Performance / Choreography
Somatic Movement
Body Therapy
Upcoming Summer retreat ‘ Form to Formless’
Île-d’Aix Island, France 3rd to 10th August
Guided by Chris Leuenberger, Jihae Ko and Kay Patru.
JOIN US THIS SUMMER IN A SOMATIC MOVEMENT AND YOGA RETREAT ON THE ISLAND OF AIX ON THE ATLANTIC COAST OF FRANCE.
Meditate on the ocean’s ebb and flow, walk blind-folded through the fragrant woods and let the textures of the island’s geography inform your dancing.
We’ll start each day by setting clarity and focus through yoga and pranayama. As we dive into somatic movement explorations, bodywork and meditation / inquiry practices, we will gently surrender unnecessary self-images and physical patterning to transform it into our fluid nature and body wisdom. We will dive deeper into the process of various layers of being such as physical, emotional, thinking, dreaming, spiritual and unknown states. This workshop is for individuals who practice some form of inner development and curious about exploring movement as a path of self-realization.
The workshop will be facilitated by experienced teachers to guide the group dynamic while supporting the unique qualities of each participant.
• yoga & pranayama
• meditation, contemplation and inquiry
• sensory work & dancing in nature
• bodywork (basic principles of shiatsu)
• 3 vegetarian meals per day (local cuisine, natural ingredients)
• basic accommodation in tents or AirB&B guesthouse
from € 440.–
Early Bird Registration until 1st of June: € 390.–
SIGN-UP:
contact@chrisleuenberger.com
ARRIVAL & DEPARTURE:
3rd August : Arrival day. We start late afternoon
10th August: Departure day. We finish with lunch
To come to the island from abroad:
– via flight:
-> La Rochelle airport is closest, with a flight on Monday and Friday with Ryanair from Brussels-Charleroi.
-> Bordeaux airport with easyjet and KLM from Amsterdam runs everyday, then a train ride of 1h45 min to Rochefort, then a bus to Fouras la Fumée for taking the boat [Check the timetable].
– with the train: a regular TGV line runs from Paris to La Rochelle few times a day.
– to reach the island:
from La Rochelle a boat is easily accessible to get to the island but runs only few times per day depending on the tide. [Check the timetable]
ABOUT THE TEACHERS:
JIHAE KO is a dancer, choreographer as well as a certified acupuncturist and massage therapist based in Amsterdam. She graduated from the School of Toronto Dance Theater (Modern dance), SNDO (performance choreography) and Shenzou open university (Acupuncture therapy). She is committed to bridging art practice and therapy as a path where creativity and inter-personal growth meet. She has been teaching somatic movement workshops for Korean dance therapy association, Seoul buddhism university, Co-creation retreats and various groups in Europe and S.Korea. Her private studio for Acupuncture and Hands-on therapy is located in Amsterdam South.
www.jihaeko.com
www.jihaebodywork.com
Chris Leuenberger is a freelance dancer, choreographer and 500 hour RYT yoga teacher. Based in Bern, Switzerland, he creates dance pieces for the stage and public space. He collaborates with different artists, performs for others and continues to develop his own choreographic language inspired by the rhythms and sounds of breath.
Parallell to his artistic quest he teaches workshops, retreats and yoga classes both locally and internationally.
https://www.chrisleuenberger.com/
KAY PATRU is a dance and movement improvisation teacher, choreographer, certified bodywork therapist based in Amsterdam. His work focuses primarily on developing improvisation and somatic awareness tools designed to awaken the innate intelligence of the body. His choreographic projects focus on designing the sensory experience of the body in relationship to (un)natural environments. He teaches regularly movement research and somatic awareness classes in Europe and South Korea. He recently started researching and leading workshops around the impact of nature on the perception of the body.
Q&A about the FORM TO FORMLESS RETREAT
Q&A #1 with Jihae Ko
-What is Form to Formless all about?
This is an unique retreat integrating the wisdom of yoga and somatic dance.
Yoga offers structure and clarity in body-mind practice, Somatic dance offers a way to discover and explore our own way of moving and being moved, by allowing our body- mind connection to support our process. In this retreat I would like to introduce sensory practices such as ‘Seeing/looking’ ‘Feeling/sensing’ ‘Listening’ ‘Grounding’ and discovering more senses as well as tuning in to the nature around us.
-Who would benefit from this?
This retreat is for yogis, dancers, therapists, artists and individuals who practice some form of inner development and are curious about exploring movement as a path of self-realisation.
Q&A #2 WITH CHRIS
1) WHAT IS FORM TO FORMLESS ALL ABOUT?
Form to Formless is about offering yogic practices (asana, pranayama & meditation) with great clarity and detailed instructions on the one hand and exploring movement from one’s own curiosity and creative spark on the other.
The concept of the retreat comes from a personal desire to couple my love for teaching and practicing yoga with my knowledge in dance and improvisation-based work.
I want to offer people an experience where they direct their attention from a clear place of structure and alignment towards perceiving more and more subtle movement – and then allowing dance to emerge from there.
2) WHO WOULD BENEFIT FROM THIS? I think this retreat can offer beautiful tools both to yogis who look for freedom of expression and creativity and to dancers/movers who want to direct their attention inward and cultivate a sense of listening and working with their energy.
