The University of Chichester, renowned for its dance course, is holding a day of talks, workshops and performances on 9 November, named Moving and Experiencing: Somatics in theory and practice.
Somatic practice in relation to dance is an alternative movement method to rigorous techniques studied in order to both oppose and balance these. Techniques such as Release, the Feldenkrais method and alternatives such as Tai Chi all promote a very different approach to dance and the body-mind connection, emphasising this use of the body as the basis for movement.
The day promises to bring together a range of professionals working in the field of somatic practice and arts-making in a series of research events to deepen knowledge and practice, enabling new possibilities. There will also be taster workshops, new dance performance research and a keynote talk for somatic practices. Each workshop will be an introduction to a particular way of a working, facilitating a deep and embodied awareness of the connections embedded in these practices.
For dance artists working in any aspect of the dance industry, the day is hoped to give way to deeper understandings amongst the respective somatic practices as well as providing a meaningful experience. The day’s practitioners will make an initial offering to a further enquiry into the depth and breadth of dance and somatic practices both in and beyond Higher Education. Those involved include Professor Jane Bacon, University of Chichester, Linda Hartley, Institute of Integrative Bodywork and Movement Therapy, Sharna Travers Smith, University of Chichester (Body-Mind Centering), Dr Jill Hayes, University of Chichester, (Dance Movement Psychotherapy) and Amanda Williamson, Visiting Fellow, University of Chichester (Mystical/Spiritual in Somatic Practices).
It is hoped that the University of Chichester will run a series of events similar to this.