 | Dear dancer I have just returned from teaching in Cape Town, and here I am, already thinking of the next trip and upcoming events. Life does not stand still for one moment - what an energetic dancer it is! | The ordinary and the extraordinary For a few months now, I have been pondering the relationship between the ordinary and the extraordinary. This arose partly out of an experience on the dance floor or rather many experiences in the dance over many years. One of my stories that arises very powerfully in some dances is the sense that I am ‘not quite getting “it”’- it being something I feel I am meant to be getting out of the process we are in, or a specific experience, feeling, ‘download’ I expect to be having because it seems everyone else around me is having a special kind of experience/feeling/download, judging by the looks, sounds, gestures around me. Do you know this story: everyone is in something and you are standing on the sidelines wondering what you are doing ‘wrong’ or how to ‘get in’? | As humans we so often long for the extraordinary and spend our time trying to create it, to get ‘there’… through practices, mind-altering substances, peak experiences, trips to faraway lands, etc. In my own life I can get tangled up in the story of ‘I am not having the experience I am supposed to be having right now, there is something else “out there” that is somehow right or better or would make me feel more like I am really living life’ etc … Obviously all of these stories take me out of the moment and into a disconnection from what is actually happening, into a story of lack both within myself or within the context I am in… And of course this is also a collective story that drives the current consumer craziness which is destroying our world and : for every perceived lack, for every longing that we cannot bear to feel, there is a product, gadget, service, substance etc that promises to make us whole… And then, in a recent dance in ceremony, I was powerfully reminded that this messy awkward being human is, in some ways, all there is… there isn’t anything to be got… this is the place, this is it! Which came initially as a wave of disappointment and shock and then, in its second wave of arriving on the shores of my being, also a feeling of liberation in opening me to the preciousness of each moment… | It may sound like a cliché but I suspect I am not alone in knowing this abstractly, then forgetting and then needing reminding of again and again and again. I find dancing helps to increase the frequency of this sense of the extraordinariness of the ordinary. So does being outdoors, in nature, with non-human beings, or reading poetry… In the Movement Medicine map, we may call this the medicine of the Dancing Fool, an archetype that represents the qualities of curiosity, wonder, innocence and play. The part of us that can connect to the ordinary, for example a body part or a small mark on the floor or a beam of light shining into the space, and is fascinated and dives deep into the moment to find the gateway to awe, to life’s extraordinariness… and to the (in)comprehension of how really quite amazing it is that we are here, that life does what it does, that there are caterpillars and elephants, that our knees bend just so to allow us to dance… Where and how does this interplay of the ordinary and the extraordinary manifest in your life? Where does this way of seeing and experiencing like the Dancing Fool awaken for you? What reminds you to return to the preciousness of this moment, this life that is happening through you right now, again and again, no matter how often you forget? Wishing you many moments of finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. Until we next meet on a dancefloor,
Petra PS: Below some opportunities to dance and connect in Cape Town in February! | A warm invitation to come together for the 4th daylong Movement Medicine Retreat for women on 3rd February 2019. Take time out from the busyness and treat yourself to some me- and we-time in movement and the nourishing company of other women. A day to pause, reflect and resource yourself... Balm for body, heart and mind. The theme for the day is the medicine of the air and the winds. Dance, as Anna Halprin says, is 'the breath made visible' and in Movement Medicine the qualities we work with are gratitude, wonder, joy, creativity and playfulness, as well as the shadow energies of criticalness and judge-mentality. Of course we can also call the winds to help us see the birds eye view of our lives so that we can see our path more clearly. Read more about the Nourish retreat here... | Cost: R650 if booked by 23 Jan, full price R750 thereafter. Concessions available, please ask! Bookings are non-refundable but transferable. In order to create a safe intimate space, places are limited, so please book early to avoid disappointment.
Book here or contact me by email. | "As we tap into the deep sources of bodily wisdom through creative art expression, we dance the renewal, recreation, and healing of ourselves and our world." (Anna Halprin) Come and join us for another evening of dance and connection in the beautiful space at Erin Hall on Friday 1st February 2019. We will dance to move into deeper connection with ourselves, our bodies, hearts and minds, each other, community, and all that moves us and matters to us. Read more on Facebook and Quicket
Everyone welcome, no previous experience required!!! | Bookings: R120 (R90 concessions) if pre-booked. R140 on the door.
Please book in advance here
Bookings are non-refundable but transferable.
Contact me if you have any questions 0784879107/ movingintoconnection@outlook.com | Movement has the capacity to take us to the home of the soul, the world within for which we have no name. Movement reaches our deepest nature, and dance creatively expresses it. Through dance, we gain new insights into the mystery of our lives. When brought forth from the inside and forged by the desire to create personal change, dance has the profound power to heal the body, psyche and soul. Anna Halprin | | |
