Flying Low & Passing Through are the floorwork technique and improvisation methods of David Zambrano. These methods were first developed by Zambrano in the 80s and have been expanded upon by a global community. They are highly physical, fast-moving dance games that build mental, physical, and emotional stamina.

My workshop teaches both Flying Low and Passing Through together; as students advance, the two modes become a singular way of moving, dancing, and performing. No Western or classical training is necessary, the only prerequisite physical skills are walking, running, and squatting. There are short phrases but no counts, and a love of dancing to music unites our sweaty effort. Classes rely heavily on physical touch as a learning tool between dancers and the instructor.

As a transgressive educator invested in dismantling patriarchal power structures, I exaggerate the queer collectivity and open-source ethos that powers Zambrano’s practices. I offer supplementary material to support dancers mental and physical health, expanding access to this rigorous and demanding work. I am not a disciple; while I am orthodox in my adherence to what and how these methods were taught to me, I offer and invite critique.

My love of Zambrano’s methods is interwoven with my love for various Black dance forms; I articulate and celebrate the Africanist presence in Zambrano’s work such as the influence of Afro-Diasporic partner dancing, the cypher, subversive humor, and jazz musical structures.

Qualifications:

I have studied Flying Low & Passing Through intermittently since 2012, training with Zambrano, as well as with Milan Herich, Leila McMillan and Christina Leitão, including traveling to Costa Rica, Italy and Thailand for intensive training. I was also participated in Zambrano's 60 Day Project at Tic Tac Arts Centre Brussels in 2019. I have also trained with artists developed in Zambrano’s embrace: Francisco Córdova, Edivaldo Ernesto, Horacio Macuaua, and Rakesh Sukesh.

How I teach Flying Low and Passing Through draws strength from how, as a white person, I teach Black dance traditions. The major difference being that Zambrano’s techniques were developed as part of his personal choreographic practice, and Black dance traditions are robust cultural forms without singular authorship. (Grateful to my colleague Dr 'Funmi Adewole for this clarity of language.)

Flying Low

Flying Low focuses on the dancer’s relationship with the floor. Class begins with simple movement patterns that involve breathing, speed, and gaining control of how one directs their own energy. Flying Low uses the metaphor of spirals, fractals, and interconnectedness to build sustainable agility getting in and out of the floor, including moving upside-down and backwards. Flying Low focuses on gathering and sending one’s energy, focus, and mass in all directions. No Western or classical training is necessary, the only prerequisite physical skills are walking, running, and squatting.

In Zambrano’s words:

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.

Passing Through

Passing Through takes students through various exercises that build towards high energy, musical, leaderless group improvisation and spontaneous composition for performance. Growing in complexity from introductory chapters of Walking & Running, Passing Through includes Leading & Following, Inviting & Being Invited, Looping, and Going Up, Over, and Under each other. Students learn to see and feel visible and invisible pathways and partners in themselves, each other, the room, and the music. Passing Through is a practice of always performing, and students learn primarily in the doing. Passing Through can be done in silence or to any kind of music, live or recorded. As students advance in their skills and group cohesion, Flying Low and other dance training can be integrated into each other, ultimately merging.

In Zambrano’s words:

From an outside vantage point, the group should give the appearance that it is moving without a leader or a follower while truthfully, everyone is leading and following... The whole group is constantly traveling, weaving their bodies inside and out of their classmates and still always aware of the environment around them.