When they first met, in a teacher-student setting, Nicole was about 40 years old and David was around 20. Now they are 61, and 42, respectively, and have both been working with processes that are both artistic (dance, choreography, performance) and relevant to personal development (cranio-sacral bodywork, practices around intimacy & consent). In this workshop, they bring together their experience to look at the process of transmission itself, when it happens in a dance studio.
What is actually happening when we enter the studio together? What are our intentions and the strategies we use to hold a generative space? What are the roles (e.g. teacher/student) that we are playing when we work together? Are hierarchies and an inner attitude of ‘discipline’ always to be avoided? How conscious are we of all these things as they are happening? Is it necessary to be conscious of everything all the time? How do we give space to all the things that are already present in the space (which are abundant) to do their work?
This workshop explores tools from Cranio-Sacral Bodywork and somatic movement forms, as well as exercises to make transparent the power structures we are (always) working in, to examine the question of what it takes to create a safer space of alert relaxedness in the studio, that works with what is already there, where everyone’s needs are met, while still transmitting information in an effortless yet generative way.
How can we develop the attention to be present, equally, with our own selves, the other bodies in the space, and the space itself that enfolds us?
Nicole Berndt-CaccivioDavid Bloom
