaching and sharing dance

28 years teaching in the State Ballet school

24 years – the director of contemporary dance program at the Latvian academy of culture

14 years as Professor

19 years – the art director of LAIKS DEJOT , contemporary dance festival in Riga, Latvia

20 performances for her own company

39 “ÀRÁ” performances

3 performances for Latvian National Ballet company

2 performances for break dance company Camelot

56 hours SOLO dancing performance in 2014

31 years – the official alien

44 countries performed and taught

10 times teaching in China

2 times awarded as best contemporary dance performance in Latvia

1 National Dance award as Best Dancer for 2019-2021

Alise Putniņa

Class description

This yoga class is dedicated to conscious movement, breathing, and  body connection. The class combines various yoga practices to work on movement flow, build strength and mobility, and develop inner balance. The class is suitable for participants of all experience levels, encouraging the development of body awareness, stability, and ease of movement. 

Biography

Alise Putniņa is a contemporary dance choreographer and dance artist. She holds a bachelor’s degree in contemporary dance choreography from the Latvian Academy of Culture and a master’s degree in interdisciplinary art (POST) from the Latvian Academy of Art. Since 2015, she has been working as an independent choreographer, collaborating with artists from various fields, as well as regularly conducting masterclasses in Latvia and abroad. Since 2020, she has been a lecturer and methodologist at the MIKC NMV Riga Ballet School.

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Milan Tomášik

Poetic body

Where attention goes energy flows – Poetic Body workshop represents a body that is fully present, alive, and engaged. It is an ongoing, immersive practice built on experience of Happy Feet and Playful Presence that draws on inclusive approaches and techniques such as contemporary dance, improvisation, and composition. It incorporates the concept of the body as an instrument or medium capable of expressing and embodying diverse movement qualities, rhythm, tension, emotions, and immaterial. Poetic Body is about the ability to execute any desired action fully, passionately and with ease. We bring action by waking up the body and mind through various physical games, attuning the body to the moment and the space, channelling energy through qigong principles, and connecting with ourselves and the environment. I love to create a friendly atmosphere where we respect the differences and nourish the individuality. In such atmosphere, the learning potential is enormous and even the most sophisticated movement seems easy. I offer a holistic approach to dancing, in which the practise of spontaneous and set movement is intertwined, technique meets with passion and wellbeing is priority. The emphasis is on rhythm and musicality, but we also pay attention on articulation of the different body parts, precise execution of the movement, the foot work, jumps, and spins. I guide you through the exploration of contrasting movement qualities such as range of body tension and we’ll investigate the connection between emotion and motion. I bring my extensive experience as a long-time practitioner of instant composition into each session, guiding students through techniques that enhance presence, awareness, responsiveness, and creativity within performance. I have been teaching for over twenty years and my practice is developed, interconnected, and mutually influenced around the craft of choreography, dance and teaching.

Biography

MILAN TOMÁŠIK (SK/SLO) is a choreographer, performer, teacher and artistic director working internationally in the field of dance and performing arts. His training includes J. L. Bella Conservatory Banská Bystrica (SK), the Academy of Performing Arts, Bratislava (SK), Moving Academy for Performing Arts (NL), and P.A.R.T.S. (BE), directed by Anna Teresa de Keersmaeker. In 2024 he completed his master’s studies at Alma Mater Europaea (SLO).

Milan has performed professionally for twenty years, collaborating with artists across Europe such as Eva Weissmann, Katarina Zagorski, Iztok Kovač, Mala Kline, Maja Delak, Magdalena Reiter, Anja Zag Golob, Andreja Rauch Podrzavnik, Sláva Daubnerová, Agostina D’Alessandro, Aleksandra Pavlovič, Charlie Brittain. He is co-founder of the Les SlovaKs dance collective with whom he created and performed three works that acquired international fame. The first piece is Opening Night (2007), then Journey Home (2009) and Fragments (2012). 

His choreographic work is performed internationally, has delivered commissions for Krakow Dance Theater (Treatise, Poland), Scenario Pubblico (Intrecciato, Italy), Divadlo Štúdio tanca (Besi, Veselosti minulosti, Slovakia) and tri4 association (Pokrm, Slovakia). In 2022, Milan collaborated with a director Sláva Daubnerová on adaptation of George Sand’s novel Gabriel at Badishes Staatstheater in Karlsruhe (Germany). In 2014 he founded his own dance company Milan Tomášik & Co and created three dance performances Hunting Season (2014), Silver Blue (2015) and Fight Bright (2018) performed on various European festivals. The Hunting Season performance has been selected and supported by Dancenet Sweden to tour nationally, the piece has also received two awards for the lighting design (KioSk festival, SK and Gibanica festival, SLO) and Ksenija Hribar Award for the best dancer (Tina Valentan, Gibanica festival, SLO). Milan’s authorship and unique stage presence is best represented in his solo performances Within (2006), Off-beat (2011), Solo 2016 (2016), and Arms That Never Knew Me (2024). Since 2018, he collaborates closely with British artist Charlie Brittain on productions Echo (2019), Indefinite Frequency (2021), Unchanging (2022) and Arms that never knew me (2024). The dance concert Indefinite Frequency with the Slovenian Percussion Project (SToP) was selected and supported by the Pan Adria network in 2021.

Milan is regularly invited as a guest teacher around the world to deliver his signature workshops Happy Feet and Playful Presence, in 2023 fused in Poetic Body. During 2023-2024 season he was partly employed at dance gymnasium (SVŠGUGL) in Ljubljana. His teaching includes Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance (AT), Le Centre national de dance contemporaine Angers (F), The Danish National School of Performing Arts Copenhagen, Holstebro (DK), Stockholm University of the Arts (SE), Zagreb Academy of Dramatic Arts/University of Zagreb (CRO), Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts (DE), Belgrade Dance Institute (RS), Alma Mater Europaea (SLO), Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (LT), Academy of Theatre and Dance/Amsterdam University of the Arts (NL), School of Fine and Performing Arts Tilburg (NL), London Contemporary Dance School (UK), Training with one Dublin (IE), The Academy of Performing Arts Bratislava (SK), B12 Berlin (DE), Deltebre dansa (ES), La Central del Circ Barcelona (ES), El Graner Barcelona (ES), Tictac Art Centre (BE), La Raffinerie Brussels (BE), Danse Centrum Jette Brussels (BE), P.A.R.T.S. summer school Brussels (BE), Out of the Toolbox Ghent (BE), Kaserne Basel (CH), Tanzwerkstatt Europa München (DE), Akropoditi dance festival Syros (GR), Dance Days Chania Crete (GR), Platforma Nest – research cycle Ljubljana, Dance Theatre Ljubljana (SLO), Vibra Ljubljana (SLO), EN-KNAP (SLO), Divadlo Štúdio tanca (SK), Akram Khan Company (UK), Ultima Vez Brussels (BE), Theatre Bielefeld (DE), Yucatan dansa Merida (Mexico), Rosario, Tucuman (Argentina), Kazan, Yekaterinburg (Russia), The New Beijing (China), Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo) and CoDa21 San Juan (Puerto Rico), among others. 

Milan was an associated artists of Scenario Pubblico in Catania (IT) and an artistic curator of Out of the Toolbox workshop festival in Ghent, (BE). He was a recipient of the Dance Web Scholarship at ImpulsTanz Festival (AT), was awarded the Prize of the City Prievidza (SK) and received an award for the solo performance Off-beat at international festival Cortoindanza in Cagliari, Sardinia (IT).