A Dance of Stillness
We are now immersed in the fall season and the dark times. Our Mother the Earth is struggling to come into balance with herself, throwing us even more out of balance than we already were. We each know all the reasons why.
How can we find and sustain balance within the chaos?
I have discovered a ‘Dance of Stillness’ in my body. This may come after one of my ‘small dances’, or playing with my cats, or at any surprising moment of the day. Whether standing, sitting or lying down, I simply attend to our Mother’s support underneath me and allow myself to be carried. This holding permits my muscles to release, my ribcage to soften and my breath to flow with more ease.
I notice the gentle percolation of sensation travelling through my torso and limbs. From this presence with myself, I include awareness of my environment, feeling myself included within a greater whole.
Though I have not changed the forces in my life or the world, I have gained a quiet acceptance and curiosity. I am more in balance with myself. Here is Mira doing a ‘Dance of Stillness’ amongst the fallen apples from the tree.
Fall is a time for Thanksgiving, a perfect season to savour the sacred gift of life streaming through our embodied selves. The ‘Dance of Stillness’ is actually one of AbunDance!
My time this fall is filled with seeing clients and teaching courses in Dance-movement Therapy as well as a Dance-movement therapy research project, ‘The Culture of Dance Through a Black and White Lens’, in collaboration with an African American DMT, Angela Grayson. Thus I have had to postpone scheduling workshops for now. I do hope to be able to hold an Authentic Movement and a Moving with Spirit workshop before the end of the year.
In the meantime, may you be safe and well, filled with as much peace and joy as possible. Perhaps you will find your own Dance of Stillness.
With Love and Gratitude,
Tannis
Ongoing Workshops
Contact Tannis for dates and locations.
Authentic Movement
In this introduction participants will learn the form of Authentic Movement. They will explore the roles of mover and witness to gain a deeper understanding and acceptance of their embodied experience in all areas of their lives.
Authentic Movement and Performance
Using Authentic Movement to access and manifest deeper levels of our selves, we may enrich our presence in performance, enhance creative exploration, and increase awareness and trust of the body. The form of Authentic Movement is especially useful for dancers and actors.
Moving Prayer
Our need to pray is as ancient and central to life as our breath. In this workshop, we listen to the prayers moving in and through our bodies using guided visualization and structured movement improvisation. By joining body, mind and spirit to dance our prayers, we celebrate ourselves and the earth as miracles of Creation.
Moving with Spirit: Ecstatic Body Postures and Authentic Movement
Learn to journey to the realms of Non-ordinary Reality using Ecstatic Body Postures and integrate the teachings of spirit into conscious awareness with Authentic Movement. Discovered by anthropologist Felicitas Goodman, Ecstatic Body Postures are a sacred technology used by our elders thousands of years ago to commune with the world of spirit for healing, divination, and ritual celebration. Now, to regain access to these realms, practitioners hold a posture from an early indigenous culture, accompanied by drum or rattle, and enter a visionary trance state. In this workshop, we will explore both practices to connect with our ancient roots and the guidance of spirit. Transformed by these gifts, we will feel our place in the web of life and a compassionate acceptance of all being.
Embodying the Roles We Play
This workshop begins by embodying our unconscious realms through Authentic Movement, inviting the emerging parts of ourselves to dance their roles. Then, using the playful tools of drama therapy, we will discover and enact the stories that wish to be revealed.
Hunger Spirit and the Body
A split between our bodies, minds, and spirits can leave us feeling profoundly starved. This workshop uses movement, art, and creative writing to investigate personal and cultural issues which prevent us from nourishing and loving ourselves. We will discover and enter the body’s wisdom, creating a path to heal.