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

Class is 1 hour 15 minutes, with an optional 15-minute discussion after class.

This class is informed to help calm the nervous system and enhance feelings of wellbeing. We play with anatomical movement phrases derived from BodyMind Dancing™ (Dr. Martha Eddy), BodyMind Centering™ (Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen), and contemporary dance techniques.

I guide class with imagery in a way that’s influenced by my background of meditation and yoga, offering dance technique and imagery from contemporary Western and African movement languages. 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. At the beginning of class each person is invited to share what is happening physically or emotionally, and the class is guided in part by themes that come from the group.
I choreograph movement to work for different levels of dancers, with a warm-up, skill-building practice, and improvisation. We improvise with short movement phrases that help us attune to inner sensations and develop creatively.

Donation is 10$. No one is turned away. At this time, all proceeds go to Amor Propio’s network of therapists. This is a small, volunteer-run nonprofit in Minneapolis that is providing free therapy services to Latinx families, Spanish speaking clients and Indigenous Latinx populations throughout Minnesota.

Logo credit: Quw’utsun artist, Charlene Johnny

Reconciliation through Movement Languages: A Movement Workshop

Workshop Leaders: Elder Daniel Elliot (Stz’uminus) and Elder Robert George (Quw’utsun’)

This workshop offers a rare glimpse into an interdisciplinary artistic process. Participants are invited into the creative process through a guided movement exercise, or may participate by observing.

The workshop brings together various artists involved in “Dances with Addictions,” an art film in development conceived by Elder Daniel Elliot (Stz’uminus). The film concept brings together Wing Chun martial arts, T’sinqwa First Nations dance, and a parallel world of classical dance technique and somatic movement. At the centre of the film is a man who confronts his Spirit of Addiction, embodied as a physical presence. His struggle unfolds in a duet, which is expressed through martial arts. The film shows fragmented environments–street reality, trauma memory, and lived experiences–that merge through green screen compositing, placing the viewer inside the internal world of addiction. As the film progresses, the Spirit of Addiction is no longer an enemy, but is realized as part of the self.

From the moment of transforming the Spirit of Addiction onward, the film expands into community. Elders and T’sinqwa dancers ground this process in culture and ceremony. Running alongside the visible conflict of addiction within the film is a parallel movement world offered by contemporary dancers under the direction of Dr. Seónagh Kummer who choreographs the classical dance movement and street scenes within the film. The classical dance movement both parallels and develops the film’s themes, carrying within it the internal truth of transformation as it becomes shared and collective.

During the workshop, the various artists share about their creative roles before inviting participants into the circle. Elder Daniel Elliot offers his artistic vision for the film. The T’sinqwa dancers led by Elder Robert George (Quw’utsun’) share and discuss the role of dance in community and ceremony, which is central to grounding the film in culture. Daniel and Seónagh describe their patient artistic collaboration—an act of deep listening, friendship building, and slow development as they trusted the creative process to evolve Daniel’s vision. Daniel’s themes of caregiving guided the movement motifs that Seónagh used to focus the movement creation. Working closely with dancer-collaborator Robbyn Scott to develop a duet, this movement expression then deepened a dialogue with Daniel to support the film’s development.

Now, mirroring the Virginia Satir Change Model that shapes Daniel’s film concept, we invite new movement elements. New dancers, recently introduced into the process, offer us new communication styles, shapes and patterns. Participants in this workshop may also help expand the movement creation process. Through a guided movement exercise, a new chaos emerges to inform the direction of the work.

Radiant Resilience is a 7-Day land-based somatic retreat on Salt Spring Island, B.C., where you are invited to slow down, listen deeply, and restore vitality in your body, your work, and your relationships.

— Set an intention, and work together with a small cohort to build new skills in emotional agility, regulation, and connection.
— Under the guidance of Indigenous Elders, learn models of resilience rooted in land and community.
— Daily movement classes from ISMETA-certified Somatic Movement Educators help integrate your learnings and offer new tools to expand your practice or to be shared with your community and/or clientele.– Explore your own connection to “root systems” in guided experiences in the forested and oceanic landscapes of Salt Spring Island.

Through deep witnessing, embodiment practices, and intentional communication, we create a culture of belonging and mutual support; this fertile soil becomes the source material from which we can foster and cultivate our resilience, and is how we can bring a spirit of resilience back to our families and communities.

Learn more about this retreat here.