Last fall, I did my first in person workshop in far too long, and it was wonderful. I got to meet in 3D some beautiful humans I’ve only known through zoom classes. We got to dive deeply into Peony Somatic Dance. And we were able to instantly build safe community where each person’s unique movement art could emerge and be witnessed. Again, it was wonderful.
And of course, it left me wanting more. This time we’ll be focusing specifically on the foundational practices of Peony Somatic Dance that come from my study of Butoh. But we’ll also be adding in other Japanese arts to compliment that, including Haiku and Origami? Why these?
Haiku has been a vital part of my mental health practices over the last couple of decades. It actually came into my life before I started to dance again! I used to write haiku every single day to help me focus on the world outside myself. (And I take this seriously. We’ll be talking about why, for example, haiku are not traditionally supposed to have any sense of I/me in them.)
Origami is another of the Japanese arts that can teach us something about movement, space, and simplicity. It feels like a perfect match for our work.
So, yeah… save the date. If you’re coming from out of town, maybe start looking for places to stay. There are a lot of wonderful spots within walking distance of the studio, which is here. And if you’ve never done so, read about Peony Somatic Dance (and feel free to send me any questions you might have.)