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.

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

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