I have felt a recent longing to get back to my dance and movement practice— which for me, is a practice of allowing spontaneous exploration of free-form movement that responds to my needs and curiosity in the moment. I simultaneously feel the need to bring this exploration into some semblance of connection with others. While Zoom is not ideal, the gift of our separate-togetherness in a virtual format is: the comfort of a familiar space to go more deeply within in these explorations. And! Perhaps the freedom to take more risks if you are shy and new to creative movement.
This is how it will work: I will send a brief invitation of ideas and topics for each week's movement exploration, prior to that week's class. We will gather on Zoom and I will guide you briefly into connection with your body and that week’s theme, before starting a 30 minute playlist of music that moves from slow and spacious rhythms, to more energetic, and ends back with slow and still. You can choose to leave your camera on or off, though I encourage you to have it on. Folks are welcome to leave at 7:45, or choose to stay for a brief 10-15 minutes of sharing and discussion at the end.
$10 drop-in, $45 for the 6 week series
Intended for all ages 12 and up
Wednesdays 7:15-7:45pm EST (plus 10-15mins for optional discussion at closing)
*click here to register
While you are always free to follow your own movement interests, I will have some topics and themes for us to explore each session:
Week 1, 1/5: Feet, ground, weight
Week 2, 1/12: Pelvis/spine, water, flow
Week 3, 1/19: Belly/umbilicus, breath, external space
Week 4, 1/26: Heart/arms, contact, reach, embrace
Week 5, 2/2: Head, sky, play, ease
Week 6, 2/9: Expansion/contraction, moving outward and inward
You will need: no experience, some privacy, a small amount of floor space (maybe big enough to lay down in two directions), comfortable clothes, willingness to explore/play. All bodies and any level of mobility is welcome, even sitting or laying down.
The potential benefits of this kind practice are numerous: reconnection with yourself and your authentic rhythms and expression, access to a sense of play and creativity, enlivening of physical parts of yourself that may feel numb or cut-off, arrival into the present moment, relief of chronic pain, connection to pleasure, processing and transmutation of difficult emotions.
I will be drawing on 10 years of personal practice influenced by training as an Expressive Arts Therapist, 5 Rhythms practice, Authentic Movement, and Somatic psychology. I trust that you will listen and attend to your own body's needs and limitations.
**These classes are intended as an opportunity to dip our toes into a creative movement practice. My goal is to extend the length of the movement sessions to 1 hour later this winter.