Monday, November 11, 2013

New Year Dance Retreat with Karen Nelson



Dec 28, 6pm, through Jan 1, 1pm
3 sessions per day + evening inventions.


What brings new energy?

The purpose of this retreat is to rest and revitalize through meditation, dancing, living and cooking together as we cross thru the dark into a new calendar year. Practices we will use include Contemplative Dance Practice, Contact Improvisation, Material for the Spine, Tuning Scores and Embodied Life/Feldenkrais-derived guidance; held at Hanna Barn Studio, Vashon Island, Washington.


In teaching, Karen Nelson offers practices that she has passionately studied, taught, practiced and performed for over 35 years, including:

  • Material for the Spine, a movement system developed by Steve Paxton involving sensations of the skeleton, reflex, inherent spirals of human movement, perfect forms, energy extension and relationship with gravity; 
  • Tuning Scores, developed by Lisa Nelson, are activities based in sensation/perceptual awareness and provide tools for crafting composition within improvisation; 
  • Embodied Life, a singular fusion of Feldenkrais approach, zen-style meditation and "embodied listening-speaking/focusing" developed by Russell Delman; 
  • Contact Improvisation originated by Steve Paxton and others in 1972, a foundational movement technique -- a boon to any dancer or person who enjoys moving; 
  • Contemplative Dance Practice, Qi Gong/Shibashi, meditation.


Suggested donation:
$250+ food offerings with registration before Dec 1
$300+ food offerings with registration  after Dec 1


Facilities include a beautiful dance room, upstairs dorm sleeping and eating room, a garage kitchen for cooking communal meals. Each of us will bring food and take turns cooking for the group. We will share chores for upkeep of our space. The Island provides lovely beaches and forested walks, a health club with sauna and swimming, public bus service to and from our site, good food shops/farms, and more.


To register:
send a note of intention plus a $50 deposit to
Karen Nelson, 18422 103rd Ave SW, Vashon, WA 98070
>>group size is limited to around 11<<
Full time only please.
Open to all levels of experience.


Contact Karen with any questions about the retreat:
503-740-0523
heartgreen (at) yahoo.com



Tuesday, October 22, 2013

CI Workshop with Stuart Phillips Sat & Sun, December 14-15, 2013


Exploring the Intuitional Body, Creating Relational Dance as Deep Personal Metaphor

What Am I Doing? Where Am I Going? What Is Happening Now?What Happens Next? Who Am I Really?

1) Guidance into where we source from.
2) How we influence our choices in the moment. What is our long range focus?
3) How does viewing perspective of the moment inform outcome?
4) How do we choose this particular arrangement? What can we get rid of to stay completely real all the time?
5) How dance informs & defines our experience, our self identity, our self empowerment.

Open to All.

Bio: Stuart Phillips is & has been devotionally performing & teaching Improvisational Contact Dance for over 26 years throughout the US, Canada & New Zealand, with a European tour in late fall 2013. More about Stuart at www.Stulip6.wix.com/Stulips.


Sat & Sun, December 14-15, 2013, 10a-3p both days

Light Center, 10609 19th Ave SW, Seattle WA 98146

To register, send $90-$100, by Paypal to stulips@hotmail.com



Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Contact Improvisation and Tuning Scores Workshop


Internal  Crafting
with Karen Nelson

Inner sensing of form, skeleton, reflex, and inherent spirals in Paxton’s Material for the Spine become the basis for exploring the Contact duet’s primary agreement, “freedom to improvise.” Studying Lisa Nelson’s powerful composition tools, Tuning Scores, dances will unfold in space.

In each 5-hour session there will be some time for individual attention, questions and feedback, as well as writing, resting and snacking; bring supplies. All levels of experience are welcome.

Thurs + Fri, Nov 7 - 8, 4pm-9pm
Velocity Founders Studio
1621 12th Ave, Seattle

Cost: $100 with registration before October 22; $125 after that. 
Single session (Thurs only) $75.
[some scholarships/work exchange available] 

To register, contact Karen at 
heartgreen (at) yahoo.com 
or 503-740-0523

Karen Nelson is a dance improvisation artist, meditation practitioner, community activist and learner. In her teaching she brings over 35 years of embodiment practices developed thru the lenses of Contact Improvisation/Material for the Spine, Tuning Scores, Contemplative Dance Practice and more, with teachers Steve Paxton, Lisa Nelson, Barbara Dilley and others, respectively. Her current studies also include Russell Delman’s Embodied Life ™ (fusing meditation, Feldenkrais ™ Awareness Through Movement and Embodied Dialogue/Focusing), Qi Gong and Aikido. She co-founded DanceAbility, Breitenbush Jam, Diverse Dance Research Retreat and the performance group Image Lab. She often travels, both teaching and performing, and lives on Vashon Island in Puget Sound, Washington. 


Sunday, June 30, 2013

2013 Seattle Festival of Dance Improvisation

If you haven't registered for the 20th SFDI yet, there's still time: http://velocitydancecenter.org/program/sfdi/. I'll be my 20th SFDI!