Teaching & Research

López Technique and School

Rogelio López is from Costa Rica and is a former dancer and actual, choreographer, teacher, and researcher. He studied under the tutelage of Hans Züllig, former dancer and professor with the Ballet Jooss and the Folkwang University, where Rogelio was invited to study with Professor Zullig. His national and international experiences ignited inquiries that took him to develop his own research and style, which would later develop into a unique school and technique.  Rogelio created Danza U, a renowned Costa Rican Dance Company created 41 years ago where he spent several years as the resident choreographer and director.  Currently, he is the Director of López Danza, Costa Rica, and is an independent teacher and choreographer.

Lopez's philosophy, school, technique, and research find inspiration in other works of art and life, (in the realm of painting, sculpture, film, architecture, and literature) sports, (ice skating, parkour, synchronized swimming) social sciences (anthropology, sociology, and philosophy), nature (animals and the ancestral), and other genres of dance (modern dance, folk dance, urban dance, butoh, ballet, flamenco among others). All of the mentioned before are condensed into movement as a means to 1) decolonize the body from pre-established ideas surrounding dance as a form, and 2) explore the study of symbol and gesture and its value and representation in society. The technique itself focuses on a systemic vision of the body about how it is treated and experimented, which finally sets the practitioner as an active part of their context and learning process. My work over the last 10 years has focused on developing and promoting this technique, which is founded on the principles of thought in the Lopez School. 

I find Lopez to be a revolutionary technique in the context of contemporary dance because it welcomes every aspect of a person as a human being (thought, movement, emotion, sensation, and spirituality). Therefore, the technique is not a set of movements taught to homogenize a group, but instead, it works directly on its practitioner as a creator. 

Enhancing one’s presence through this technique cannot be achieved without reflection or the vital acknowledgment of the body regarding a situation, or “the other” bodies in space. Class always begins with meditation. Meditating through active communication between the barre and the body gives students the chance to explore and understand the way they feel at that present moment, generating an awareness of where their body is in space and the awareness of how they are moving. 

The Lopez School is in constant evolution in its quest to understand the human body through movement. However, its essence stays true: inclusion, discipline, and the transformation of its practitioner through self-discovery, warmth, and affection.