SOMATIC TECHNIQUES IN IMPROVISATION: CULTIVATING SOLO PRACTICE with Cathie Caraker

SOMATIC TECHNIQUES IN IMPROVISATION: CULTIVATING SOLO PRACTICE September 20–21, 2025 Sat 10-3 / Sun 10-4 at the Berkeley Finnish Hall COST: Sliding scale fee $250-$350, pay what you can. Venmo: @KinesisMovementArts. Early bird fee: $225 by Sept 8. Need-based scholarship available - email [email protected] REGISTRATION FORM: https://forms.gle/6kb1RmxjDi6hGCUr5 MORE INFO: www.cathiecaraker.com/offerings or email Cathie: [email protected] This weekend immersion in somatic movement source work draws on the experiential anatomy of Body-Mind Centering®, explored through solo, duet, and ensemble improvisation. At the heart of the workshop is cultivating the solo practice - learning to direct attention in ways that invite embodied presence, fresh movement qualities, and deeper awareness. Guided explorations will create space for personal research, while witnessing scores will support seeing and being seen within the group. We’ll explore: • Nervous system — balancing inner and outer focus, sensing and action • Perceptual awareness — fine-tuning the senses • Organs — connecting to core support and vitality • Fluids — expressing tone, presence, space,musicality, the dynamics of change Grounding in solo practice becomes the basis for entering Contact Improvisation duets and ensemble scores - where attention expands to include multiple layers at once. Ultimately, we’ll explore how solo research can remain alive in any relational or group context, cultivating the capacity to witness ourselves in every situation. No prior experience in Body-Mind Centering® or Contact Improvisation is required. All curious movers are welcome. ~~~~~ CATHIE CARAKER MFA, RSME is a longtime dance artist, researcher and somatic movement educator. Her teaching work integrates her deep background in post-modern dance practices and somatics. She was fortunate to work extensively with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, founder of Body-Mind Centering®, with Nancy Stark Smith and Steve Paxton, founders of Contact Improvisation, and has been profoundly influenced by their research. She was on the faculty of the renowned School for New Dance Development in Amsterdam for 10 years. She has also shared her work at the New York Improvisation Festival, Movement Research, Omega Institute, Seattle Festival of Dance Improvisation, wcciJAM, Moving On Center, Contact Festival Freiburg, Tanzfabrik Berlin, Barcelona Contact Festival, Contredanse Brussels, de Beweging Antwerp, and numerous US colleges. She has co-organized CI events including wcciJAM and the European CI Teaching Exchange (ECITE). Cathie is a Body-Mind Centering® teacher, a Somatic Movement Educator and an instructor of the Pilates and Gyrotonic methods. Her writings on Body-Mind Centering® as a somatic approach to dance education have been published by Nouvelles de Danse. More at www.cathiecaraker.com BODY-MIND CENTERING® is an ongoing, experiential study of the relationship between movement and mind. BMC was developed by somatics pioneer Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, in collaboration with her students and faculty at the School for Body-Mind Centering®. In BMC we practice the embodiment of our tissues, cells, body systems, and sense perceptions. We explore their expression through movement, breath, touch, voice, and the developmental / evolutionary movement process. CONTACT IMPROVISATION is a dynamic and nuanced movement practice where two or more people move together, maintaining a shared point of physical contact while attuning to the forces of gravity, momentum, and inertia. Dancers develop skills such as falling, rolling, weight-sharing, and refined sensory awareness. Blending elements of martial arts, social dance, acrobatics, bodywork, and meditation, each dance emerges spontaneously, guided by mutual listening and play. Since its emergence in 1972 through the work of dancer Steve Paxton, Contact Improvisation has grown into a global, open-source movement language. It has profoundly influenced contemporary dance and somatic movement education, offering an inclusive space for movers of all backgrounds.