PRICING
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Entire Weekend | $150
non-refundable
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Single Days | $65
non-refundable
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Single Classes | $25
non-refundable
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REGISTRATION INFORMATION
During registration, you will be asked to select which classes you will be attending.
Space is limited, so please register early and select your options. Every class has a minimum number as well as maximum number of participants.
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Questions? Contact Artistic Director Jill Randall at jill@shawl-anderson.org or (510)654-5921
Artwork by Zoe Huey
Friday, June 21
11:30-1 What Our Fascia Holds, with Jessica Damon
Beyond a passive bundle of connective tissue, recent research has revealed that fascia gives structural continuity to every tissue and organ in the body. It is incredibly sensitive, extensively interconnected, and remarkably responsive to manual therapies and physical training. In this workshop I will share some of my investigations into the applications of fascial training for finding optimal stability and mobility in our bodies' structures. Taught through the lens of Pilates and informed by my studies with Elizabeth Larkam and the principles of Thomas Myers’ "Anatomy Trains," the class will be part discussion, part movement practice. A fun and informative laboratory for students and teachers of movement, alike.
Jessica Damon is a dancer and Pilates instructor based in Oakland. She has been teaching the Pilates method since 2006 and has developed an eclectic approach, blending aspects and borrowing principles from Feldenkrais, Alexander Technique, Bartenieff Fundamentals, Fascial Movement Training, Hatha Yoga, Axis Syllabus, and various dance techniques. She holds an MFA in Dance from CU Boulder and a rehab-based Pilates certification from Turning Point Studios in Walnut Creek.
1-2:30 The Language of Embodiment: A Somatic Perspective, with Susan Bauer
In teaching dance and somatic practices, we need to be particularly aware of the words we chose and the responses that our words elicit: are they helping or hindering the students’ learning process? Are they inviting awareness?
After a brief overview of the field of somatics, in this interactive dialogue/workshop participants will engage in embodied activities and be guided to explore the language used to facilitate the experiences. (This class will be based on the chapter in The Embodied Teen called The Language of Embodiment.) Application to teaching dance will also be explored.
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Susan Bauer, MFA, RSME/T is a dance and somatic educator and author of The Embodied Teen: A Somatic Curriculum for Teaching Body-Mind Awareness, Kinesthetic Intelligence, and Social and Emotional Skills. She is the founder of Embodiment in Education, offers workshops and teacher trainings internationally, and has a private practice in the Bay Area as a somatic movement educator and therapist. www.susanbauer.com
2:30-4 Experiential & Short Overview of the Alexander Technique, with Carol Swann
AT was the first “Somatic System” to be developed that came out of western Euro-centric culture (1895). There will be a very short overview of the work followed by exercises that include simple hands-on work in partners either sitting, standing, walking or simple movement.
Carol Swann has been teaching Alexander Technique, Voice, Somatics, Authentic Movement, Contact and Performance Improvisation in the U.S., Latin America, Europe, Israel and Russia for over 38 years. She is Co-Founder/ Director of Moving On Center - School of Participatory Arts and Somatic Research (movingoncenter.org) which integrates somatics and the performing arts for social change (1994-present). She is a registered Movement Therapist/Educator (RSMT/RSME) with a private practice in Somatic Psychology (blending Hakomi/ Process Work/Somatic Experiencing), Alexander Technique and Voice. She is a group process facilitator and weaves her extensive studies in Social Somatics, Body-Mind Centering and Laban/Bartenieff into all of her work.
2:30-4 Finding Bony Movement Clarity, with Mary Armentrout
In this 90 minute session, we will work with a Feldenkrais ATM lesson, with a focus on an area of experiential anatomy it highlights. The Feldenkrais Method is a great tool for connecting anatomical knowledge you may have, with your own actual experience of your body, causing a process of greater clarity around felt sensations to occur - this can be of great value to movers of all sorts. Saturday will focus on the hip/pelvis/low back area, and Sunday will focus on the shoulder girdle/rib cage/thoracic spine.
Mary Armentrout is a dancer, choreographer, and Feldenkrais Practitioner. Feldenkrais has been a personal laboratory for her for studying the intersection of bodies and movement on many levels, for the past 25 years. Guiding other movers to discover their own path towards more aware movement - which can cause a re-centering and grounding, more efficient and sophisticated execution of movements, or bring relief from pain patterns - can be life-altering, and continues to be a joyously absorbing practice for her.
3-4:30 Teaching Somatics with Teens, with Susan Bauer
Basic principles of somatics—like paying attention within and developing a less judgmental “inner witness”— can be a key to helping teens to thrive. Somatic practices provide youth with tools to cultivate their inner resources and tap into their body intelligence on a regular basis. But how do you make these practices accessible for teens, so they can develop a level of comfort with their own bodies? Come experience ways to engage teens in somatic practices, and see how it’s done!
The workshop will include discussion of the 8 Basic Pedagogy Principles for Teaching Somatics with Teens (from The Embodied Teen) that encourage a sense of agency, curiosity, and inspiration.
Susan Bauer, MFA, RSME/T is a dance and somatic educator and author of The Embodied Teen: A Somatic Curriculum for Teaching Body-Mind Awareness, Kinesthetic Intelligence, and Social and Emotional Skills. She is the founder of Embodiment in Education, offers workshops and teacher trainings internationally, and has a private practice in the Bay Area as a somatic movement educator and therapist. www.susanbauer.com
Saturday, June 22
2:30-4: Embodying the Lungs and Heart in Ballet Class through BMC (Body-Mind Centering), with Britt Juleen
In this workshop we will play with concepts of Body-Mind Centering within a ballet class setting to explore the soft qualities of our heart and lungs and how that translates into a more expansive and efficient use of the upper torso–port de bras and èpaulement.
After an international performing career that spans over 20 years, Britt Juleen moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and has taught at several top companies and schools including ODC, Oakland Ballet Company, Alonzo King Lines Ballet, Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, Marin Ballet, Saint Mary’s College, and San Jose State, as well as served as artistic director of Berkeley Ballet Theater. Studies in somatic movement education such as Body-Mind Centering are of great importance to her, to enrich traditional ballet technique with an individual sense of authentic expression and kinesthetic development.
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4-5:30 Spirals for the Spine, with Andrea Fuchilieri
In this 90 class we will explore slow circular micro-movements to decongest, release and relax the vertebral column. The rinse off effect of gently contracting and releasing the deeper layers of muscles, using the floor and gravity as a tool has an incredible healing effect in the entire fascia, internal organs, muscles and bones. The entire class will be on the floor, bring layers to keep warm.
A lifelong dancer, Andrea Fuchilieri has been researching and applying somatic techniques in her practice for over 20 years, gaining a deeper understanding of mind-body connections during her two pregnancies and homebirths.
4-5:30 GYROKINESIS® Pathways into Dance, with Lili Weckler
GYROKINESIS® is a movement method that addresses the entire body, opens energy pathways, stimulates the nervous system, and creates functional strength through rhythmic, flowing sequences. We will begin class with GYROKINESIS® material focused on arches, curls, spirals and waves. When we move into more challenging and juicy phrasework, we’ll explore in depth how to carry the concepts we practice in GYROKINESIS® into our dancing bodies for a full, spacious, embodied practice.
Lili Weckler is the artistic director of Lili Weckler | Unhinge, and has a background in release-technique contemporary dance, experimental theater, music, and creative-writing. She has taught at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, LINES Ballet Dance Center, Zoolabs Artist Incubator, the San Francisco Mime Troupe, The California Institute of Integral Studies and at New Conservatory Theater Center. She also teaches GYROTONIC® out of East Bay GYROTONIC® in Rockridge, was a company member of Bread and Puppet Theater, and attended the Lecoq School in Paris.
5:30-7 Making Movement/Sensing Space, with Margit Galanter
In this workshop, we will use the sensory-perceptual brilliance of both Lisa Nelson’s dance practice, Tuning Scores, and the somatic educational work of Feldenkrais Awareness through Movement to experience spontaneous movement-making in context. We will practice with some elemental aspects of dance and movement to access fluid and connected action in the place we are. With these tools, we will learn about how we can compose dance, art, and daily life, and how we can do this powerfully and with grace.
Margit Gallanter is a movement artist and dance poet living in the California East Bay. She has shared Tuning Scores and the Feldenkrais Method across the globe for decades. In the past few years, Margit has been focusing mainly in two realms; environmental and cultural performance projects such as Cave Forms, and the vivid grove — a live art school for moving, learning, creative evolution, and collective liberatory practices.
5:30-7 Breaking It Down: A Basic Overview Theory of Somatics, with Carol Swann
This class will cover some of the primary principles of Somatics including the four fields/approaches, what differentiates these fields and what they have in common. There will be time for dialogue and an experiential exercise.
Carol Swann has been teaching Alexander Technique, Voice, Somatics, Authentic Movement, Contact and Performance Improvisation in the U.S., Latin America, Europe, Israel and Russia for over 38 years. She is Co-Founder/ Director of Moving On Center - School of Participatory Arts and Somatic Research (movingoncenter.org) which integrates somatics and the performing arts for social change (1994-present). She is a registered Movement Therapist/Educator (RSMT/RSME) with a private practice in Somatic Psychology (blending Hakomi/ Process Work/Somatic Experiencing), Alexander Technique and Voice. She is a group process facilitator and weaves her extensive studies in Social Somatics, Body-Mind Centering and Laban/Bartenieff into all of her work.
Sunday, Jun 23
9-10am Sparks: Good Moving Morning Neurology, with Beth Harris
Sparks is a neurology in action movement class. The goal is to engage the brain and nervous system to enhance physical and mental performance. Our human bodymind uses input from three primary systems to make movement choices such as what to move, how to do it, how fast to do the movement, what quality will the movement have, will the movement express intent? The three systems are vision and the eyes, balance and the vestibular system of tiny fluid filled vessels of the inner ear, and finally mobility and proprioception from position sensing neurons in the tissues surrounding the joints of the body. Sparks are movement and sensory activations specific to each of these three systems that improve the input sent to the brain that it can integrate and use to make great movement choices expressing more grace, accuracy, power, ease, stamina, and dynamics. We move a lot in this class in surprising and intriguing ways to explore the great wonder of our human bodymind.
Beth Harris teaches at Accademia Teatro Dimitri in Versci, Switzerland in the Bachelor and Master of Physical Theatre programs. She had a long and fulfilling dance career performing and choreographing, mentored by Daniel Nagrin. She is a Z Health Neural Performance Specialist and Master Trainer.
1:30-3 Finding Bony Movement Clarity, with Mary Armentrout
In this 90 minute session, we will work with a Feldenkrais ATM lesson, with a focus on an area of experiential anatomy it highlights. The Feldenkrais Method is a great tool for connecting anatomical knowledge you may have, with your own actual experience of your body, causing a process of greater clarity around felt sensations to occur - this can be of great value to movers of all sorts. Saturday will focus on the hip/pelvis/low back area, and Sunday will focus on the shoulder girdle/rib cage/thoracic spine.
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Mary Armentrout is a dancer, choreographer, and Feldenkrais Practitioner. Feldenkrais has been a personal laboratory for her for studying the intersection of bodies and movement on many levels, for the past 25 years. Guiding other movers to discover their own path towards more aware movement - which can cause a re-centering and grounding, more efficient and sophisticated execution of movements, or bring relief from pain patterns - can be life-altering, and continues to be a joyously absorbing practice for her.
3:30-5 Bartenieff Fundamentals, with Brenton Cheng
Bartenieff Fundamentals is an approach to basic body training that goes beyond simple ease of movement and joint alignment to actively cultivating an awareness of fundamental movement patterns, phrasing, and three-dimensional use of space, drawing on the comprehensive conceptual framework of Laban Movement Analysis, of which it is a part. It works with essential principles that can be applied to any movement style for more connected, efficient, powerful movement.
Brenton Cheng teaches Laban Movement Analysis, Bartenieff Fundamentals, contact improvisation, and somatically-based performance skills to professional and non-professional movers in classes and workshops around the world. He is a faculty member of Integrated Movement Studies (Laban/Bartenieff certification program), as well as University of San Francisco.
5-6:30 Dance Your Organs, with Lili Weckler
When you dance, what are you dancing with? How do your internal organs guide your trajectories through space? How can your viscera support the movement of your external structure? Taking dance as a form of research, this class explores the heart/mouth/pelvic floor connection (gut tube support/integration) using somatic practices, improvisation and phrasework. Come investigate the breath's ability to hug the heart, to stroke the insides of your anatomy. Come use your vocal chords as a part of your dancing body. Come fly through the room initiated by the roof of your mouth, your pelvic floor, or your perineum.
Lili Weckler is the artistic director of Lili Weckler | Unhinge, and has a background in release-technique contemporary dance, experimental theater, music, and creative-writing. She has taught at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, LINES Ballet Dance Center, Zoolabs Artist Incubator, the San Francisco Mime Troupe, The California Institute of Integral Studies and at New Conservatory Theater Center. She also teaches GYROTONIC® out of East Bay GYROTONIC® in Rockridge, was a company member of Bread and Puppet Theater, and attended the Lecoq School in Paris.