For
non-dancers and dancers alike, this is not what you
think of dance class! My students have ranged in age
from 11 to 83, have been all shapes and sizes, have
danced before, or only in their living rooms, or not
at all, and they keep coming back! This is for every
BODY! No experience is needed, nor is an ability to follow
someone else's steps or to know your right from your
left.
Discover the joys of moving the body, even if you never
thought of yourself as a "dancer," you truly
are! A movement experience like no other, this is one
of those great rivers that leads us back into our bodies
and rejuvenates us with the vital energy of life, rooted while soaring. For
some it's therapeutic and healing, for others it's
spiritual, or a community connection, a great workout,
cathartic and transformative, or a source
to creativity.
Whatever it is for you, it's designed to move your body
and stir your soul. And when the soul, heart, and body
meet, you find that the chatter of the mind naturally quiets, the chaos of the world falls away, moods
shift, breath deepens, stress dissolves, and we experience
release, balance, clarity, and oneness.
Safe and softly lit space, conscious
facilitation, and up to 15 diverse pieces of great music,
are the midwives to assist the birth of your inner dance. There you'll find your inhibition and self-consciousness
replaced by self-expression.
Classes open with a sacred circle of sharing. Then the moving meditation practice begins, activating the body. As explorers, we discover its movement, awakening inner stories. Through focused attention and open awareness, you'll listen and respond along your journey, discovering how your authentic dance unfolds in the movement of the moment.
Then we dive into a progression of energies and dynamics, moving mantras, dance rituals, rhythms. There you learn how the dance that you are can be supported by your own breath, and by the dancers in our circle; how to express and move your energy, free yourself from ordinary patterning, and unleash your heart's passion. Always we dance in partnership -- with oneself,
with one other, or as a tribe.
Each session closes with reflection and a sacred sharing circle, with optional art-making or journaling.
I invite you to journey across your common threshold to meet your tribal self. Dance on the edge, move and be moved. Catch the waves of bliss and ride them on in to your heart!
Often offered as a
2 to 3 hour workshop, or a weekly series of
one-and-a-half or 2-hour classes. Welcome all adults only; teens with permission. Wear comfortable
clothes, dress in layers (for changing temperatures
like from sitting still or moving lots), bring a water
bottle, indoor-only dance shoes or slippers if you can't
dance barefoot, and a blanket or towel or yoga mat to
make the floor more comfortable if a stretch component is being offered.
Barbara is a lifelong dance explorer. As a professional hand-drummer and rhythmist, her dancer's path has brought her to many influential teachers, including Reinhardt Flatishler, Gabrielle Roth, Daphne Lowell, Becky Nordstrom, Art Bridgeman and Myrna Packard, Nancy Dionne, and Susan Schell. Barbara has been leading these tribal dance sessions since 1995, and brings to her teaching a wealth of experiences from a full range of dance, movement, rhythm, and BodyMind studies.
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