Dance and Improvisation
Dance improvisation is the synthesis of the movement and consciousness modalities that I am working with. It is the culmination of the play of somatic awareness moving through the body, and beyond. Dance improvisation becomes the practice of the movement of consciousness made visible through the shifting field of the body in space and time.
Though it is true that in our modern western culture dance improvisation is a relatively new form, within many other and more ancient cultures around the world, it is an integral part of how people relate to dance and movement. Improvisation practices are a highly revered form of deep listening, understanding, and synthesis of the body/psyche/spirit relationship. In many ancient cultures, dance practices are used to transcend the body, space, time and the physical reality, to access heightened states of awareness and perception.
My particular interest within dance and dance improvisation is more related to investigating these ancient correlations within our contemporary time. I use somatic, yogic, Ayurvedic, and dance forms to illuminate the flow of presence through the body. This encompasses the process of moment to moment awareness and choice making in movement, which happens through sensing, feeling, thinking, intuiting, and being.
Through the use of somatic practice and whole body integration and awareness, my interest is in facilitating a space which allows the dancer to shift out of the mundane reality which we usually inhabit, and into a world that opens up into a multi-dimensional reality. This is inclusive of heightened states of awareness, understanding, empathy, and being. I believe that dance can be used as a tool for the expansion of consciousness and empathy, and a way to perceive our interconnected realities, both to each other, and to our natural earth environment.
My study of dance and dance improvisation has been deeply informed by teachers Sharon Mansur, K.J. Holmes, Sara Rudner, Emily Devine, Deborah Riley, and Daniel Burkholder. I have also had the opportunity to study with master teachers Nancy Stark Smith, Chris Aiken, Ray Chung, Bebe Miller, among many others.