UNSEENbutKNOWN: A workshop in Active Presencing

This workshop is a dancing immersion with Nita and Tim in the materials and skills that engage the action of presence (presencing) as an aspect of embodied attention in solo and ensemble dancing, Contact Improvisation and (Post Judson) dance improvisation. It engages in theories and practices derived by Nita’s 35 years of physical research and Tim's movement skills and performance practices. We will explore full spatial commitment from a skills base (complex physical actions and interactions), an empathetic base (tactile and mindful sharing), a base of semiotics and meaning making (that realm of information that is receptive and productive both), and theoretical (what we think we are doing and how it can change the world). These materials will be set within the context of other conversations on the subject in order to broaden the scope of our knowledge and possibility. We will engage with the materials of people from multiple disciplines including both cognitive and neuro scientists and those whose knowing is primarily empathetic in order to grasp our place in this emerging area of interest. Disturbing the boundaries of present conceptualizations and practices of embodied states our purpose is to shift creative practices, recharge physical dialogue, enhance perceptual access and cultivate individual and ensemble performance potential. We will initiate the workshop on Sunday afternoon with a 3-hour introduction mapping the territory of our week’s work and setting our individual and mutual rudders on course. The next 5 days will feature an hour of daily pre-studio discussion around materials and theory followed by 5 hours of studio practice. The core of our work will be moving, dancing, exploring, creating.