Category Archives: Somatic practices

Extended deadline Bodily Undoing: Somatics as Practices of Critique

Journal Call, Somatic practices

Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices, Special Issue 9.1

Bodily Undoing: Somatics as Practices of Critique

Edited by Thomas Kampe and Kirsty Alexander

Deadline for full articles: 1st May 2016

Bodily Undoing: Somatics as Practices of Critique

The transdisciplinary discourse of dance and somatic practices has moved beyond the state of identifying the field.

This special issue of JDSP calls for papers that explore and expose the socially and culturally transformative potential of somatics and somatic-informed performance practices. Somatic practices are processes of undoing existing patterns so that new ones can emerge. How can this undoing be extended beyond the body of the individual to the body politic or the social body? How might we construct somatics as practices of critique that might contribute to an alternative social imaginary?

Submissions might:

Self reflectively critique the field of somatics or one’s individual practice within that, in relation to the possibility of social change

Explore the application of somatic practices as subversive modalities of interacting with the world in other fields or disciplines

Explore emancipatory possibilities through foregrounding somatic experience

Unpack the historical roots of somatic practices in relation to wider critical cultures

Examine the political reverberations of somatically informed performance practice

Explore the socio- cultural or political potential of touch based practices

Examine non reductionist and embodied modes of thought provoked by somatic practices

Question cultural hierarchies and structures of power within and / or through somatic practices

(this list is exemplary only and by no means exhaustive of the possibilities)

Whilst scholarly articles are particularly encouraged, we welcome a range of other modes of submission, all subject to peer review. Please see the guidelines for further details.

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Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices, Special Issue 9.1

Submissions:

Please include article title, abstract (200 words), keywords and full article. In another document, please include author’s name and affiliation, biography (200 words), postal and email address. Please submit in Word format.

Guidelines:  and

Artist’s pages: Please submit a pdf with how you wish the article to appear in print, along with text (Word) and any images (tiff/jpeg/pdf, 300dpi) attached separately in the same email.

All submissions should be sent direct to: Hetty Blades: 

Enquiries about content to the Editors:
Thomas Kampe: 
Kirsty Alexander: 

Call for papers – Wright-ing the Somatic Summer Symposium at Middlesex University

Conference Call, Somatic practices

‘Wright-ing the somatic’:
Dancing & Writing Professional Practice Symposium
19th & 20th August 2016, Hendon Campus, London, UK

The call for contributions is now open for Middlesex University’s ‘Wright-ing the somatic:
Dancing & Writing Professional Practice Symposium. 19th & 20th August 2016. As scholars, artists and practitioners of dance we understand that the embodied experience underpins meaning making, but how is this somatic understanding captured and shared as knowledge with out disrupting its corporeal origins. Why is it important to share and communicate embodied knowing? How are the choreographic process and other explorations in movement a methodology for understanding? How do we articulate and give weight and importance to practice as research within the field of dance, when we are seeing funding for arts activity constantly being cut. The symposium will explore how we craft the somatic and document that inquiry from ‘in physicality’ to ‘in text’. The Symposium will bring together existing published academics, visual documentaries of movement (photography), and movers and choreographers practicing professionally in the field. Wright-ing the somatic offers an opportunity to articulate and elaborate artistic practices and contribute to the critical discourses of professional practice, refining understandings of forms, approaches and exploring terminologies.

Call for contributions:
Submissions could respond to:
–       Capturing embodied practices
–       Practice as research / Choreography as methodology
–       How text about somatic practices relates to the physicality of the practice
–       Professional Practices in Dance and their documentation
–       Initiatives or innovations communicating embodied experience within arts practices
–       Biography and Auto-biography as a mode of documentation for arts work

Session formats:
Presenters can give spoken presentations (papers) [30 minutes] and /or practical presentations (workshops) [60 minutes to allow for participants warm-up]
Review criteria:
Each proposal is subjected to peer review considering:
•       clarity of the proposal;
•       originality/innovation of the mode of presentation of the idea/approach;
•       anticipated interest

Those interested in making a contribution to the day should complete the following details and submit to by Tuesday 2nd May 2016. Successful applicants will be notified by Monday 9th May 2016. Proposals for successful applications will be put on a symposium web-page prior to the event. These will include the abstract, keywords, outline, plus any references deemed appropriate.

contact:  / 

Performing Arts in Dialogue with… Somatic Practice

Research Seminars, Somatic practices

You are invited to the next Performing Arts Research Seminar hosted by the School of Music and Performing Arts at Canterbury Christ Church University.

We are pleased to welcome Professor Sarah Whatley – Professor of Dance and Director of Centre for Dance Research (C–DaRE) at Coventry University to give a guest lecture on the topic: ‘Attending to movement: somatic processes, practices and pedagogies’. 

Other speakers are: Dr Kene Igweonu (Canterbury Christ Church University) – ‘Awareing: Feldenkrais Method and performance training’ and Mo Pietroni-Spenst (Canterbury Christ Church University) who will talk about her practice-based PhD research – ‘The gestural body in performance’.

Please see below for details.

All welcome, attendance is free and there is no need to book.

 

Canterbury Christ Church University

School of Music and Performing Arts

Research Seminar Series

Performing Arts in Dialogue with… Somatic Practice 

 

Wednesday, 2nd March 2016 (1.00-3.00pm) 

Maxwell Davies Building (MDg01)

North Holmes Road Campus

 

Guest Speaker:

Professor Sarah Whatley, Centre for Dance Research (C-DaRE), Coventry University

Attending to movement: somatic processes, practices and pedagogies

Professor Whatley’s lecture would cover some of the development of the philosophy of somatic work and touch on the way in which different somatic modalities have entered the curriculum and influenced approaches to performance/dance training. It also looks at the tensions that emerge in the discourse that is rooted in somatic practices and which has spawned a range of publications, particularly that which talks of transforming, repairing and healing the body.

For any queries please contact: 

Walk of Life Non-stylised and Environmental Movement Workshops  with  Helen Poynor in 2016 

Improvisation, Somatic practices, Workshops

Movement Ritual Explorations  February 20th – 22nd

An in-depth introduction to Anna Halprin’s Movement Ritual.
Grounded in an holistic approach to the body this fluid sequence of
floor movements deepens kinaesthetic awareness, encouraging flexibility
in the spine and enlivening the whole body. It can be used as a daily
practice, a warm up or workout, a physical meditation and a springboard
into creative movement.

Price: £95 two days, £135 three days (£80/
£110 concession)   Location: Branscombe, East Devon.

Spring
Awakening   March 12th – 13th including Sumarah meditation

Spring
cleaning for body and soul, heart and lungs, blood and breath. Arriving
in yourself, laying the foundation for the rest of the year.  Each day
includes indoor and outdoor movement sessions with Helen and Sumarah
meditation with Beate Stühm, experiencing how Sumarah relates to and
supports this approach to movement practice.   Price: £100 (£85
concession)  Location: Charmouth, near Lyme Regis.

Wild Women, Rocks
and Water  April 8th – 10th

Moving with the wild spring tides as
they reveal the hidden landscapes beneath the chalk cliffs at Beer
Head. Feeling the movement of the tides and the energy of spring
coursing through your veins.  Discovering courage and strength, trust
and surrender.    Price £140 (£110 conc)   Location: Branscombe, East
Devon.

Summer Seas and Skies  June 4 th – 5 th

Finding our place in
the vast coastal landscape, between cliff and sea, earth and sky,
microcosm and macrocosm.  In the spaces between rock and bone, in the
movement of water and breath, a world of possibilities is revealed.
Price: £95 (£80 concession)    Location: Charmouth, near Lyme Regis.

Walk of Life Summer School  July 5th – 8th

An opportunity to immerse
yourself in four days of movement practice. Encountering earth, rock,
sea and sky through flesh, bone, blood and breath.  Responding to
change and stability with movement and stillness, flexibility and
strength.   Opening to the unexpected.  A chance to deepen and renew
your practice.

Price: £175 (£145 concession)  Location: Beer, East
Devon.

The Art of Being in Motion including Feldenkrais with Shelagh O’
Neill
Sept 30th- Oct  2nd   Fri 2.30pm to Sun 5.30pm

A dynamic
collaboration interweaving Feldenkrais Awareness through Movement
lessons with non-stylised movement explorations. The subtle
kinaesthetic investigations of the Feldenkrais Method® enrich creative
expression revealing new possibilities for an embodied encounter with
rock and water, earth and tree.

Price: £135 (£105 concession)
Location: Charmouth near Lyme Regis.

Autumn Reflections   October 29th – 30th

The beauty of the autumn trees supports us to shed what we
no longer need, moving with change, loosening habits and
preconceptions. Opening our hearts as we surrender to the earth and the
wisdom of the ancient trees we re-discover our gound, our place between
earth and sky.

Price: £95 (£80 concession).  Location: Charmouth,
near Lyme Regis.

   Tel: 01297 680155

2 spaces on upcoming Authentic Movement workshop

Somatic practices, Workshops

Authentic Movement workshop

(for those with AM or other psychotherapeutic/somatic experience)

Sat 5th March 2016

Location:

40 Clarence Mews

Hackney, London E5 8HL

Workshop runs from 10.30am until 4.30pm

This workshop will introduce you to the Discipline of Authentic Movement. This ritual practice is based on the work of Janet Adler and is a practice of developing embodied consciousness in a moving practice. It offers you an opportunity to explore and deepen your knowledge and experience of this practice which might also be described as active imagination in movement. We will work at depth with a practice of being present to all that we are in movement and stillness as a ritual practice and begin to explore the practice of developing our inner witness as both a mover and a witness. We are cultivating compassionate presence as we allow experience to unfold in our moment to moment moving.

This workshop is suitable for those with experience of the practice of Authentic Movement or related somatic practices as well as those with psychotherapeutic experience. The workshop may be of interest to those in the fields of psychotherapy, movement and other creative arts, spiritual and mystical practices. You may attend one or all. Application is by short biographical letter of introduction (please outline your journey or experience and interest in AM along with any psychotherapy experience; this will be followed by an informal interview.

We will work at depth with moving and witnessing practice and, although these are not psychotherapeutic groups, the nature of the work requires an openness to the symbolic and to unconscious processes. As a Jungian Analyst and Focusing Trainer, Jane has the skills to contain and ensure the group’s safety when working at such depth.

The cost is £80 per workshop.

A biographical letter which outlines your experience and interest in Authentic Movement and related unconscious processes should be sent to: 

A short telephone/skype interview will be arranged following submission of your letter of interest

Jane Bacon is a Jungian Analyst (UKCP, IAAP registered), Focusing Trainer and on the faculty of Janet Adler’s Circles of Four (a preparation programme for those interested in teaching the Discipline of Authentic Movement ). She is also Professor in Dance and Somatics at the University of Chichester

Clarence Mews is a wonderful, welcoming artists studio space located is a 5-8 minute walk from either Hackney Central or Hackney Down underground station. Please email  for additional travel information.

Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices submission deadline extended

Journal Call, Somatic practices
The Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices (ISSN 1757-1871) is an international refereed journal published twice a year by . It has been in publication since 2009 for scholars and practitioners whose research interests focus on the relationship between dance and somatic practices, and the influence that this body of practice exerts on the wider performing arts.
 
In recent years, somatic practices have become more central to many artists’ work and have become more established within educational and training programmes. Despite this, as a body of work it has remained largely at the margins of scholarly debate, finding its presence predominantly through the embodied knowledge of practitioners and their performative contributions.
 
This journal provides a space to debate the work, to consider the impact and influence of the work on performance and discuss the implications for research and teaching. The journal serves a broad international community and invites contributions from a wide range of discipline areas. Particular features include writings that consciously traverse the boundaries between text and performance, taking the form of ‘visual essays’, interviews with leading practitioners, book reviews, themed issues and conference/symposium reports.
 
We invite contributions in varied formats. Writing that combines images and illustrations is encouraged, as is reflective writing. Standard articles will be in the range of 4000-6000 words. A more flexible approach may be possible for other formats and styles of submission but contributors need to work within the existing Journal design template (a ) is available on the Intellect website as illustration).  If a contributor wants to deviate from the template it must be discussed with the Editor first and prior to submission. 
 
Themes might include:
 
*The pedagogical philosophy of somatics and how this might be seen to challenge or negate  dominant approaches to learning and creativity
*The history of somatic practices
*The current application of somatics to dance/performing arts training and education
*The aesthetic implications of working with/from a somatic understanding
*The ‘body’ as a site of discourse in western culture, the influence of eastern cultures on notions of embodiment and how somatic practices challenge/collude with these ideas.
 
The deadline has been extended. Submissions should be sent to Hetty Blades  by 28th February 2016
 
Please see  for further information about the journal. 

MA Dance & Somatic Wellbeing Connections to the Living Body – Taster Days at UCLAN

MA Programmes, Somatic practices

We look forward to seeing you at our Taster Days. Please contact Course Leader Penny Collinson to register your attendance. The day runs from 10.30-3pm.

Saturday 13th February 2016 Saturday 18th June 2016

If you are unable to make this date, please contact Penny Collinson on [email protected], or by calling 01772 89 5349.

For acceptance onto the MA program a complete application and interview with MA teaching staff is required. We will run interviews at the end of each Taster Day for those who would like to apply. Follow this link for online applications: https://my.uclan.ac.uk/uclhelp/welcome.html

Venue and Directions:

Please come to the Media Factory, ME020 Dance Studio, Kirkham St, PRESTON PR1 2HE See link for directions, http://www.uclan.ac.uk/visit/assets/preston_city_campus_map.pdf

Please arrive from 10.15; an introduction will start at 10.30 followed by a workshop until approx. 12.15. The workshop is an opportunity for embodied movement and reflection – and offers you the chance to experience ways in which we are working on the programme. The following areas will be explored and discussed during the moving process / discussion:

  • Kinaesthetic awareness – engaging in movement process with openness, reflection and creativity
  • Rest and relaxation/deep body listening
  • An introduction to the core elements of the practical work
  • Reflections upon practice and personal movement process, vocational and personal interests
  • Course details

After a short lunch break we will introduce the course modules and the year’s calendar, and also give you the opportunity to ask questions.

http://www.uclan.ac.uk/courses/ma_dance_and_somatic_wellbeing.php

Call for articles ‘Dance and the Goddess: She in the dance’ – Special Issues of The Journal of Dance, Movement and Spiritualities

Journal Call, Somatic practices

The Journal of Dance, Movement and Spiritualities invites contributions for a third special issue titled: ‘Dance and the Goddess: She in the dance’. This issue responds to the wider cultural revival, interest and re-emergence of the Goddess in contemporary cultures. The issue will document how She is appearing in contemporary dance practices, Somatics movement modalities, performance, therapeutic practice (and in personal sensory moving experience).  The journal seeks to embrace a diversity of experienced and felt spiritualities and discussion of methodologies suited to discovering more about dance and spirituality are most welcome, as well as innovative methods for recording, digesting and articulating the experiences of spirituality.

Topics may include:
·         Goddess spirituality and dance in ancient cultures and civilizations
·         Goddess spirituality related to Deep-ecology, environmentalism and dance
·         Goddess spirituality in Jungian dance/movement forms
·         Buddhism, Goddess and dance/movement
·         Dance, folklore, legend, earth mysteries, symbols and myths
·         Feminisms, feminist debates, dance and embodiment
·         Earth-centred moving relationships
·         Somatics movement and gendered research
·         Archetypical goddesses in performance and/or therapeutic practices
·         Gendered debates, ambiguities and tensions

The submission date for this issue is: 1st of November 2016. Standard articles will be in the range of 5000-8000 words, including a 150 word abstract, six indicative key words, institutional affiliation and a short biography.

CHIMPANZEE Workshop with Thomas Goodwin 22nd &23rd January 2016

Somatic practices, Workshops
Decoda Moved Series Workshop with Thomas Goodwin
a movement-based workshop exploring trans-species kinship with our closest relatives.

CHIMPANZEE aims to question a perceived separation between humans and other animals, through somatic movement exploration. When we study another species’ deep-rooted ability to live with embodied integrity, we are given glimpses into who they are. And when we move in ways that reveal our common characteristics, we are reminded of our inherent kinship, coming into authentic relationship across perceived differences.

CHIMPANZEE is a physical and reflective workshop open for all levels of movement experience, and anyone interested in movement, chimpanzee behavior and trans-species study. To see Thomas’ teaser video’s visit /

Date and Times Location

Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd January 2016, Approx. 10am-4pm each day

Institute for Creative Enterprise, Coventry University CV12NE

Prices and Booking

Workshop fee: £90 Full price (ft employed/workshop paid by organisation or institution), £75 Independent Artist (pt employed and or freelance artist), £60 Concession (in full time education and/ or unemployed)

Bookings: To book your place please email .

Call for articles: The Journal of Dance, Movement and Spiritualities

Journal Call, Somatic practices

We invite contributions for Dance, Movement and Spiritualities. Standard articles will be in the range of 5000-8000 words, including a 150 word abstract, six indicative key words, institutional affiliation and a short biography.

Article submission dates for JDMS are March 15th 2016 and June 15th  2016.

Example topics may include – but are not limited to:

·      The intersections between religion, spirituality and dance
·      The meeting points between health, movement and spirituality
·      The cultural production and historization of spirituality in relation to the growth of dance and  movement practices
·      Spirituality, gender and dance/movement
·      The impact of secularization on Dance Education
·      Connections between philosophy, spirituality and dance/movement
·      The emergence and appreciation of new forms of spiritual dance in Western contexts otherwise undocumented (both popular and  academic)
·      The documentation of spiritual forms associated with institutionalized religion
·      Dance/movement forms aligned with non-institutionalized spirituality (evolving forms linked to New Age Spirituality and the holistic spirituality paradigm)
·      Secular spiritualities underpinning practice, performance and pedagogy
·      Postmodern spiritualities underpinning practice, performance and pedagogy
·      Movement/dance forms conversant with Feminist Spirituality
·      Embodied and somatic spiritualities
·      Jungian/post-Jungian dance/movement forms
·      The influence of non-Western/Eastern sacred narratives as they continue to inform Western dance practice
·      Intercultural, cross-cultural and multicultural perspectives
·      Creative transformation and life-force celebration
·      Shamanic dance traditions
·      Mysticism, movement and dance

The journal offers a diverse platform for scholars working within and across the fields of Dance Studies, Theology/Religious Studies, Anthropology, Ethnography, Sociology, Health Studies, Dance Movement Psychotherapy and Dance Histories. Dedicated to cross-dialogue and the potential inventive perspectives interdisciplinary collaboration generates, the journal aims to progress the academic study of spirituality in Dance Studies.

Journal Site