What is dance movement?

Dance movement is an umbrella term for a range of practices offering the opportunity to connect with and explore your inner experience through inprovised movement.

These practices are about being rather than performing, witnessing rather than spectating, feeling rather than creating smooth aesthetic surfaces. They are a form of meditation in which you offer your attention to what’s happening beneath the level of cognitive mind, feeling into dances that spontaneously materialise and then dissolve.



What is Jess’s approach to facilitating it?

My main intention in working with dance movement practices is to get out of the way so that the dance that is always emerging has space to emerge. As facilitator, I see my role as to hold the space, witness the dance and trust the process. Once a safe container for practice has been established, I refrain as much as possible from directing or intervening in what happens within it, so that ideally the facilitation becomes transparent.



THE OPEN SPACE

This is an invitation to follow your body into movement. There are no sequences to learn, and no aptitude for dance or sense of rhythm is required, just a willingness to move and pay attention to what you’re feeling, sensing and thinking as your movement unfolds. The form is spiral, starting small, rising to a crescendo, and falling away again. There is a variety of music, as well as some opportunities to move in silence or to your own voice. The dances that emerge may be big or small; together or solo. They may be funny, sad, silly, joyous, anarchic, poignant, playful, angry, scared ... The Open Space is a practice of mindfulness, a tool of self-reflection and a way of expanding your repertoire for being, within an environment of mutual respect and acceptance.

Who is it for?
The Open Space is for everyone, from people with two left feet to dancefloor animals and trained dancers. This way of moving is about being present to the natural impulses of your body to move, so you don’t need to be young, fit or flexible; you simply need to be curious about movement and interested in expanding the possibilities for being in your body.

Open Space dates are posted, when scheduled, on the Classes and Events page. Please contact me if you’d like to be informed about upcoming dates.



THE MOVING LABORATORY

MLab is a context for the exploration of dance movement. It is open to anyone with a willingness to move, be present and engage in an ongoing investigation of what it means to be in a human body. There is lots of time just to dance, as well as some simple frameworks for exploration in movement and some time for speaking together. Recently, we have been investigating how we can witness our own dance and the dances of others in the group, cultivating our capacity to observe clearly, communicate skilfully and ‘see’ from the heart.

Who is it for?
No dance experience or aptitude is necessary; however, you do need to have the capacity to stay present to your own dance and to the dances emerging from others in the room.

MLab dates are posted, when scheduled, on the Classes and Events page. Please contact me if you’d like to be informed about upcoming dates.