Dance and Movement in connection with Nature’s way; Seeds, Soil, Sun, active care, pruning & shaping, time & space. We have it all here.

The theme for May is “Nourish & Grow” in the vein of “April showers bring May Flowers.” From last month getting totally engaged with the fluid systems of the body, now we ask: What do I need in order to BLOOM into life?

In our 2-day CI immersion this month, we’ll explore these 4 important themes:

1. Seeds and Soil and Sun (resource cultivation) = rest, presence, connection

2. Roots and Trunk and Leaves (Germination) = fundamentals

3. Cutting away the excess (pruning) = eliminating bad habits, building trust

4. Flowering and producing Fruit (Bloom) = advanced skills and applications

The investment for the full weekend immersion is $200. You can secure your place by sending money by VenMo to @davidrhein

You may attend any of the daytime modules for $50 each, or the Saturday night live music jam for a special price of only $20.

Module 1: Sat May 25 9am-12pm: Resource Cultivation

Rest, presence, and connection. Sensing the inner landscape. Cultivating depth and breadth of the breath. Self-care, finding the massage inside the dance. Communicating your needs and boundaries..

Module 2: Sat May 25 2pm-5pm: Germination

Roots and Trunk and Leaves = fundamentals

Putting down strong roots in the form of solid fundamental skills, learning to connect to the earth and to others more confidently so that our seed can sprout and reach toward the sun.

Roots: footwork, changing levels, dynamic table.

Trunk: weight sharing, alternating convexity, single point of contact, effortless cascading

Leaves: Reaching, rolling, undulating, receiving visual and energetic inspiration

Jam: Sat May 25 7pm-10pm: Celebration (A live music jam and sound healing w/ Jeff Ali)

Starting with a beginner friendly class in which we cultivate connection to the musical landscape provided by Jeff Ali, flowing into an open Jam, and finishing with a cuddle puddle Sound Bath.

Module 3: Sun May 26 9am-12pm: Pruning

Cut Away the Excess = eliminate bad habits

Pruning is the process of identifying old habits (from other forms of dance, or limitations from our cultural programming) that are not helpful in creating a fluid and integrated contact dance experience. In line with this, our class will explore the following themes and techniques

1. Hands as feet, feet as hands: connecting to earth and others in atypical ways

2. Body democracy: Connecting through all the regions of the body equally, following the flow of the connection without judgment

3. Controlled aggression: How to meet your partner without overpowering them; how to relax into the contact while still being strong

4. Falling together: with increased connection comes increased safety

Module 4: Sun May 26 2pm-5pm: Blooming

Put it all together to produce fruit

Now that we have cultivated our internal resources, drilled the fundamental skills, and eliminated bad habits, we can put it all together to execute more advances techniques. These include:

1. Complex Team Tumbling

2. Hip Lifts in revolving sequences

3. Shoulder lifts

4. Helicopter Lifts