Have you always wanted to learn actual dance choreography but felt too intimidated to walk into a dance studio?

This series was created for absolute beginners—no prior dance experience required.

This is a beginner-level modern dance class, building technique from the ground up. We’ll explore different ways of moving in & out of the floor through the lens of a simple warm-up phrase. Using our weight as inspiration and dropping the weight as an impetus for movement—how can we recycle this energy to spiral in and out of the floor? What is the right amount of energy / tone needed? How do we generate momentum? How do we control it?

We start standing with some spinal articulations and tai-chi inspired exercises, and then transition down to the floor--rolling, sliding, threading, spiraling, pushing—exploring different qualities of movement through the lens of a simple warm-up phrase.

We’ll spend time on all 4's connecting with our animal bodies, strengthening our upper bodies and firing up our centers. Moving in and out of the floor we explore off balances, riding waves of momentum, and visit some light inversions, using our weight as inspiration and dropping the weight as impetus for movement.

We'll have some technical exercises in center (plies, leg swings, big weight shifts, standing leg strengthening) building into a dynamic flow with expansive movement across the floor and jumps. The last 20-25 minutes of class will be dedicated to learning a choreography which we will build throughout the series.

This series is for anyone who’s ever dreamed of dancing but didn’t know where to start.
There’s no pressure to perform or “look good”—just a welcoming, no-judgment space filled with encouragement, exploration, and the joy of movement

Meet Your Teacher:

Tamar is a professional dancer, teacher, and movement lover originally from Lynchburg, Virginia. She has a BFA in Modern Dance Performance from University of the Arts, class of 2013. After graduating she performed with Kolben Dance Company and with various independent choreographers in Israel such as Ella Ben Aharon, Smadar Goshen, Shlomi Bitton, Shlomit Fundaminsky, Iris Erez, and Mami Shimazaki. She has been practicing & teaching the Gyrotonic Method for the last 10 years. She currently collaborates with Cardell Dance Theatre and teaches Modern Dance and Contact Improvisation in the Philadelphia area.

Join us for a special vivencia celebrating the burgeoning community that is Biodanza Philly! Come share a morning of movement, music, community, and heartfelt, intentional connection. The class will include a series of artfully guided dances and encounters designed to evoke core emotion and authentic expression. Together we will move, play, explore, and celebrate our collective aliveness!

This dance is being offered free (donations welcome!) in exchange for participants’ willingness to be in photographs. PLEASE NOTE: There will be a professional photographer present who will be shooting the vivencia for PR purposes. In an effort to streamline the shoot, this event is only open to dancers who have been to a vivencia with Ashley before and have a context for the practice. If this is you and you’d like to join us, you must reserve a spot below.

What is Biodanza?

The word “Biodanza” literally translates, from Spanish, to mean “The Dance of Life.” Founded in the 1960s by Chilean anthropologist and psychologist Rolando Toro, it is an elegant system of somatic and relational self-development that combines dance, music, archetypal gestures, and intentional connection to stimulate five lines of life force: vitality, sexuality, creativity, affectivity, and transcendence. It fosters reconnection with our vital instincts, our emotions, our bodies, and our in-the-flesh relationship with each other as dynamic, feeling human beings. Sometimes referred to as “The Poetry of Human Encounter,” it is truly a Masterclass in embodied Love!

Link to purchase tickets is live! Early bird rates through 11/21: https://www.wellnessliving.com/rs/event/cocoon_philly?k_class=867059&k_class_tab=56239

About the facilitator:

Ashley King, M.S.Ed., Ed.M., LPC is a somatic psychotherapist who has worked with individuals, couples, families, and groups in private practice for the last 16 years. She is trained in the Hakomi Method (a method of mindful, somatic therapy) and AEDP (Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy). In addition, she is a certified Circling facilitator (Circling is an interpersonal meditation practice), a trained sex and relationship coach, a certified meditation instructor, an intuitive energy healer and Reiki Master, a certified yoga teacher (with 500+ hours of training), and a certified Biodanza facilitator. As a writer and former English teacher, Ashley brings an artful poise to her facilitation, and her body of work, more largely, is about the poetics of embodied relationship. Over the last two decades she has led workshops, run groups, and given presentations on myriad topics including yoga, meditation, energy medicine, somatic therapy, Authentic Relating, Circling, mindful communication, human sexuality, writing as a spiritual practice, and more. Once hailed, “A catalytic invitation into vulnerability and connection,” Ashley is deeply passionate about the intersection of dynamic embodiment and relational practice. You can find out more about her at her website: www.psychoalchemy.com

Biodanza: The Dance of Life + The Poetry of Human Encounter

Join us for an evening of movement, music, community, and heartfelt, intentional connection! Our “vivencia” (from the Spanish word “vivir,” meaning “to live”) will include a series of artfully guided dances and encounters designed to evoke core emotion and authentic expression. Together we will move, play, explore, and celebrate our collective aliveness. Come cast off the shackles of inhibition and swirl into the embrace of pure, unfiltered existence!

What is Biodanza?

The word “Biodanza” literally translates, from Spanish, to mean “The Dance of Life.” Founded in the 1960s by Chilean anthropologist and psychologist Rolando Toro, it is an elegant system of somatic and relational self-development that combines dance, music, archetypal gestures, and intentional connection to stimulate five lines of life force: vitality, sexuality, creativity, affectivity, and transcendence. It fosters reconnection with our vital instincts, our emotions, our bodies, and our in-the-flesh relationship with each other as dynamic, feeling human beings. Sometimes referred to as “The Poetry of Human Encounter,” it is truly a Masterclass in embodied Love!

About the facilitator:

Ashley King, M.S.Ed., Ed.M., LPC is a somatic psychotherapist who has worked with individuals, couples, families, and groups in private practice for the last 16 years. She is trained in the Hakomi Method (a method of mindful, somatic therapy) and AEDP (Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy). In addition, she is a Circling facilitator (an interpersonal meditation practice), a sex and relationship coach, a meditation instructor, an intuitive energy healer and Reiki Master, a yoga teacher, and a Biodanza facilitator. Once hailed, “A catalytic invitation into vulnerability and connection,” Ashley is deeply passionate about the poetics of embodied relationship. You can find out more about her at her website: www.psychoalchemy.com

These events SELL OUT make sure to save your spot!

Journey Breathwork: Wintering Within

Thursday 12/11 | 6:30-8:30pm

Journey Breathwork is an immersive, co-ed breathwork ceremony designed to help you release, regulate, and reconnect.

At the heart of this experience is Conscious Connected Breathwork — a rhythmic, circular breathing practice that uses the breath as a bridge between body, mind, and spirit. Through intentional breathing, you’ll open the body’s natural pathways for release — unlocking stuck emotions, quieting mental noise, and expanding your inner awareness.

As we move into the winter season, this session is themed “Wintering Within” — an invitation to slow down, reflect, and tend to what’s ready to be completed, while planting the seeds of what’s quietly emerging for the year ahead.

In this 2-hour breathwork ceremony, participants will be guided through:

• Shamanic Energy Cleansing to clear stagnant or heavy energy and create a safe, grounded container.

• Conscious Connected Breathwork for deep emotional release, nervous system regulation, and expanded self-awareness.

• Integration + Reflection through gentle grounding, journaling, and optional sharing to help bring your experience into everyday life.
  
  

This practice can support:

• Letting go of stress, tension, and emotional buildup

• Calming the nervous system and easing anxiety

• Reconnecting with intuition and inner guidance

• Cultivating clarity and renewal as we move toward the Solstice
  
  

The studio will provide some yoga mats and props and eye covers but please bring any extra cozy items like blanket, pillow or your favorite fuzzy socks!

Limited Space Available!