Express Yourself (workshop + ecstatic dance)

IF YOUR BODY COULD SPEAK, WHAT WOULD IT SAY? We, human beings, are a rainbow of feelings, emotions, thoughts and sensations. We may be worried about how people perceive us. Or feel ashamed, controlled by internal or external beliefs. It can be challenging to fully show up in relationships / at work / in the world, when we have parts of ourselves that we don’t think are allowed to be seen. Do you have parts in yourself that feel unexplored and want to connect more deeply with? Are there pieces that you want to give a voice to? Do you want to discover the joy embracing and opening up in a supportive community? In this workshop you will unpack your aliveness. Using movement and the arts you will move playfully into untapped potential of feeling, embodying a fuller range of expressive power. As a group we will build a creative space for you to openly explore what arises in you and in relation to the rest of the group, allowing yourself to engage in new ways with the world. WHAT WILL HAPPEN? Johnny and Simon are all about setting up creative and playful spaces where participants can dive deep into their unmet and possibly shy parts. Improvisation, movement, art making and authentic relating will be used to help you connect with parts of yourself that ask for attention, allowing them to be seen in a soft, gentle and safe space. * Your ticket includes a place at Odessa’s Ecstatic Dance Playground in the evening from 18h. Come play with us during the day then dance the night away with a cacao ceremony, roller disco and ecstatic dance. PRACTICALITIES The day runs from 10:00 to 17:30 on Saturday 2nd July Location... Odessa Muiderpoort Ter Gouwstraat 3, 1093JX Amsterdam The day costs… 99€ (till 12 june) 120€ (after 12 June) Please get in touch if you want to have a chat about the workshop. We would be happy to talk to you and see if it feels like the right thing to be doing at this moment in your life. WHO ARE WE? The workshop will be facilitated by Simon Magnus and Johnny Schoofs. SIMON is a movement practitioner who specialises in working with groups to get individuals to connect more deeply with their bodies and their own emotional realities. He has worked creating transformational arts events in the UK for the past 20 years and since 2016 have been training in somatic trauma work. He has worked around the world to help people connect intimately with themselves and others. His participants are diverse; from children to those living with acute mental health issues, clowns to office workers in full suits and ties. For him it is super important to create brave spaces where risks can be taken by participants within their own boundaries and choice. JOHNNY is a dance teacher and somatic movement coach. He is fascinated about how movement reflects our personality. And recognizes the body and the arts as a creative entrance to personal transformation. He has worked many years as a performer and dance artist. Specialised in several somatic bodywork methodologies he has built the expertise in guiding people into their creativity and their expressive connection with the body. Currently he is a staff teacher of Artistic Development at Codarts Dance in Education and Havo/Vwo Dance, and regularly teaches public workshops around embodiment, creative expression and self development.