The following classes from our core curriculum are open to the public. Classes marked with an asterisk may be taken for Master's level college credit. For more information on our instructors, please read our faculty bios. To see current pricing information, please visit our Tuition information page. For further information on typical daily schedules, see our Sample Program Calendar.

One-Week Intensive Workshop
with Susan Bauer

Experiential Anatomy and Kinesiology *
2 1/2 days, with Susan Bauer

Learning to Move: Principles of Developmental Movement *
2 days, with Cathie Caraker

The Alexander Technique
2 days, with Carol Swann

Bartenieff Fundamentals^TM *
2 days, with Peggy Hackney

Somatic Therapy (based on principles of the Hakomi Method)
2 1/2 days, with Carol Swann

Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) *
2 days, with Peggy Hackney

Somatics of Awakening: An Introduction to Somatic Approaches to Personal Growth
Sponsored by Moving on Center and the SMTT Program
1/2 day, with Martha Eddy and Andrei Salvat

Body-Mind Centering® (BMC) *
2 days, with Martha Eddy

Two-Week Intensive Workshop:
(Plus public performance during the second week)
With Brenton Cheng, Vitali Kononov, Adam Kenyon Venker and Carol Swann

The Elder, the Artist, and the Social Activist: Worldwork and Process Work
2 1/2 days, with Lane Arye

Liberation Singing
1 day, with Carol Swann

Authentic Movement *
2 days, with Bill McCully

Theatre of the Oppressed
2 days, with Aryeh Shell

Tracking the Unconscious Facilitator
1 day, with Bill McCully

The Basics of Group Facilitation
2 1/2 days, with Paul De Lapa

Going Deeper: Advanced Facilitation Training
5 days, with Isoke Femi

Songs and Games for Building Community
1 day, with Carol Swann

Voice Thru the Body
2 days, with Carol Swann

Contact Improvisation *
2 days, with Brenton Cheng & Vitali Kononov

Body-Mind Centering® and Improvisation *
2 days, with Cathie Caraker

Authentic Movement
1 1/2 days, with Susan Bauer

Action Theater: Improvisation, Performance
2 days, with Ruth Zaporah

Introduction to BodyMind Centering® for Dance and Other Movement Practices
1/2 day, with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen

Performance and Composition
2 days, with Keith Hennessy

East Coast Workshops and Lectures Call 212.414.2921 or email Martha Eddy to register for all workshops, and to determine their location. Current information on many workshops can be found at the website for The Center for Kinesthetic Education.

Sunday Workshop on Human Behavior and Expression: How We Move through Space with Dynamic Expression
Dates variable, with Martha Eddy CMA, Ed.D.

 

July intensive: Introduction to Laban Movement Analysis (LMA)
Dates variable, with Martha Eddy CMA, Ed.D.

Fundamental Fitness Learn and Practice Bartenieff Fundamentals
Dates variable, with SMTT Faculty

The Evolution of Fitness: Find core stability through developmental movement - a neurodevelopmental approach
Dates variable, with Martha Eddy CMA, Ed.D.

Functional Anatomy and Physiology : Introduction the Body Systems work of Body-Mind Centering®
Dates variable, with Martha Eddy CMA, Ed.D.

Body Counseling: Discover methods of transformative communication
Dates variable, with Martha Eddy CMA, Ed.D.

Dynamics of Touch(c): Use LMA to touch physiological systems of the body
Dates variable, with SMTT Faculty

Dynamic Movement Dynamic Health(c): A holistic approach to combining the observation of movement techniques of Body-Mind Centering® and Laban principles
Dates variable, with SMTT Faculty

Movement Fundamentals (Bartenieff perspective)
Dates variable, with Martha Eddy CMA, Ed.D.

Practicing Bartenieff Fundamentals
Dates variable, with Martha Eddy CMA, Ed.D.

Movement Analysis and Observation (Laban Movement Analysis perspective)
Dates variable, with Martha Eddy CMA, Ed.D.

Learning to Move: Principles of Developmental Movement
Dates variable, with Martha Eddy CMA, Ed.D.

Intro to Body Systems/Experiential Anatomy/Physiology (Body-Mind Centering® perspective)
Dates variable, with Martha Eddy CMA, Ed.D.

Dynamics of Touch and Dynamic Movement
Dates variable, with Martha Eddy CMA, Ed.D.

Dynamic Movement, Dynamic Health
Dates variable, with Martha Eddy CMA, Ed.D.

InSight Eye Relaxation
Dates variable, with Martha Eddy CMA, Ed.D.

BodyMind Dancing©/Gentle Aerobics
Dates variable, with Martha Eddy CMA, Ed.D.

Moving On Aerobics
Dates variable, with Martha Eddy CMA, Ed.D.

Infant Toddler Monthly Check in Groups
Dates variable, with Martha Eddy, CMA, Ed.D.

Counseling Skills for Hands-on Movement Specialists
Dates variable, with Martha Eddy, CMA, Ed.D. and Ruella Frank, Ph.D.

Introduction to Somatic Fitness
Dates variable, with Martha Eddy, CMA, Ed.D. and Lesley Powell

Lecture Series - Complementary Therapies and Education for Children by the Center for Kinesthetic Education and Integrative Pediatrics
Dates variable, with Martha Eddy CMA, Ed.D. and others

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS:

EMBODIMENT IN EDUCATION

Weeklong Workshop
More information on the workshop can be found on the Embodiment in Education page here.

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SOMATIC EDUCATION:

Experiential Anatomy and Kinesiology
This course aims to provide an introductory overview of the anatomy of the bones, muscles, nervous system, and viscera. It introduces kinesiological terminology. Some principles of the Somatic Movement Therapy Training and of Body-Mind Centering®, as well as "Bony Landmarks" from Bartenieff Fundamentals will also be taught.

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Learning to Move: Principles of Developmental Movement
Workshop and classes aim to provide an experiential framework for movement learning. Principles of movement development will be explored through two primary somatic movement therapy systems - Body-Mind Centering® (BMC) and Bartenieff Fundamentals. Each system incorporates neurodevelopmental movement patterns, reflexes, and righting reactions - the building blocks of motor co-ordination and expressive movement. Further insights will be drawn from motor learning, and educational and psychological theories.

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The Alexander Technique
The Alexander Technique is an educational method of body-mind reorganization that aims to promote ease in everything we do. By freeing ourselves from unconscious physical habits, we can create effortlessness in the way we live and move. Applications to voice, movement, walking, sitting, and talking will be addressed.

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Bartenieff Fundamentals
This class works with Patterns of Total Body Connectivity (related to a developmental progression) that facilitate the lively interplay of connective kinetic chains inside the body with expression into the outer world. Basic issues of efficiency and coordination are dealt with in relation to Breath and Core Support, clarity of proximal joint articulation (including gradated rotation), weight shift, propulsion and level change, and full three-dimensional movement. Students are encouraged to locate the sensations and feelings that are brought up by the movement, and form these in some way that is personally meaningful. (This course meets the LMA Certification Program pre-requisite.) Required for CMTSE.

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Somatic Therapy (based on principles of the Hakomi Method)
Hakomi uses the principles of non-violence, body-mind holism, organicity, unity and mindfulness to facilitate a transformational process - a conscious, assisted exploration of the self. It is a co-operative venture between client and practitioner designed to study the organization of experience, making it possible for the client to take greater responsibility for his/her own therapy and life process. Required for CMTSE.

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[NOTE: the following workshops are only available to students taking the entire module]

Somatic Integration
This class will focus on the intersection and synthesis of the many different but related areas of study in the intensive program. Principles from Somatic Theory classes are explored in relation to dance and movement classes. Embodying the Somatic Theory work, there is an opportunity to practice these new principles and begin to find your individual embodied knowing.

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Heart Circle
Heart Circle is a place where core students and faculty gather to "check-in" every week. Check-in is an important time for students and faculty to share with each other about what is going on in their present experience. This is also an essential part of the curriculum. It is a direct practice in real time, in real relationships within the group that utilizes the various systems we are learning, particularly, Hakomi and Authentic Movement.

The somatic systems which we are so engaged in learning influence how we participate in Heart Circle. As we progress in our learning, the skills of body awareness, listening, respect for each persons unique process, rhythm, personal signature, owning ones own story, etc., help create a clearer container and deeper connection to ourselves and each other. We believe that acknowledging the whole person through all these various perspectives is essential to positive group dynamics and personal growth. Most often, this process clarifies and deepens everyone's experience, and helps promote moving forward.

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Laban Movement Analysis (LMA)
This workshop will introduce students to the LMA approach, developed by Rudolph Laban, that focuses on experiencing and perceiving changes in Body, Effort, Shape, and Space - basic elemental building blocks to all our movement. Students will learn to use a clear language for speaking about movement in movement terms (as opposed to psychological or sociological terms), and will be encouraged to personally claim their own context for meaning making, i.e. interpretation.

Understanding between humans cannot happen until we are able to claim our own values and ways of moving into action, and appreciate how these are similar to, or different from those of others. These values are being constantly expressed in our movement, such that each of us has a unique LMA Movement Signature. Each of us can be valued for our own uniqueness in order for us to contribute to the world effectively. LMA helps us to look at where our own style of movement fits into the broader range of human movement; how we can accept where we (and others) are; and how we can broaden our range. (This course meets the Laban/Bartenieff Certification Program pre-requisite).

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Somatics of Awakening
Pain seems to be unavoidable in life; suffering, however, is optional. Suffering arises out of the scripts and stories we either inherit or create about ourselves, others, and the world in which we live. The stories we tell ourselves shape our bodies, and these in turn, affect the quality of our experience.

In this introductory evening, we will explore various somatic models that could assist us in becoming more aware of the strengths and limitations that our embodied scripts have on our lives. We will trace the lineage within Somatic Psychology that has focused on identifying and working with chronic muscular tensions, or "character armor", and explore these through an experiential exercise. We will also learn to recognize the different somatotypes that are identified in Constitutional Psychology. In addition, guided exercises will help us to experience the pulsatory organizations that Keleman proposes from within Formative Psychology.

From the larger field of Somatic Movement Education and Therapy, we will explore Laban Movement Analysis and the "body attitudes" that it describes. Martha Eddy will guide us through an experiential exercise that can assist us to become more aware of movement elements that support a fuller range of self-expression and interaction. She will also lead us in a discussion of how in Body-Mind Centering®, it is suggested that people often operate predominantly from certain organs and/or physiological systems while others are in the background playing a supporting function.

Finally we will talk about how somatic practice can involve touch and how diverse somatic approaches seem to increase self-awareness and work to expand the range of options for self-expression, possibilities for movement and increase balance, comfort, ease and pleasure through the softening or restructuring of our embedded stories. This can give us an increased sense of freedom in our lives and can potentially reduce our suffering while leading us toward a greater sense of awakening.

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Body-Mind Centering® (BMC)
Experience principles and techniques for embodying six different physiological body systems - skeletal, organ, gland, muscular, nervous and fluid systems - in the context of self-discovery and openness, using movement, touch and sound.

Body-Mind Centering® is an integrated approach to transformative experience through movement re-education and hands-on re-patterning. Developed by Occupational Therapist and renowned Somatic Educator Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, it is an experiential study and application of anatomical, physiological, psychophysical and developmental principles. One goal of this exploration is to understand how the mind is expressed through the body and the body through the mind. It is a creative process in which we learn to meet and recognize others and ourselves using somatic awareness.

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SOMATICS OF PRESENCE

Somatics of Presence Intensive
More information on the intensive can be found on the Somatics of Presence page here. Please check back for more information!

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THE SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS BODY:

The Elder, the Artist, and the Social Activist: A Workshop in Worldwork and Process Work
How do we best deal with conflicts in ourselves, in our relationships, in our work, in our communities, in the world? The social activist in us holds strongly to her position and fights for what she believes is right. This is not only political; we can be "social activists" in relationship when we stand up for ourselves and feel the other should see our point of view. The elder in us embraces all sides. Recognizing that all conflicts live within her, she stays centered and is able to facilitate in the midst of the raging storm. The artist in us transforms through creative expression. She reveals a vision of reality that is deeper than content, and is able to touch people in ways that other forms of communication could never do. These roles are in each of us; sometimes one is needed, sometimes another. Being clear which role we are in can help us live creative lives, make change that is sustainable, and contribute to a world where non-violence is a daily (and very personal) practice.

This workshop will combine theory, discussion, supervision, inner work, and group process. We will directly address and work with issues that are present among our group of participants, as well as issues arising in the world around us, in order to learn how to work with conflicts in general. You do not have to identify as an elder, an artist, or a social activist to take this workshop. We will practice finding and developing these roles in ourselves, differentiating between them as they come up, and choosing them consciously.

PROCESS WORK and WORLDWORK offer powerful and effective tools that can help us to work toward wholeness, well-being, social justice, and community. Developed by Arnold Mindell, Ph.D. (author of Sitting in the Fire, Dreambody, etc.) and his colleagues from around the world, Process Work and Worldwork are based on a trust that even the most disturbing experiences - including physical illness, conflicts and world issues - can lead us in the direction of change, growth, and connection.

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Liberation Singing

Singing together has been the "Voice" to unify, encourage, uplift the human spirit and communicate in many social movements throughout history. The Voice is the 'muscle of the Soul' as Roy Hart says (from the Roy Hart Theatre).

In these two classes, we will physically warm up the body and the voice through improvisational scores which will bring us more deeply into the "embodied voice". After this long warm up, we will then learn many world songs belonging to different cultures and different protest movements such as: Balkan songs, African songs, civil rights, spirituals, gospel songs, peace songs and rounds.

Everyone welcome! Bring loose clothes and come prepared to move physically as well as vocally.

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Authentic Movement
Authentic Movement is a self-directed movement form. One moves with eyes closed in the presence of another, who is a witness. With eyes closed, the mover has the opportunity to bring awareness to inner sensation and focus on other senses. As a witness one is encouraged to bring attention to one's own experience while being totally present in seeing the mover. The simplicity of this form is its power. We will explore the action of seeing and being seen, the dynamic interplay that is at the heart of both the therapeutic dyad and performance. This class provides time and space in the Moving On Center program for integration. It is a time we use to be present with whatever is moving for each of us.

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Theatre of the Oppressed
Theatre of the Oppressed is a set of games, exercises and practices that create space for people to name their reality, identify the contradictions, dialogue through the language of theatre, and try out different solutions. It uses movement, storytelling and tableaux to explore how images of one's personal experience reflect universal issues of power and social transformation. This workshop offers an energizing set of skills for activists, teachers, leaders and artists working for social change.

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Tracking the Unconscious Facilitator

Group facilitation can be supported by bringing awareness to some basic experiences most of us have when gathering with a group: issues of acceptance and rejection, the fear and excitement of being intimate, and the tension between being an autonomous individual and being a part of the group. Many of these issues lie deep in our bodies and minds and are not in our conscious awareness. Bringing these unconscious issues into awareness creates more ease and a fuller intelligence for the group and its members. Using skills developed through the practice of Authentic Movement and other body-centered forms, you will learn to directly and indirectly address these issues as facilitators.

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The Basics of Group Facilitation

This course engages participants in an overview of basic skills and procedures for encouraging productive, inspiring meetings. Using brief lecture, experiential exercises, role-playing, self- and group-process reflection, we'll explore facilitative influences on the dynamics of meetings and effective groups, with a focus on participatory (consensus) agreement building. The workshop will include specifics such as: listening skills, using guidelines with groups, differentiating content from process, focusing and managing conversations, working with concerns, and the self as instrument in any group meeting. Mornings will be spent learning games and songs for community building and a somatic approach of looking at ourselves psychologically to build awareness of how the body becomes both a resource and tool to support us in the facilitative role.

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Going Deeper: Advanced Facilitation

This course is designed to support the emergence of skills, capacities, and qualities that will enable cultural leaders to engage the edgier issues that arise within group life. Racism, sexism, classism, ableism, and other forms of social oppression often evoke intense subjective states. When these states are activated, capacities of empathy, courage, and self-awareness, as well as the ability to play and work in ways that transgress the normal rules of engagement, can minimize scapegoating dynamics. We will explore the role of expressive skills in the creative engagement of difference.

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Songs and Games for Building Community

This course presents games and songs to use for community building and the skillful shifting of group energy. These are games and songs that may have come from many parts of the world; some were initiated through New Games Tournaments or elsewhere. They are being taught for their 'play' value, which can have a strong impact on community building.

'Play Value' can be effective in encouraging co-operation, breaking down barriers, building trust, having fun/relaxing, recuperating, taking a break or 'changing channels' or learning modes (e.g. from cognitive to kinesthetic).

For example, 'Attention Out' is a term used by the Re-evaluation Counseling Community that refers to such a shift in awareness. As we know, various states can make it hard to focus, such as feeling tired, confused, over-whelmed, or sunken in sadness. As we get our 'attention out' by using games and songs to shift the energy, we become present and enlivened again. As facilitators, it can also be important to understand when to intervene in such a way and when it is best not to 'change' the energy at all--perhaps because it is exactly where the group needs to be. In such cases, the facilitator needs to assess what is appropriate.

You must also be aware of the various ages and/or physical and emotional abilities of the people in the group in relation to what games you choose. All games and songs we will learn in this class can be used with adults. In this class, we will learn to teach them simply and clearly, as well as to make them as safe as possible both physically and psychologically.

Note: Unlike the Theatre of the Oppressed and Tools for Change games and exercises, these games and songs are not all necessarily specific to bringing awareness to issues of oppression.

Games we may learn in this class: Bumpety Bump Bump; Pretzel; Yes, Lets; Elephant and Palm Tree; Zoom/Zerk; Blob Tag; Prui; Building a Machine; Wave the Ocean

Songs we may learn in this class: Step by Step the Longest March; Down By the Riverside; Oh How Lovely is the Evening; Chickens Get Into the Tomatoes; Chairs to Mend; I Am Open; A Ma I Boo O

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[NOTE: the following workshops are only available to students taking the entire module]

Somatic Integration
This class will focus on the intersection and synthesis of the many different but related areas of study in the intensive program. Principles from Somatic Theory classes are explored in relation to dance and movement classes. Embodying the Somatic Theory work, there is an opportunity to practice these new principles and begin to find your individual embodied knowing.

Return to top

Heart Circle
Heart Circle is a place where core students and faculty gather to "check-in" every week. Check-in is an important time for students and faculty to share with each other about what is going on in their present experience. This is also an essential part of the curriculum. It is a direct practice in real time, in real relationships within the group that utilizes the various systems we are learning, particularly, Hakomi and Authentic Movement.

The somatic systems which we are so engaged in learning influence how we participate in Heart Circle. As we progress in our learning, the skills of body awareness, listening, respect for each persons unique process, rhythm, personal signature, owning ones own story, etc., help create a clearer container and deeper connection to ourselves and each other. We believe that acknowledging the whole person through all these various perspectives is essential to positive group dynamics and personal growth. Most often, this process clarifies and deepens everyone's experience, and helps promote moving forward.

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IMPROVISATIONAL MIND & PERFORMANCE:

Voice Thru the Body
In this class, the voice is explored as a "muscle of the soul." We contact energy sources in the body that inform us of the many qualities, characters, pitches, and tones that are authentic expressions of each unique individual. Whether sounding, speaking, or singing, the body is revealed through the voice. Embracing improvisational structures, somatic therapies, Balkan and African songs, this class provides a rich and challenging laboratory for the person interested in deepening the resonance of his/her physical and vocal expression. (This class supports SMTT expression.)

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Contact Improvisation
In Contact Improvisation, dancers move in and out of contact, uniting their bodies to create a mutually supportive and dynamic interplay of weight. The primary developmental patterns of rolling, crawling, falling, walking, and running form the basis of the movement vocabulary. Through studying these patterns in-depth, we will develop an understanding of the body's structure and the movement forces acting upon this structure. We do not strive to achieve results, but rather to participate openly in a constant changing physical reality. Focus on solos, duets, trios and scores will be integrated as skills are developed. Contact Improvisation is offered as a weekly class in addition to the 12-hour workshop.

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Body-Mind Centering® and Improvisation
Body-Mind Centering® (BMC) is a "language of experience": an innovative approach to exploring the experiential anatomy of the body and its innate states of movement and mind. Investigations of selected body systems (organs, fluids, nervous system, endocrine glands) form the ground for personal movement research through bodywork, partnering, and improvisation. Classes encourage the mind of research and the ability to creatively develop movement material as it arises by expanding and refining our physical perceptions of movement, space, musicality and presence.

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Authentic Movement
Authentic Movement is a self-directed movement form. One moves with eyes closed in the presence of another, who is a witness. With eyes closed, the mover has the opportunity to bring awareness to inner sensation and focus on other senses. As a witness one is encouraged to bring attention to one's own experience while being totally present in seeing the mover. The simplicity of this form is its power. We will explore the action of seeing and being seen, the dynamic interplay that is at the heart of both the therapeutic dyad and performance. This class provides time and space in the Moving On Center program for integration. It is a time we use to be present with whatever is moving for each of us. This class supports SMTT expression.

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Action Theater: Improvisation and Presence
Taught by founder Ruth Zaporah, Action Theater is a process that offers a way towards lively, spontaneous, embodied expression. The techniques invite exploration into the direct experiencing of sensation/feeling/ action. They address comprehensive and diverse skills: the relationship between body and speech, the craft of expression, ie, time, space, shape, dynamics, how to spontaneously build monologue or dialogue, solo, partner and ensemble dynamics. Dancers and actors alike learn to open their physical, vocal and verbal imagination and discover their individual presence. The work is appropriate for anyone, novice or experienced, interested in the relationship between awareness, action and performance.

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Introduction to BodyMind Centering® for Dance and Other Movement Practices
Come join BMC founder Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen in this innovative approach to movement and experience fuller embodiment of your practice!

BodyMind Centering® principles form the basis of a dynamic approach to the practice and teaching of movement disciplines of all types. The support and articulation of the major body systems and of early developmental patterning are the foundations of all our movement, ranging from everyday activities to the more skilled and complex movements of the dancer, yoga practitioner, and athlete.

In this workshop, we will explore the interplay between the body systems and developmental movement and how they inform and interact with each other. We will apply this to specific movement practices that are of particular interest to participants in the workshop.

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Performance and Composition
This workshop presents four days of performance research, play, problems, and confusions. Improvisation dares an encounter with the radical now, while performance invokes a ritualized event where time and space are elastic or mutable and bodies are not what they seem. We will improvise alone, in duets, and in groups. In this workshop we will analyze one day, and try to lose our minds the next; confront the fake dichotomy between representation and real; and try to expand our potential to instigate, recognize, and enjoy situations as they unfold. Contact Improvisation, the dance of touch & weight, support & yield, will be a point of departure for experiments in real time composition, spontaneous performance art, and embodied theory. We will hang out in the gaps between knowing and not-knowing, between the said, the not-said, and the not-yet-said.

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[NOTE: the following workshop is only available to students taking the entire module]

Heart Circle
Heart Circle is a place where core students and faculty gather to "check-in" every week. Check-in is an important time for students and faculty to share with each other about what is going on in their present experience. This is also an essential part of the curriculum. It is a direct practice in real time, in real relationships within the group that utilizes the various systems we are learning, particularly, Hakomi and Authentic Movement.

The somatic systems which we are so engaged in learning influence how we participate in Heart Circle. As we progress in our learning, the skills of body awareness, listening, respect for each persons unique process, rhythm, personal signature, owning ones own story, etc., help create a clearer container and deeper connection to ourselves and each other. We believe that acknowledging the whole person through all these various perspectives is essential to positive group dynamics and personal growth. Most often, this process clarifies and deepens everyone's experience, and helps promote moving forward.

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2008 Winter/Spring Weekend Workshop Series

New! BodyMind Centering® for Dance, Yoga, and Other Movement Practices
With Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen
Location: Moving On Center, 1428 Alice St., Oakland, CA

Come join BMC founder Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen in this innovative approach to movement and experience fuller embodiment of your practice!

Body-Mind Centering® principles form the basis of a dynamic approach to the practice and teaching of movement disciplines of all types. The support and articulation of the major body systems and of early developmental patterning are the foundations of all our movement, ranging from everyday activities to the more skilled and complex movements of the dancer, yoga practitioner and athlete.

In this workshop, we will explore the interplay between the body systems and developmental movement and how they inform and interact with each other. We will apply this to specific movement practices that are of particular interest to participants in the workshop.

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New! Bodies in Relationships: A Somatic Approach
With Rita Venturi and Denzil Washington
Location: Wildcat Studios, 2525 8th Street, Berkeley, CA

Through a variety of body-based exercises (such as Authentic Movement, Contact Improvisation, Somatic Awareness, Sociometrics, and Map-Making) we will examine our personal story-making around intimacy, trust, and support. We will focus on building awareness and skills for creating conscious and intentional relationships, deepening our capacity for connection.

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New! Urban Dance Rituals: Where Urban Dance and Somatics Intersect
With Rashad Pridgen
Location: Buena Vida Dance Studio, 337 13th Street (at Webster), Oakland, CA

This workshop is a facilitated freestyle movement session of collaborative urban dance circles/exercises based on Innerwork, group process, and somatic principles to understand the structures of urban freestyle dance. Objectives include experiencing the elements of urban freestyle dance, understanding how to hold space for self and others, and how to freestyle with increased self-awareness.

*For urban dancers this will help you to discover the inner impulse of your personal freestyle movement and provide you with tools for injury prevention and personal growth!

*For somatic students/movement researchers this will give insight into the world of urban dance and its structure and form, while presenting an integration of somatic principles!

This workshop is open to all dancers: urban dancers, somatic students and movement researchers.

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Voice Thru the Body
With Carol Swann
Location: Wildcat Studios, 2525 8th Street, Berkeley, CA

In this workshop, the voice is explored as a "muscle of the soul." We contact energy sources in the body that inform us of the many qualities, characters, pitches, and tones that are authentic expressions of each unique individual. Whether sounding, speaking, or singing, the body is revealed through the voice. Embracing improvisational structures, somatic therapies, Balkan and African songs, this class provides a rich and challenging laboratory for the person interested in deepening the resonance of his/her physical and vocal expression.

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New! Moving-from-Within®
With Susan Bauer
Location: Spring/Fall Studios, 2525 8th Street, Berkeley, CA, Berkeley, CA

This workshop introduces a unique form of dance improvisation with roots in Authentic Movement, contemplative practices, and creative improvisation. For over fifteen years, Moving-from-Within® has offered a place of inspiration and discovery that bridges more inner-directed experience with dynamic group dance. Come experience this fun, creative process with co-founder Susan Bauer. All levels welcome.

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Alexander Technique
With Shelly Senter
Location: UC Berkeley, Bancroft Dance Studio, 2401 Bancroft St. (at Dana St.) Berkeley, CA

The Alexander Technique is an educational method of body-mind reorganization that aims to promote ease in everything we do. By freeing ourselves from unconscious physical habits, we can create effortlessness in the way we live and move. This workshop will include applications to voice, movement, walking, and sitting.

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Bartenieff Fundamentals^TM
With Peggy Hackney
Location: Wildcat Studios, 2525 8th Street, Berkeley, CA
This class works with Patterns of Total Body Connectivity (related to a developmental progression) that facilitate the lively interplay of connective kinetic chains inside the body with expression into the outer world. Basic issues of efficiency and coordination are dealt with in relation to Breath and Core Support, clarity of proximal joint articulation (including gradated rotation), weight shift, propulsion and level change, and full three-dimensional movement. Students are encouraged to locate the sensations and feelings that are brought up by the movement, and form these in some way that is personally meaningful.

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Somatics of Presence: Performance
With Vitali Konanov, Brenton Cheng, and Adam Venkar
Location: Wildcat Studios, 2525 8th Street, Berkeley, CA

For those interested in theater, dance, composition, contact, and improvisation as performance disciplines, this intensive workshop will integrate the deep body awareness of Body-Mind Centering® with the rich expressive framework of Laban Movement Analysis.

What is presence? How can the performer remain permeable, yet powerful? We will develop essential performance skills from an embodied perspective, address the nature of performance, and explore the hidden realities of the performer / spectator relationship. All levels welcome.

[Note: This workshop serves as an introduction to the full Somatics of Presence: Performance Intensive in August 2008.]

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Experiential Anatomy
With Susan Bauer
Location: Spring/Fall Studios, 2525 8th Street, Berkeley, CA

This course provides an introduction to a dynamic, movement based approach to Experiential Anatomy based on Body-Mind Centering®, Ideokinesis, and Bartenieff Fundamentals. In this approach, each student becomes his or her own "lab" to move, experience, and learn from through movement, drawing, creative writing, and hands-on partner work. Essential for dancers, movement teachers, and all who want to enliven their relationship to their body/mind. No anatomy experience required; all welcome.

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Theatre of the Oppressed
With Aryeh Shell
Location: Wildcat Studios, 2525 8th Street, Berkeley, CA

Theatre of the Oppressed is a set of games, exercises and practices that create space for people to name their reality, identify the contradictions, dialogue through the language of theatre, and try out different solutions. It uses movement, storytelling and tableaux to explore how images of one's personal experience reflect universal issues of power and social transformation. This workshop offers an energizing set of skills for activists, teachers, leaders and artists working for social change.

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EAST COAST WORKSHOPS

All of the courses below can be credited toward certification with Dynamic Embodiment Somatic Movement Therapy Training (DE-SMTT). Ask about tuition packages and Work Exchange programs.

Classes are held at the Center for Kinesthetic Education - 49 West 27th Street. Call 212.414.2921 or email Martha for exact information. Please call or email to register for all workshops.

SMTT Phase 1 Courses
Please see more information on these courses at Movements Afoot.
Costs: 1 twelve hour course $300; 2 courses $550; 3 courses $800. Single classes available $83 per session.

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Movement Fundamentals (Bartenieff perspective)
Introduces Physical Therapist Irmgard Bartenieff's principles of efficient movement functioning. Concepts such as breath support, 3-dimensionality in movement, relationship and sequencing of body parts, and the interaction of stability/mobility are learned experientially. Considers a person's motivation to move, as well as one's relationships to the environment (e.g., space, time, gravity, tension, people and other environmental constraints.)

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Practicing Bartenieff Fundamentals
Join us to help keep your skills in Bartenieff practices sharp and strong!

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Movement Analysis and Observation (Laban Movement Analysis perspective)
Introduction to the elements of human movement Body/Space/Dynamics/Shape/ Relationship. Practice in observing, naming and recording movement patterns.

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Learning to Move: Principles of Developmental Movement
Workshop and classes aim to provide an experiential framework for movement learning. Principles of movement development will be explored through two primary somatic movement therapy systems -- Body-Mind Centering® (BMC) and Bartenieff Fundamentals. Each system incorporates neurodevelopmental movement patterns, reflexes, and righting reactions -- the building blocks of motor co-ordination and expressive movement. Further insights will be drawn from motor learning, and educational and psychological theories.

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Intro to Body Systems/Experiential Anatomy/Physiology (Body-Mind Centering® perspective)
Overview of the major body systems as organized by tissue type (vs. physiological function); studies experientially their contribution to movement and affect. Attention is paid to the contrast of autonomic and "voluntary" functioning.

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Dynamics of Touch and Dynamic Movement
Use Laban Movement Analysis to better understand skillful touch. Investigate how the use of the LMA concepts such as Effort Use and Shape Change can enhance access to the specific types of touch necessary to experience and influence the various physiological systems - bone, muscle, organs, glands, fat, fascia, nerve && brain (as taught through Body-Mind Centering®). Gain a greater sensitivity and focus in working with others through touch and movement.

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Dynamic Movement, Dynamic Health
This course uses the languages of LMA and BMC to assess a person or group's health needs and to match their needs to suitable movement practices. It teaches us to answer questions such as: When is yoga preferred over tai chi? What situations warrant water aerobics versus Pilates exercises?

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InSight Eye Relaxation
A workshop focused on exploring the benefits of eye relaxation through a whole body relaxation and balancing for the visual system. Increase your coordination and breathing capacity to support relaxed seeing and gain more pleasure from looking and reading.

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BodyMind Dancing©/Gentle Aerobics
A workshop focused on the work of Gentle Aerobics and BodyMind Dancing©. In order to become trained as a BodyMind Dancing© instructor, it is ideal to be certified in Martha Eddy's SMTT. However, some individuals with extensive background in dance and somatic studies may request to apply. Most notably, a background in Body/Mind Centering® and/or Laban Movement Analysis.

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Moving On Aerobics
Moving On Aerobics provides a gentle but invigorating workout, relieving stress - energizing mind, body and soul. Developed by exercise physiologist and somatic movement therapist Martha Eddy, CMA, Ed.D., this class is designed especially for women who have or who have had breast cancer and is now available to any one with, or recovering or in remission from all forms of cancer (6 weeks post surgery with doctor's permission to exercise). For more information, see Moving On Aerobics.

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Infant Toddler Monthly Check in Groups
Join a small group class of parents and babies to deepen your connection with your infant or toddler. We explore why tummy time is important, Body-Mind Centering® for Babies, toddler development through movement and play,and easing physical stress for parents and caregivers. You can increase you knowledge and skill in parenting through developing strength of body-mind-spirit to deepen your rapport with your child and learning about the importance of movement in your child's development. Bring questions and concerns about special needs; network; find parental support.

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Counseling Skills for Hands-on Movement Specialists
Martha Eddy, CMA, Ed.D. and Ruella Frank, Ph.D.

Practice embodied listening as a baseline for building rapport. Learn how to interact with support when emotions arise during sessions. Practice staying in touch with your own feelings and sensations while you are working. Become aware of transferring feelings. Get better at observing non-verbal cues and tracking the concerns of your clients.

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Introduction to Somatic Fitness
Martha Eddy, CMA, Ed.D. and Leslie Powell, Director of Movements Afoot.

Somatic education is a growing field of research and therapies about self-awareness, movement and sensory-motor learning. Somatic movement education/therapy includes retraining the neural connections between the brain and muscles to reintegrate all the muscles into a whole functional unit with the rest of the body.

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LECTURE SERIES: Complementary Therapies and Education for Children
These lectures will be held in the offices of CKE (suite #503) or Jayme Lewin Rich/ Integrative Pediatrics (suite #307) at 39 West 14th Street between 5th Ave and 6th Ave

Mothers' Body Awareness through the Alexander Technique
Lecture and demonstration on how to use your body safely while handling babies.
with Rebecca Tuffey and Ruth Diamond, AmSAT Certified

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Collaborative Approaches

Developmental Movement Therapy
A body-mind approach that facilitates children's physical, cognitive and communicative development
with Martha Eddy, RSMT, Ed. D., Director of CKE

Connective Tissue Treatment and Learning
Stimulating the nervous system through deep fascial touch
with Ron Lavine, DC (Chiropractor, Connective Tissue Therapist)

Learn how Drs. Eddy and Lavine work together using movement and hands-on techniques with children with different types of movement and learning needs.

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Baby Massage - Easy Baby Program
Learn techniques to stimulate or calm your baby, providing a satisfying physical connection and bond.
with Janessa Rick, PT

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Rethinking Scoliosis through Body-Mind Centering® and Yoga
with Marcia Monroe, Teacher of Body-Mind Centering®

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Tummy Time
with Lauree Wise, OTR, Infant Developmental Movement Educator

Homeopathy for Children
with Sally Ekreib

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COLLEGE CREDIT FOR CLASSES AT MOC

We are excited to announce our new relationship with California State University, East Bay!  You can now take many classes at Moving On Center and receive Master's level college credit through CSU!  The following classes may be taken for credit:

1) Bartenieff Fundamentals
2) Diversity Embodied / Laban Movement Analysis
3) Learning to Move: Developmental Movement
4) Authentic Movement (students must take both offered workshops to receive credit.)
5) Body-Mind Centering® (students must take both offered workshops to receive credit.)
6) Contact Improvisation (students must take both offered workshops to receive credit.)
7) Somatic Integration (open to core students only)
8) Somatic Application (open to core students only)

If you wish to receive credit, there is an additional fee per class. Contact us for more information.

Also consider doctoral studies at the International University of Professional Studies as a way to train in DE-SMTT and earn a higher degree.

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