Paraskevas Terezakis has over twenty years experience teaching the art of contemporary dance through his DOL (dance out loud) workshops. A performer himself, he draws on his past experience on the international stage to show workshop participants ways (outside of just technical routines and exercises) to become better performers and better dancers. Although he believes in the importance of dancers to continually improve their technique, being trained in the classical style himself; Terezakis offers a workshop that goes beyond just the technical aspect of performing: “Performers need to articulate and express themselves not just through movement, but with their entire bodies, as it is the whole body that communicates a message to the audience. Sometimes we forget about our senses and through my workshop we work to become more aware of all our senses and the body can be used in performance.” – Paras Terezakis, Artistic Director/Choreographer In DOL workshops, Terezakis guides the participants through pieces of choreography that make them think reflexively, react to unexpected changes, and explore the relationships between themselves as dancers. Terezakis’ workshops improvise around areas of random ways of thinking. Using their reflections to the subject, each dancer is encouraged to stop or move in response to the subject being improvised upon – for example, chaos versus harmony or inner thoughts versus outer expressions. The voice of the body inwards and outwards will be emphasized during these explorations. Focus will be put on the physicality of movement and physical expression as well as juxtaposition of choice of movement – for example, stillness can be just as strong visually as the most virtuosic movement. Terezakis draws on his dual cultural heritage (Greek /Canadian) to show the participants new ways in which to explore their approach to dance. Terezakis has conducted his DOL workshops all over the world including places such as Belgium, Poland, Greece, Croatia and Brazil. Terezakis’ vast professional experience and his unique style of combining the drama of Greek theatre with the rigors of classical ballet make for an excellent learning opportunity for the participants.