ABOUT US
Our teaching philosophy is divided into two main ideas
Art and Craft.
Art, for us, is more of a quality or a mindset rather than a fixed discipline. It is actually a point of view more than anything else. The benefit of an artistic approach to movement is the ability to make decisions that immediately change our perceptions and objectives. It gives us more freedom to release fixed patterns or rigid ways of thinking and acting. This skill-set, which comes across, can seem magical or mysterious from the outside, but in practice, it feels natural and organic.
This approach can be applied to dance, circus, theater, martial arts, yoga, parkour, and sports. Furthermore, anyone can develop artistic abilities regardless of age or prior experience. The reason is that this approach does not depend on the execution of certain elements or results, but it's rather an expression of a human body, which is capable of not taking itself too seriously - a skilled body that can adapt to physical limitations and enjoy the challenge. To adopt new solutions to those limitations precisely and gracefully. This is our art form, and I believe anyone can benefit from becoming an artist.
The Craft: Our craftsmanship is very similar to the craftsmanship of a carpenter or a sculptor. It requires serenity and concentration while going through simple tasks for thousands and sometimes millions of times. Since any workshop or education program is limited by a time frame, achievements should never be promised or taken for granted: any single achievement in the craft would usually demand an engagement of hundreds of hours and up to a lifetime of practice. With that being said, through our teaching I share and give a suggestion for a pathway of practice with careful guidance and sincerity. We believe that allowing students to experience steps from a confident craftsman's practice can open tremendous amounts of possibilities with the right dedication and consistency. In the words of Lao Tzu, "A journey of a million miles begins with a single step." Through our teachings, we suggest this first step.
On a technical level - each task has its own methods, structures, and ideas, which are in constant development, change, and shift, just like life itself. Only practice and repetition will allow us to see the full spectrum and the beauty of the connection between action and counter-action.
All in all, our philosophy is our way of constantly acknowledging that everything is subject to change and that the things that we don't know are much more than the things that we do know.
Tom Weklser
Ever since I was a child, I've felt more attracted to experiencing the world rather than knowing the world.
This led me to follow the unmarked path of art and movement.
Professionally, I am managing many of my projects in the realm of performance and dance.
Yet, my curiosity is pulling me to the endless space of physical expression. My embodied philosophy is guided by Zen Buddhism and relates to acting from playfulness and meditation.
Martial arts and acrobatics have been my hobbies since childhood. I am constantly inspired by literature, philosophy, animation, architecture, music, and cinema.
I try to meet my hobbies and my inspirations as often as possible, meeting them over and over with a beginner's mind.
I believe contemporary dance is the art of reinventing the forms every time I dance and the practice of synergy between dance and other art forms. I am also very interested in dance outside of the conventions of theater and in bringing dance to more layers of society, nature, and the streets.
I have been teaching since I was 16 years old. Teaching is very gentle work, and therefore, I constantly refine and improve my teaching abilities. The center of this refinement is dialogue and deep listening. I find the pedagogical space a fascinating meeting point between scientific observation and intuitive expression. I like to divide my philosophy of teaching into arts and crafts. Craft relates to the study of embodying and actualizing the deep human interest in the world. Art relates to the ability to create the space for expression in an ever-changing reality.
Lastly, at the end of each day, I like to remind myself that what I don't know is much greater than what I do know.
Roser Tutusaus
Since childhood, I've been drawn to sports, movement, and dance.
I began my journey in competitive rhythmic gymnastics, then was driven to ballroom dance, followed by hip-hop, jazz, ballet, and eventually contemporary dance.
Contemporary dance was the language that spoke to me the most. Maybe because it allowed me to keep inventing new expressions and reinventing my own physicality, it led me to become a professional dancer.
I could recognize my inner self in the language of dance as if it were my mother tongue. It was the clearest way to actualize my thoughts. Dance became, for me, an intimate way to find self-expression and to communicate with others.
My approach to dance since the beginning was very broad. My curiosity expanded the barriers of contemporary dance techniques into other forms of movement. Finding inspiration in different approaches to a moving body and, furthermore, to a moving being.
Encountering movement as a practice gave me a sense of autonomy and choice. I moved the question from 'What can I express?' to 'What do I embody?'.
My practice enriches my artistic career and gives clarity to what I like to pass on.
In teaching, I’m more interested in what individuals can learn about themselves through their bodies rather than the techniques. However, the learning of techniques definitely gives the necessary tension to be able to encounter the self.
My other passion is space. Space, being the abstract concept that it is, brings forward a dialogue between the self and the environment. From physical forces, materiality, levels, directions, and trajectories… The space, in movement, is a wonderful metaphor for the experience of the world.
I hold a B.A. in Dance from Artez Academy of the Arts in Holland, a B.A. in Journalism from the Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, and an M.A. in Space Design and Ephemeral Architecture from Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya.
PRACTICE AND PERFORMANCE IN CONSTANT EXCHANGE
our performance arts organization where practice transforms into poetry on stage.
WONDERGROUND
MOVEMENT ARTS
Directed by Roser Tutusaus and Tom Weklser, WONDERGROUND is a performance arts organization.
Our works are focused on the stories that the body tells. Through them, we ask universal questions about humanity and its nature. We create ‘Kinetic Poems’ or ‘Meditative Spectacles’, with an interdisciplinary language that bridges Contemporary Dance, Acrobatics, Butoh, partnering, text and ephemeral architectures.