April 4-5, 2015 (Saturday – Sunday)
Harbin Hot Springs, Middletown, California
Highly
Recommended! Featured Workshop!
What better way to unplug from the world and connect with
community than to share a couple of days soaking, dancing, doing yoga, hiking,
and having meals together in our own private retreat space? Come immerse
yourself in a variety of conscious movement experiences and the healing waters
of Harbin. The highlights of this retreat include Soul Motion with Valerie
Chafograck, Ecstatic Dance with Baron von Spirit, Contact Improvisation with
Aaron Jessup, Opening Connexion Dance with Daniel Mollner, Yoga and Partner
Yoga with Shannon Sahaja, and Dolphin Dance with Florence Lesur.
We bring a premium underwater audio system for
"Dolphin Dance" and floating meditation in one of our private pools
at the Conference Center. Come dance underwater to flowing music─ it is an
amazing experience.
Main Features:
● Stay Sat morning through Sun evening: two days and a
night at Harbin (and you can extend your stay before or after, if desired)
● Privacy & comfort of the Conference Center,
including our own pools
● A wide range of conscious dance & movement classes
and activities
● Full access to all Harbin Hot Springs main side
facilities and pools
Dance Immersion offers this wide menu of scheduled
activities, but it is not a tightly structured retreat. We do not expect
everybody to participate in every scheduled activity. This is a flexible
retreat with options—each participant manages their own time and flow between
the Conference Center and Harbin main side.
Cost: Early registration by Feb 28-th is $118; Regular - $128;
Late - $140 after March 28th if not sold out.
Questions and
Answers:
1. Where do you
sleep?
Sleeping at the Conference Center is included in the
price of the mini-retreat. You have your choice of nesting on the indoor
sleeping deck (sleeping pad and sleeping bag), nesting in the main hall after
dance quiets down, setting up a tent on the beautiful grounds around the
Conference Center, or staying in your camper/van in the parking lot. For a
separate cost, you can arrange to rent a private bedroom at Harbin main side (5
– 7 minutes’ walk from the Conference Center).
2. What about
meals?
Catered meals are not included. We will have a
scrumptious potluck dinner together the first evening and potluck leftovers for
lunch on the second day. Participants supplement with their own meals for the
rest of their stay by going to the Harbin Restaurant, getting food at the
Harbin Market, or preparing food up at Fern Community Kitchen (a 10-minute
walk). We do provide complimentary coffee/tea service on the morning of the
second day.
3. Should I have previous
experience in dancing/yoga/contact improvisation?
Absolutely not! All the classes are intended to the
people with no pre-requisites, while you will be explained the basic rules. For
some classes, like Dolphin Dancing and Contract Improvisation, that is
essential, for others, like Ecstatic Dances, the main rule is no rules. Get
loose, get liberated, and get happy.
4. Should I have a
partner?
To enjoy the workshop, you do not need a partner. Most
activities are individual or group activities, and the selected those, where
being with partner is recommended, you will have a huge choice of like-minded
individuals.
5. Harbin Hot
Springs carry clothing optional policy. What are the workshop guidelines?
For all the in-house workshops, the closing is mandatory.
For all the outside activities, like soaking in pools and Dolphin Dancing, the
closing is indeed optional.
6. Why this
Workshop is so cheap? What is the catch?
Workshop organizers have special arrangements with the
Harbin Hot Springs administration to arrange these events at the low price at
the dates, when the conference center is free from all other arrangements.
Therefore, the dates for the next event are usually not available early.
7. How many
participants?
The number of people in the group is 75 maximum, and the
tickets are sold pretty fast. So, reserve you space as early as possible to
assure you are in.
8. May I use main
site pools, spa, and facilities?
You definitely can! As said, you have a full access to
all Harbin Hot Springs facilities and pools. You may skip some classes and go
for soak on the main site, or you may move to the main site after the workshop
is over. Your ticket price includes your full access to all facilities at the
Harbin main site until 10:00pm on Sunday night. A 5-10 minute walk up the road
from the Conference Center is the public area of the Harbin Resort, which you are
welcome to visit and enjoy. Facilities at the main side area include two warm
pools, a swimming pool, a cold plunge, a very hot pool, a steam room, and a
sauna.
9. Why I could not
find any pictures from previous retreats?
Some pictures from the Conference Center you can find on
the retreat page (see links below). However, you should understand, that the policy
forbidding taking still pictures and videos at the clothing optional events and
locations is very strict, and you should respect participants’ privacy as well.
In general, Harbin Hot Springs is considered as “tech-free zone”, where use of electronic
devices is very limited.
10. Tell me about
the classes.
"Soul Motion"
with Valerie Chafograck
Soul Motion™ is a Conscious Dance practice, designed by
Vinn Marti. This movement practice is about waking up to your most essential
nature. The only discipline it requires is to show up and be true to the part
of ourselves that is committed to moving. Embracing Soul Motion as a dancing
meditation practice is an effective way to free the body, to express the heart,
and to empty out the mind.
Ecstatic Dance with
Baron von Spirit
Baron von Spirit is a DJ in service of conscious
movement, drawing on his own deeply established practice of ecstatic dance,
5Rhythms, Soul Motion, and contact improvisation for inspiration. He’s known
for his eclectic and wide-ranging musical taste, but even more so for bringing
songs that are fresh and unique. He loves to mix electronic and organic beats,
with plenty of sacred and global music influences. Baron von Spirit lives in
the SF Bay Area and is a resident DJ for Ecstatic Dance Oakland, Ecstatic Dance
Palo Alto, and Ecstatic Downtemple. He founded and produces Dance Immersion at
Harbin Hot Springs.
Contact Improv
classes with Aaron Jessup
Aaron’s first movement training was Chinese Acrobatics,
which he studied with renowned teacher, master Lu Yi. After appearing San
Francisco with Pickle Family Circus and Make*A*Circus, Jessup transitioned to
the dance world, performing with contact improvisation dance luminary Nita
Little, as well as the Izzy-Award winning Scott Wells & Dancers.
Contact Improv is a freeform partner dance
exploration. Without defined roles of
leader & follower, Contact Improv allows both partners the play of freedom
and surrender. These classes will have juicy exploration for all levels of
experience--from newbie to long-time dancer.
Opening Connexion
Dance with Daniel Mollner
This dance session will give everybody a chance to
connect and drop into their bodies.
Daniel is a dancer, filmmaker, DJ, and movement
facilitator. He is co-founder of Santa Cruz Contact University, an institution
focused on teaching Contact Improvisation. He sees dance as a key way to
connect us with ourselves and each other. Dance is the vehicle to promote our
heath, our vitality, and our growth as conscious, embodied beings. He teaches
with a playful, inclusive approach so there is lots of yumminess for dancers of
all experience levels.
Yoga with Shannon
Shannon is a dancer, yogini, and a carrier of earth
medicine. She's a resident yoga teacher for Ecstatic Dance Oakland. Shannon
provides a safe container for students of all levels to come into their
bodies--alive and awake to their own possibilities. Come unwind in this soul
nourishing approach to yoga that will leave you deeply dropped into yourSelf.
"Dolphin
Dance" with Flow Lesur
Dolphin Dance is a form of improvisational dance done
underwater, in the spirit of pure movement play. It is practiced in small
groups in warm pools to music provided by an underwater speaker. Wearing
goggles and nose plugs (provided by Flow), the dancers interacting with their
fellow dancers to co-create dynamic and ecstatic motion. Dancers go under
water, and then return to the surface periodically for air. It is like Contact
Improvisation, but the dynamics are quite different since there is no ground
and little gravity.
11. What would be
your top recommended classes?
We have been at Dance Immersion workshop in February for
the first time, and we have fallen in love with it almost instantly. Even the
heavy rain, cold weather, and completely wet tent has not spoiled our
impression. The top recommendations would be different for each individual, so
my personal recommendations will be not to miss Dolphin Dance, Ecstatic Dance,
and Soul Motion. Nevertheless, all the classes were so good last time that we
have participated in almost all of them.
This workshop is highly recommended! In two days, you
will achieve a body and soul relaxation, comparable with full-scale vacation on
top-notch resort.
The full listing for April events: http://mindfulwatch.blogspot.com/p/silent-meditationretreat-april-2-5-2015.html
