Mindful Movement — Somatic Dance Classes

Online via Zoom & In Person on Salt Spring Island, B.C.

Credentials:
Ph.D. in Dance (Temple University, 2009)
Registered Somatic Movement Therapist and Educator (ISMETA certification)
Dynamic Embodiment Practitioner (Certification with Martha Eddy)
BodyMind Dancing (Certification with Martha Eddy)
Laban/Bartenieff and Somatic Studies International Foundations (training with Janet Kaylo)
19 years as a tenured university professor of Dance in Los Angeles and other cities
Professional dancer with over 30 years of training in various contemporary Western and African dance traditions, improvisation, and Authentic Movement.

Seonagh’s Classes

In my somatic dance classes I nurture an open environment with good music where I hope you feel free to express yourself physically while taking care of your body’s needs.

What to Expect

Every class begins with a warm up that includes alignment, balance, weight shifts, and targeted work on the fascia. Then, I share anatomically designed movement phrases to help us attune to inner sensations and support well-being. I choreograph movement with options to work for different levels of dancers. Improvising with movement combinations helps us develop intuitively and creatively. No prior dance experience is needed and the practice is accessible for most bodies and ages.

Through subtle body awareness, students are invited to remember and perceive safety in the body, learn how to modulate their energy levels, and release tension, stress, or physical pain. These movement classes help participants learn to be more present, turn up or down the volume on their energy level and output, and explore dynamic connections in the body and the boundaries of personal space.

Influences

I guide each class with imagery influenced by over 30 years of background in meditation and yoga, and by time with nature. I teach dance techniques from contemporary Western and African movement traditions. My way of teaching is also informed by my teacher John Pennington, a Bella Lewitsky dancer who shows the “how” of movement by focusing on the anatomical, mechanical and qualitative processes of executing a movement, rather than just the final shape or position, and who nurtures open-minded curiosity and community building in class. I play with movement phrases and approaches derived from my teachers in BodyMind Dancing™ (Martha Eddy), experiential anatomy from BodyMind Centering™ (Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen), and Irmgard Bartenieff’s Fundamentals, which I learned from teachers who studied directly with Irmgard.

Upcoming Classes

Calming the Nervous System Group Class – April 2

April 2 @ 10:00 am - 11:15 am PDT

Class Time: 10:00am PST/1:00pm EST/7pm Paris

This class is informed anatomically to help calm the nervous system and enhance feelings of wellbeing. We play with anatomical movement phrases that are derived from BodyMind Dancing™ (Martha Eddy), experiential anatomy from BodyMind Centering™ (Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen), and I guide class with imagery in a way that’s influenced by my background of many years of meditation, yoga practice, and I offer dance technique and imagery from contemporary Western and African movement languages.

The class nurtures an open environment with good music where I hope you feel free to express yourself physically while taking care of your body’s needs. At the beginning of class we foster community by doing a check-in. Each person is invited to share what is happening physically or emotionally, and the class is guided by themes that come from the group.

The movement builds from what I have prepared and is choreographed to work for different levels of dancers, beginning with a warm-up, skill-building phrases, movement practice, and improvisation with imagery and music. We improvise with short movement phrases that both help us attune to inner sensations and develop creatively. Each session of this class is different, so feel free to sign up for more than one!

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Frequently Asked Questions

You might not be a dancer. That’s okay. People who attend are different ages and time zones, and have different comfort levels with their bodies and dance. I will guide some movement but please adapt this to your own body, going easier/harder with the movement as you wish.

Somatic dance is a method of finding awareness of self through investigating your body’s movement with curiosity and presence. It works for different levels, particularly in online classes, because everyone can feel free to adapt the movement practice in whatever ways you wish, as long as they do not harm the body.

We explore somatic exercises that target fluids and meridians of the body, myofascial movement principles, developmental patterning, Body-Mind Centering ™ techniques (experiential anatomy), BodyMind Dancing ™ techniques, and authentic movement.

Whether we participate in classes online or in person, each of us is provided with an opportunity for connection that differs in some key ways from what we typically encounter in our day to day lives. Classes are informed by what each person chooses to share about their physical, emotional, or mental wellness or desires, and in this way, we each shape our environment and witness others in this practice.

One beauty of an online class like this is that no one watches us too closely. We are all dancing alone together. In some way we can energize and support one another just by moving. But we also take time to check in before and after class. This can help us feel less alone or distressed.

You could do the class from a small private space in your office or living room, or in a larger space, depending on what is available to you. Likewise, I am sometimes in a smallish space, and working in new ways online, so it is possible we will encounter technical issues. I hope you will be patient and we will have a laugh.

In somatic dance class we move mindfully, tune into inner bodily sensations, and move from within while exploring movement that is designed anatomically to shift mood and energy levels. The movement assists a reconnection to our inherent embodied dynamism. Our bodies are designed for efficiency, but when we sit for long durations at a computer or in a car, this dynamic capacity is diminished. Irmgard Bartenieff’s fundamentals and connectivity principles, myofascial principles, and other experiential anatomical movements are included as part of the movement design. When we reconnect to our inherent embodied dynamism in these ways it supports self-care and enhances feelings of well-being.

The fascia is like a network of connectivity fiber that runs through our entire body, separating and connecting our muscles, organs, bones, and nerves. A healthy fascia system affects feelings of well-being. This web consists of extracellular matrices and fibrous proteins. The main components are collagen for tensile strength and elastin for flexibility. Qualities of glide, tensegrity, and elasticity are important to the health of our fascia.

A healthy fascia system can be enhanced with targeted movement. My work with fascia is influenced by my study with Judy Gantz, who studied with Karen Gurtner, by classes with Tom Myers, and by decades of yoga practice.

Intentional fascia movement can shift our nervous system by introducing new neuro-myofascial patterns. Fascia acts like a sponge. It can be squeezed by applying biotensegrity in movement to flush out old fluids, and it can be soaked with rest to replenish with new fluid. Nerves run through the fascia and are also mobile in relation to our movement. Movement can be designed with certain qualities and targeted to increase lubrication and glide in the fascia. Through intentional movement we alter the gel state of mucopolysaccharides and thus the flow of interstitial fluids, and neural messages, and introduce new neuro-myofascial patterns.