is less powerful than the energy of the characters who inhabit it. Tripsichore is made up of sleek,

skillful yogis who possess qualities of harmony and bliss. Intricate yoga poses flow seamlessly

Edward Clark, founder of Tripsichore Yoga Theatre, is London based yet known all over the world

for his innovative work. His troupe of extraordinary yogi-artists travels extensively bringing

the beauty and grace of yoga into communities everywhere.

ABOUT TRIPSICHORE

Tripsichore began in 1979 as a company devoted to creating full length dance narratives. We explored a variety of stylistic forms

including punk ballet, conventional modern dance and strict neo-classical technique. We used masks, performed with rock bands

and did pop videos. While yoga was always a part of our training, it wasn’t until 1992 that we realised the expressive potential

and choreographic viability of yoga postures. Once we began to devise works using yoga asanas, their extraordinary artistic logic

became evident. Surprisingly, it would seem that there has been no orthodox tradition for using yoga technique to create dances

in the 5000 year history of the discipline. The postures intrinsically possess a sumptuous beauty and fluidity. They are the ideal

vehicle to express the themes of harmony, balance, spirituality, ecstasy, bliss and mysticism because they are exactly about these

subjects in and of themselves. We are now 13 years into this experiment and each day brings new discoveries.

ABOUT EDWARD

Edward Clark is the creator of Tripsichore Yoga Theatre, the London based yoga group who have delighted audiences in Europe,

North America and Asia with their sensual and lyric application of yoga to make serenely absorbing performance art. Tripsichore

Yoga Theatre have been hailed as some of the most innovative practitioners of vinyasa yoga. Sequestered in their studio in London,

England, the company has worked daily for the past 12 years to devise and refine yoga techniques of asana, pranayama, pratayahara,

dharana, and dhyana…making excursions out to perform their creations to audiences worldwide. Until now, their techniques have

only been taught to a very few.

Edward Clark began studying yoga in 1979. Noteworthy among his teachers are Narayani and Giris Rabinovitch, but he confesses

huge admiration for the Ashtanga Vinyasa, Sivananda, Iyengar and Viniyoga practices. The technique Tripsichore uses is a synthesis

of many aspects of yoga. Edward says, "We are quick to disclaim that what we do is dance. While there are dancers in the company,

there are others who have never been in a dance studio. They meet on a common ground of pure yoga." Edward is also the Head Of

Movement and Dance at the prestigious Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London where he has taught for the past

18 years (students include Minnie Driver, Julia Ormond, Rupert Evans). "The incorporation of yoga in the training of actors was an

outrageous idea 10 years ago, but is now being adopted throughout training institutions in the UK," says Mr. Clark.

Edward says, "The concept of vinyasa as applied to yoga philosophy could either be considered very ancient or radically new.

In either case, vinyasa seems to be the great contribution to yoga of this particular generation of yogis. Most yoga discipline has

worked on refining one’s self in the direction of greater stillness – an absence of movement in the mind and body. Superficially,

vinyasa would seem to contradict this. However, the mental focus and physical technique needed to bring about continuous fluid

movement can also bring one to a "seat" of great stability and clarity. The stability is not only in the posture, but in the transition

between postures – to the point where there is no distinction between movement and stillness. The place of vinyasa in the history

of yoga is yet to be determined, but as yoga has become a world wide pursuit, it is probably safe to say that its importance now

also lies in how people begin to apply it outside the more traditional places it has been practised."

VINYASA in our definition, is the evenly metered flow of movement, breath and thought resulting in a smooth, uninflected state

of being. The vinyasa techniques are pursued to bring about clarity and stability to one’s thoughts and actions.

Tripsichore endeavours to do this in class and onstage.

ABOUT JULIA

Julia Horn is a North Carolina Native. Edward Clark discovered Julia at a Triangle Yoga

workshop and invited her to join his troupe. The rest is history!

Desiree Kongerod's web site: http://www.anactabove.com

TRIPSICHORE VIDEO CLIPS