Dancing Wilderness Project: Sächsische Schweiz České Švýcarsko

Dancing Wilderness Project: Sächsische Schweiz / České Švýcarsko WHEN: 19-21 July 2024 WHAT/WHERE: a weekend of hiking, movement exploration, and quiet time in nature in the forests and sandstone rock formations of Sächsische Schweiz / České Švýcarsko, a cross-border park and nature preserve an hour east of Dresden on the German/Czech border. somatic and sensory investigation and simple, reflective quiet time together in a landscape of forests and sandstone formations facilitated by Karl Frost. two nights of "boofen" - sleeping outdoors under a rock shelter. COST: 150-300 euros. Pay what you can, sliding scale. FUNDRAISER: all profits from the weekend go to grassroots Environmental Justice causes and to Ukrainian aide --- The Dancing Wilderness Project was started in 1997 by Karl Frost as an exploration of the interrelationships amongst wilderness experience, body-based creative process, and how we choose to live our lives. With open mind and senses, we look for an immediate experience of nature: experience unmediated by ideas or preconceived limits. We explore… Nature as source of metaphor and inspiration for movement and image Quiet experience of nature as food for the soul Finding a different sense of space, time, and relationship away from civilization Dance not simply about the environment, but with it Extrapolating our knowledge and practice of dance and creative process in the studio to new environments: forest and mountain top as the stage and earth, pine needles, and rock as the floor. -- The weekend will be simple. We meet early Friday and hike to camp under the sandstone formations of Sächsische Schweiz / České Švýcarsko. The days will be a mix of quiet hiking and exploring time and simple movement scores from the Dancing Wilderness Project, both solo and group investigations. We find a sense of “dance” emerging out of functional movement exploration on unusual surfaces and in unusual spaces. Rather than looking for spaces most like a dance studio, we instead look to see what each space offers. Contact Improvisation and authentic movement practice are reference points. We’ll be dancing with the rock and the changing colors of the early autumn forest. Everyone will be expected to be comfortable with hiking and sleeping outdoors, have their own camping gear, and to have an ongoing practice of body-based creative exploration. 'Possibility to also stay longer for open exploration with others participating in the weekend. -- For more information, and for registration visit the website at www.bodyresearch.org ------ Karl Frost has been teaching and performing contact and related work in body-based creative process for the over 35 years. He is known internationally for his dynamic and articulate movement style, his rigor in physical research and teaching, and for the edge-pushing nature of his work in both practice and performance. His work, influenced by studies in contemporary release technique, Alexander technique, and martial arts, has been showcased across the states, Canada, Europe, South America, and Israel. His performances, via Body Research Physical Theater, take the body and emotionally and physically felt experience as their reference points, often in highly audience interactive frameworks. Karl holds a PhD in Ecology (emphasis in Human Ecology and Cultural Evolution Theory), and MFA in Dramatic Arts, and a BA in Physics. He is currently working as a research scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Leipzig, Germany), Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, where he works on visual anthropology (photography and video) and theoretical studies in cultural evolution.