Saturday, April 6, 2019 at 11 AM – 5 PM
Berkeley Finnish Hall
1970 Chestnut St,
Berkeley, California
This four-hour workshop will be a deep dive into
micro-technique. Navigating the intimacy of close embrace with respect and
honoring of boundaries, responding with instantaneous precision and flowing
effortlessly between initiation (lead) and response (follow) will all be
addressed in depth. We'll also dive into breath work, exploring complexity of movement
and the luscious richness available within the pause.
"...the only thing needed for magic to occur is some
form of structure and an open mind." - Gene Keys, Richard Rudd
The world of micro-dance is a form of magic. It relies on
a delicate interplay of trust and surrender. Whether we're dancing switch or in
the polarity of lead and follow, there is always an exchange of energy taking
place. Our job is to listen deeper than we ever have, to ourselves, to our
partner, to the music, to our connection with the earth, and respond with
openness - with the fluidity of water - to the changes in the structure within
which we dance.
This micro workshop will place an emphasis on how we
notice and move with awareness of the saucier sensual energies as they arise
within a dance, and to hold these energies in their highest possible light. Our
sexual energy is the energy of creation; our vital life force. As such, we will
be moving in the realm of the sacred with our dance, and with our touch.
Creating a container imbued with the feeling of safety is
my primary concern so that every body can feel comfortable and excited to be
exploring and inviting more pleasure in their dance with the Sacred Other.
Facilitator:
WREN LAFEET
Wren teaches partner dance internationally and primarily
on the west coast of North America as a practice for mindful, authentic living,
enlivening communities with his signature modality, Cocréa. He is a celebrated
TEDx speaker, featured author in "ReInhabiting the Village" - a comprehensive
volume of collected works outlining best practices for building regenerative
community, and ardent proponent of pioneering a new renaissance through
co-created movement, authentic connection and consensual touch. As a cultural
architect, his facilitation aims to aid others to "create themselves as
brave spaces" for others to express and embody joy through the synthesis
of structured social partner dance, conscious movement, authentic relating,
sensuality as spirituality and luscious dance music. Cultivating partnered
movement as a form of dance and sense therapy, his practice focuses on trusting
our bodies with the music and our partner to catalyze elevating the whole being
into higher vibrational states. Dancing professionally off and on since 1999,
teaching since 2008, and partner dancing virtually since he was in the womb,
Wren's work is deeply influenced by nature, relationship, mindfulness and
messing up, and has been praised as "the next evolution of conscious
dance."
Cost: $45 - $80 (sliding scale)
