Connecting Movement & Writing

4.30 - 7pm

We start the retreat with a Group Movement Meditation that is focused on building trust. We use our breath, gaze and tactile sensations to connect and develop group awareness. We will create a feeling of cohesion before we learn techniques to move with others and improvise together. The session will build up a mutual sense of movement that allows us to enter a free improvisation where different energies meet and merge into a group journey. Everyone is free to respond to what is happening around or to attend to their own needs.

8.30 – 10pm

The initial segment is followed by a writing session where we reflect on the first movement experience and creatively explore our individual movement biographies.

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10 am — 1.30 pm

Saturday begins with an experimental exploration of the movement possibilities of our body. We start to develop a feeling for weight by learning how to give and receive it. The transfer of weight helps to stabilize and ground ourselves. By opening the movement into space we allow new ways to perceive the other and gain a better sense for spatial awareness. In order to intensify the visual understanding we will implement a movement observation in combination with writing exercises.

5.30 — 7 pm

In the afternoon segment we explore the potential of resistance as a tool of moving. In the first sessions we have learned to trust each other and discovered several ways to get into a collective flow of movement. The focus has laid on harmony and the release of tensions. Now we want to expand our mindset in order to recognize possibilities of changing the mutual energetic flow with counter-impulses. We learn to deal with obstacles in the movement process and try to exploit the creative power of force.

This session aims to support our self-awareness and esteem. In the safe space of the studio we will learn to accept the contradictions in our emotional bandwidth and foster our resilience.

8.30 — 10 pm

Free Jam Session in the studio. Attendance is optional.

10 am — 1.30 pm

After an extensive Saturday program we return to the studio for a calmly commencing morning segment that helps us deepen the experiencing and understanding of our own senses. We begin the last day of the retreat with an exploration of moving in space without sight. 

Based on what we have learned in terms of trust, boundaries and possibilities, the morning culminates in an improvisation, where the group will be able to integrate the acquired tools of nonverbal communication.

2.30 — 4 pm

The closing session gives space to reflect on the somatic discoveries made throughout the weekend. A writing impulse leads to an open exchange within the group allowing us to harvest the newly gained insights. How has our perception and interaction changed? What do we want to take back home with us?

The Ponderosa is a community arts center, a place of encounter and exchange. Founded more than 20 years ago, it has developed into an alternative dance retreat with several studios and a large garden.

It is located in the village of Stolzenhagen, about an hour by train from Berlin in the Lower Oder Valley National Park. The Ponderosa thrives on the self-organized charm of a sustainable ecological community that facilitates gatherings on fair terms.

The workshop will be held bilingually (German-English). Participants may communicate in their preferred language.

The number of participants is 12 people.

The recommended participation fee is 480 € and includes, in addition to the course, 2 nights in the dormitory and organic-vegan full board with breakfast, lunch and dinner. Please bring your own towels.

Subject to availability, there is the possibility of renting single and double rooms for an additional fee. There are also tent areas on the premises.