Thursdays at Heart and Hands this Fall

Thursday evening sessions (7:30-9pm) will start up September 5th! There will be three free workshops in September, and then two series of classes. The sessions are at the lovely Heart & Hands Health Collective (851 Cormorant Street, downtown) in Lekwungen territories. (Detailed overview of what Thursday sessions are like). To RSVP for the weeks you would like to attend, please be in touch.

Upcoming series of classes:

Dance Improvisation for Fun
Thursdays 7:30-9pm, October 10, 17, 24 (join any week)
The will be a variety of dance improv activities and games to encourage moving in new ways. Each class will focus on a couple of dance concepts (e.g. shape, time, space, consent, flow, focus).

Dance for Wellbeing
Thursdays 7:30-9pm, November 7, 14 & 21
There are a lot of intense things happening on this planet, and sometimes November – with winter approaching – can be a rough month for people locally. Each dance class will include: movement activities for self-care and connecting with personal sources of strength, creative dance games for fun, and crayons & art supplies available for (optional) doodling or writing after dancing.

Workshops:

Dance as Self-Care/ Mutual-Care: Sept. 5
This workshop will include various creative movement and dance activities for grounding, connecting with personal sources of strength, and supporting each other as a group. (Full description). FREE.

*FULL* Intro to Creative Dance: Sept. 12
This workshop is for people who are new to dance improvisation, who think they “can’t” dance, or who feel ‘awkward’/’rusty’/’shy’ about dancing in front of anyone. The focus is on accepting and celebrating our unique selves and ways of moving. (Full description). FREE.

*FULL* Dance Games Night!  Sept. 19
There will be a whole bunch of creative movement games, and we’ll take turns picking the next game from a basket. (Full description). FREE.

*For all sessions, RSVPing is recommended, as space is limited. For people with unpredictable schedules, drop-ins are welcome as long as there is room (if a session is full it will be noted as “FULL” in that night’s title on the calendar).

For details about the location, logistics and accessibilities, click here.

Thursdays 7:30pm at Heart and Hands this autumn

Thursday evening sessions (7:30-9pm) will start up September 5th! There will be three free workshops in September, and then two 5-week series of classes. The sessions are at the lovely Heart & Hands Health Collective (851 Cormorant Street, downtown) in Lekwungen territories.

Full details are here.

Thank-you for a beautiful, creative year

Thank-you everyone for your creative playfulness, nourishing dancing and excellent ideas! It has been fantastic to move and improvise with everyone at the 50 sessions since July 2012.

Around 70 participants have come to the Thursday dancing with integrity sessions at Heart & Hands since January, including some wonderful people who have participated practically every week. As well, there have been approximately 45 people at outdoor sessions and 75 for dance improvisation at various other indoor locations since last summer.

It has been an honour to witness participants’ confidence, spontaneity and freedom of movement expand. And I have had so much fun being in supportive community with all of you. Thank-you SO much!

Wishing everyone the best for an amazing summer. (:

Short and sweet party after class Thurs. June 20

Everyone is welcome at the end-of-season celebration: after class on June 20th! It will be short & sweet and happen right after the Summer Ingredients session at Heart & Hands.

NO pressure: it is totally optional to bring a snack to share. There will also be time to share reflections and ideas for what you`d like to see for the Fall.

If you aren`t able to come by at 7:30pm for class, you`re very welcome to stop by at 9pm to celebrate. Looking forward to seeing those who can come to the mini party!

*please note: as the forecast is for rain, the outdoor potluck at 6pm has been cancelled.

 

Dance as Self-Care/ Mutual-Care June 13; Summer Ingredients June 20

There are only two more Thursday night sessions at Heart & Hands (851 Cormorant St.) before the summer break…

Thurs. June 13, 7:30-9pm: Dance as Self-Care / Mutual-Care: Various creative dance and movement activities, around grounding, breath, connecting with personal sources of strength, and supporting each other as a group. First-time-dancers very welcome!
This session will include an ’emergency response kit’ resource from Capacitar with activities for stress and overwhelm, and dancing to kitchen-utensil percussion, as requested. (:

Thurs. June 20, 7:30-9pm: Summer Ingredients: Revisiting some of the movement ingredients we have looked at over the past couple months (dance concepts like space, shape, time, locomotion, emotions), and applying these to what we’re each interested in for summertime.

Please note there is no class June 6th (the first week off after 20 Thursdays in a row!)

By donation. To RSVP, send a note. Drop-ins are welcome (so long as that night’s title doesn’t say “FULL” on the calendar.)

Click here for details about the location and accessibilities. Click here for a general description of the Thursday classes.

Thursday themes until June 20th

The Thursday night community classes at Heart & Hands (851 Cormorant St.) continue until June 20th and then will break for the summer.

The dancing with integrity sessions include various dance improvisation and creative movement activities. The focus is on having fun, being curious, and renewing how we want to be with ourselves, each other, and the world. No prior dance experience needed. (Click here for a general description of the Thursday classes.)

Upcoming themes for Thursdays 7:30-9pm:

May 16: Dance Improv Ingredients

May 23: Boardroom Dance Theatre

May 30: Dance Games Night

(No class June 6)

June 13: Dance as Self-Care / Mutual-Care

June 20: Summer Ingredients

Drop-ins are welcome, so long as that night’s title doesn’t say “FULL” on the calendar.

For a shorter summary of upcoming themes, click here and scroll half-way down for the Themes section.

Click here for details about the location, sliding scale and accessibilities.

A Freeskool dance session May 10th

There will be a dancing with integrity workshop on May 10th that brings together a variety of activities (dance as self-care, movement games, music with rad lyrics, and an improv activity for interacting with common things that come up in community organizing).

Friday May 10th, 7pm-9pm, at Heart and Hands Health Collective, free/ donations encouraged. As space is limited, RSVPing is encouraged. (If the session fills up, it will say ‘FULL’ next to the title on the calendar.)

More info here. If you’re on facebook, click here for the event page.

(Image from A Freeskool’s Facebook page.)

Themes for Thursdays in May

The community sessions at Heart & Hands Health Collective continue in May with a new series. Everyone is welcome, including people completely new to dance improvisation, and people who are experienced dancers.

Click here for a general overview of the Thursday classes.

Upcoming themes for Thursdays 7:30-9pm:

May 2nd: Dance as Self-Care / Mutual-Care

May 9th: Improvising with an uncertain world

May 16th: Dance Improv Ingredients

May 23rd: Boardroom Dance Theatre

May 30th: Dance Games Night

Click here for details about the location, sliding scale, how to register and accessibilities.

RSVPing is encouraged, but Drop-ins are welcome – so long as that night’s title doesn’t say “FULL” on the Calendar.

People who attend all five sessions in May will be gifted a four-leaf-clover.

Dance Games Night: Thurs. April 25

As everyone said they found the Dance Games Night last month to be so much fun, the plan is to have a dancing games session once a month. There are a whole bunch of movement games we could play and these are written on pieces of paper; on the 25th we’ll take turns picking the next game out of a bowl.

Thursday April 25th, 7:30pm-9pm*, by donation. Click here for more info. This is part of the weekly community dance improvisation classes on Thursdays at Heart & Hands Health Collective in Lekwungen Territories.

*As April 25th is also the full moon, near the end of this class at Heart and Hands, if it’s clear skies we could head up to Summit at 8:45pm for the full moon rise together (for a really brief version of the monthly dancing acknowledgments).

Click here for info about Thursday night sessions in May.

Log-off and Dance! April 18

The Escape key fleeing the computer… Image borrowed from http://www.makeuseof.com/tech-fun/he-finally-did-it/

On Thursday April 18th the theme is Log-out, Power-off & Dance! It is from 7:30-9pm at Heart & Hands Health Collective (851 Cormorant Street).

We’ll use terms from common technology as spurs for dance improvisation – playing with humour, games, and reflection. Click here for the full description of the session. This class is geared both to people who do not have prior dance experience and to people who do have prior experience.

This session is part of the weekly community dance improvisation classes at Heart & Hands on Thursdays. Click here for details about the location, RSVPing and accessibilities. Drop-ins welcome; RSVPing encouraged.