Upon reflection, nature came in as help as early as the very budding of the idea of the solo show Journey of Whispering Dreams, when I was still approaching and working with those autobiographical materials, the raw ones. From making contact with the shells picked from the beaches of Devon to responding to trees in Exeter through movement.
Two years later, when movement improvisation was at a further stage, natural elements brought themselves further to the front. I worked with imagined imagery to guide the improvisations and the shaping of the visual expression for the performance. A lot of those imageries turned out to be natural-related ones again – trees, leaves, waves, mountains… I found nature again as the piece came to its birth. Poetic imagery and thematic associations with natural surroundings and geographical perspectives are central to Journey of Whispering Dreams.
I resonate hugely with Anna Halprin’s beliefs in nature: ‘Processes of nature offer aesthetic guidelines’. ‘Nature is a healer’. The process of my performance practice and previous workshops show that healing and art go hand in hand. That’s why this workshop invitation is open to all.
Starting with breath, getting rid of bodily tension and opening up your senses are key to this workshop. Then it becomes such a natural move to transfer this workshop to a natural surrounding too – to breathe in the fresh air among the trees, open up all your senses to natural elements around you, let the physicality of responses with them guide your genuine movement improvisation.
Join us on that autumn morning of 30th September in Southwark Park, London.
Book your place here: https://www.waterwayworkshop.co.uk/event-details/explore-bodily-movement-and-improvisation-in-nature
Qingyang
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