Clayos! Clown Butoh Clay journey at the Valle de Sensaciones

At a low point in the lofty Alpujjaras mountains, in the historical region of Andalusia in Spain, opening like a cupped hand, the Valle de Sensaciones (Valley of Sensations) lies in a gulf between mountains and hills, a living fossil record of powerful geologic and fluvial forces. The valley is inhabited by an edge-dwelling tribe of change-makers pioneering an alternative lifestyle. Dotted around this remote and slender valley are tree-house dwellings, natural-build structures, various domes and lodges, antique mobile homes, and caves. Even at the hottest time of the year this is an area of shaded plenitude, amassing rainfall and providing rich earth, fruits, and plentiful CLAY. This clay will be the subject and object of an embodied and artistic exploration of our wild nature, our dance, our craft, our voice and our clown-spirit, entitled: 'CLAYOS' Here in the womb of the land we will discover ourselves at our most earthy, messy, and humble. The word 'humble' is derived from the Latin ‘humus', meaning ‘earth’. ‘Clown’ is also cognate with ‘clod’, a noun that can describe both a lump of clay, and a simple person. Connecting with the mud, this workshop will give time for simplicity and humility. Connecting with how little we know and remaining innocent and playful, we will take time to connect with where we come from and where we will end up. It will be a time to get our hands dirty, to leave aside the perpetual reasonings of the mind in favour of using our hands to make objects and our bodies to sing and move. Here we will dig our bare bodies into the earth itself. We will watch as the shapes of spirits form themselves into masks our hands. We will ask the landscape to dance our bodies, feeling the clay drying on our skin and transforming us; we will build altars and find magic places in the wilderness to make art for it’s own sake, with no audience other than the trees, the birds, the mountains, and the sky. Over 7 Days, as the ripe midsummer moon climbs to fullness at the end of June, we will create rituals to honour the earth itself, explore our playful nature, unplug from the wired world, build fire and sing, be silent or weave tales, and just be the simple humans we are. During our process we will - Work every day with the clay naturally occurring on the land. - Create installations and altars in nature - Journey into the wilderness and explore our wild nature - Use clay on our bodies - Make masks - Meditate, stretch and observe a period of silence every day. - Unplug from the wired world - Play and be silly, pray for our clown spirit inhabit us, perform for each other. - Dance Butoh - Craft rituals, feasts, and transformational poetic acts - Sing and make music together - Sculpt `- Enjoy the natural spa, indulge in massage. - Sleep in the wilderness and enjoy natural accommodations such as treehouses, caravans, caves and domes. - Cook and eat together Sliding scale pricing/exchange, from €220 + Donation http://sensaciones.de/en/node/3725 Getting there Sensaciones.de/node/69 Daniel Hernandez is an itinerant mischief-maker exploring the ritual roots of performance. Harnessing archaic/ shamanic clown and mask cosmologies, his workshops provide fascinating and colourful routes into individuation: containing a vast treasure-box of rituals, dance, liminal states, grotesque archetypes and clown-lore. His performances, projects, ceremonies and workshops draw upon a wide variety of related traditions: These include Dance, Clown, Bouffon, Butoh, Contact Improvisation, Tao/Tantra, Vodou, Mask, Psychomagic, Art, Sacred Sexuality and Breathwork. https://www.facebook.com/groups/divine.ridiculous