"Dancing Souls"
February 2nd- 9th, 2019 in the Maroccan desert
Contact Improvisation, Yoga & Dance in nature
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"Dancing Souls" : an invitation to live and dance on the pulse of the desert, to meet it in its vastness.
Yoga and guided meditations will bring us into a state of deeper presence, awakening the body and bringing the mind into the moment and in harmony with the silence of the surroundings.
We will engage ourselves in a sensory and playful approach toward our environment. Well rooted in the ground and in the sensitive qualities of our dances, alone or in dialogue with partners, we will go on an inward journey through our internal impulses, sometimes subtle, sometimes wild, to explore the resonance of our body landscapes in tune with the natural surroundings.
Elements of Contact Improvisation, improvised dance and Authentic Movement will guide us for this movement research. Contact Improvisation is based on a natural exchange of weight, a fluid and organic common movement and a listening, subtle touch. For the improvised dance, we have a somatic and experiential approach, based on the embodiment, using movement, touch and voice. In Authentic Movement, movers explore spontaneous gestures and stillness, following inner impulses in the present moment. They are watched by a witness who focuses on self-awareness. with the intention of not judging,
Manuela Blanchard (Switzerland) is a dancer and WATSU®, WaterDance® & Esalen Massage® practicioner. She teaches improvised dance since 15 years: New Dance and Contact improvisation, in water and in nature. Her listening and subtle presence invites you to a full and confident immersion in the mouvement. More here.
Cornelia Held (Switzerland) is a YS Yoga teacher, Breath- & Movement therapist, Cranio-Sacral Therapist, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. She dances since more than 20 years Contactimprovisation, since many years Butoh and she has a yearslong experience in meditation (Vipassana). She's leading groups in the maroccan desert since 10 years. More here.
Marc Rossier (Switzerland), musician and Feldenkrais practitioner will accompany us during some dance sessions with the magic sounds of the kalimba. We will also gather some nights under the stars and sing and play music with our Berber team, supported by his guitar. More here.
Place: Desert in Marocco / in the sand dunes in the entrance of Sahara. One day (bus and then 1h30 hike with camels) from Marrakech. Camp in the middle of the sand dunes sleeping on matresses in tents, dry closets, very simple showers, outdoor dances in silence.
Price:
Teaching fees in Swiss francs: 580 CHF until December 31st/ / 630 CHF after. Euro price: 470€ with your registration until End of December/ 520€ beyond. Reduced fee (390€ for 2-3 people with some work exchange, please contact us well in advance!) for people with small income, please contact us. For people living in Europe or abroad, we calculate with an exchange rate of 1.2 for the Euro, because we assume that these are in more difficult economic situation. But we are grateful for solidarity donation from people of all countries who can afford it, this helps us to support the ones with less income.
Not included (please contact us for details and support for all arrangements): flight to Marrakech (about 150-350€, the earliest the cheapest), to book by yourself, minibus to M'Hamid 70€, 2 nights in a hotel in Marrakech at your arrival and departure (around 20€ x2 nights), full pension in the heart of the desert - 6 nights + 1 one the way in a Riad - alltogether 260€. This means a total of less than 1000€ all included until the end of December. Please contact us if you have any question.
Here is a sheet with detailled information about prices and a registration form. Please contact us before you registrate.
(scroll down for more information...)
Pictures of 2014-2017 (DIAPORAMA) and VIDEO, please click here
Programm 2019:
- Arrival in Marrakech the latest on Friday the 1st of February in the evening and flight back the earliest from Sunday 10th of February in the morning, so at least 1 night before and after the workshop in Marrakech.
- February 2nd : 9 hours bus travel and then walk to the camp (the bags will be transported by car).
- from 3-8 of February: 6 days/ evenings of workshop/dance: about 4h/ day dancing, with Contact Improvisation / guided improvised dance / slow movement in nature in the silence of the desert. And about 2 hours hata yoga each day or sometimes guided meditations. Camel trek on one day and at least one free afternoon. Plus free time to taste the quietness of the desert, stroll along the dunes, sing around the fire and watch the stars in the evening, do what you want. Lodging and full board eating at the camp. Teaching language in German, French and /or English, depending on the needs and present languages in the group.
- February 8th: travel back to Marrakech with one night in a Riad on the way. Arrival in Marrakech the 9th of February in the early evening.
The official workshop time starts on Saturday morning of February 2nd and ends on Saturday morning the 9th, 2019.
Interesting websites for flights :
www.easyjet.com (from Basel or Geneva), www.ebookers.ch, www.edreams.fr, www.jetairfly.com, www.royalairmaroc.com, www.jetcost.com.
Information and registration: Cornelia, travel organiser and guide, cornelia.held@bluewin.ch, phone:+41(0)79.753.45.17 or Manou (F/E/D), manou.blanchard@bluewin.ch, +41 (0)79 641.91.19
Pictures from "SAND DANCE" and "DANCING SOULS" in 2014-2017 here. After a great experience together (5 Rhythms and Contact improvisation), Guillaume Laplane and Manuela Blanchard decided to offer separate dance workshops in the desert. Cornelia and Manou are proposing "Dancing Souls" for the 4th time in 2018.
Video on youtube (project from last year with another focus and co-teacher, Guillaume Laplane): “DESERT RHYTHMS”. Dance in nature with Manou, see pictures and videos in other kind of nature
Back to english navigation / website
- Arrival in Marrakech the latest on Friday the 1st of February in the evening and flight back the earliest from Sunday 10th of February in the morning, so at least 1 night before and after the workshop in Marrakech.
- February 2nd : 9 hours bus travel and then walk to the camp (the bags will be transported by car).
- from 3-8 of February: 6 days/ evenings of workshop/dance: about 4h/ day dancing, with Contact Improvisation / guided improvised dance / slow movement in nature in the silence of the desert. And about 2 hours hata yoga each day or sometimes guided meditations. Camel trek on one day and at least one free afternoon. Plus free time to taste the quietness of the desert, stroll along the dunes, sing around the fire and watch the stars in the evening, do what you want. Lodging and full board eating at the camp. Teaching language in German, French and /or English, depending on the needs and present languages in the group.
- February 8th: travel back to Marrakech with one night in a Riad on the way. Arrival in Marrakech the 9th of February in the early evening.
The official workshop time starts on Saturday morning of February 2nd and ends on Saturday morning the 9th, 2019.
Interesting websites for flights :
www.easyjet.com (from Basel or Geneva), www.ebookers.ch, www.edreams.fr, www.jetairfly.com, www.royalairmaroc.com, www.jetcost.com.
Information and registration: Cornelia, travel organiser and guide, cornelia.held@bluewin.ch, phone:+41(0)79.753.45.17 or Manou (F/E/D), manou.blanchard@bluewin.ch, +41 (0)79 641.91.19
Pictures from "SAND DANCE" and "DANCING SOULS" in 2014-2017 here. After a great experience together (5 Rhythms and Contact improvisation), Guillaume Laplane and Manuela Blanchard decided to offer separate dance workshops in the desert. Cornelia and Manou are proposing "Dancing Souls" for the 4th time in 2018.
Video on youtube (project from last year with another focus and co-teacher, Guillaume Laplane): “DESERT RHYTHMS”. Dance in nature with Manou, see pictures and videos in other kind of nature
Back to english navigation / website
