Luke Jessop


RAKESH SUKESH
Payatt INtransit
Workshop:
Payatt Intransit is a contemporary movement technique blending principles from Kalaripayattu, an ancient Indian martial art, with yogic practices, pranayama (breath work), and energy activation. This holistic approach fosters safe yet rigorous training, promoting confidence, relaxation, flexibility, and strength. By incorporating pranayama, practitioners sharpen reflexes and maintain inner calm during physical exertion. The technique challenges physical and mental boundaries, encouraging energetic movement paired with mental relaxation. Controlled breathing isolates physical intensity from inner tranquility, empowering practitioners to master their movements and adapt to unexpected situations. By harmonizing physical energy with external forces, Payatt Intransit achieves balance between body and mind.
Power breath:
This workshop combines modern scientific insights with ancient breathwork techniques to enhance dancers’ physical and mental abilities. Using breath to explore emotional states, body expressions, and intentions, participants practice Pranayama and Intact Methods research ‘Merging’ to improve breath control and boost performance, reduce performance anxiety, build endurance, and develop depth and maturity as a performer. The Intact Method integrates breath, movement, and meditation, fostering self-awareness, individuality, and holistic growth by merging traditional practices with contemporary research and enhancing the body-mind connection.
Decolonization of forms:
This course encourages participants to explore their unique dance identities through reflective practices, revealing how personal history, culture, and societal norms shape expression. By examining their training histories, participants identify influences on their styles and question how movements mirror cultural, political, and historical contexts. They analyze how social status and accessibility define perceptions of “high” or “exotic” art. Participants critically deconstruct labels like “sophisticated,” “exotic,” and “primitive,” tracing their colonial roots and examining how socio-economic factors shape the acceptance of dance forms. The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky serves as an example of art challenging societal norms. Collaborative exercises and experimentation help participants deconstruct movement patterns and redefine traditional forms. By the course’s conclusion, participants embrace a dynamic, transformative practice, fostering cultural awareness and deeper engagement with the complexities of dance.
Bio:
Rakesh Sukesh, a dynamic performer, choreographer, teacher, and producer, bridges the cultural and artistic worlds of Bharat (India) and Belgium. Rooted in yogic philosophy, he earned accreditation from the Shivananda Yoga Centre and enhanced his artistic expression through KalaripayaEu and contemporary dance. His training includes mentorship by renowned masters like Jaychandran Palazy, Dil Sagar, Katie Duck, and David Zambrano.
As a choreographer, his creations span continents, including notable works like A Dream of Silence (2011), YATRA (2013, with Joost Vrouenraets), Borderland (2015, with Eddie Oroyan), and May Us Bless the I (with Francisco Córdova). His latest production, because I Love the Diversity (this micro-attitude we all have it) commissioned by Vancouver’s Push Fes9val, is touring in 2025 in the USA, UK, and Europe.
Rakesh is currently offering his experience as a performer to esteemed companies such as Ultima Vez in Infamous Offspring, Roosana & Kenneth Company in Prime Mover and Shelter Ouroboros, and Andrea Bol in Down the River, Downtown, and Downhill.
Over 15 years, Rakesh has developed the globally acclaimed Intact Method, integrating yogic principles, KalaripayaEu, and contemporary dance and breath work(yogic and modern science influence). He has taught at prestigious ins9tu9ons, including Impulse Tanz, Ultima Vez, Deltebre Dansa, Sidi Larbi Company, and PARTS to name a few.
As a producer, he co-directed the Sanskar International Dance Festival and Sanskar Virtual Festival. He is now co-producing and curating Dance on Screen in Switzerland, continuing to innovate and inspire through cross-cultural artistic endeavors.