Life is a Jam

It is quite a delicate thing, to organize something I'd like to see myself in the Netherlands most. I love all (well most..) CI events, and I do also have a specific wish and desire to go deeper into the experience.

Late July I will go to Norway for a week of full silence and CI, and no classes or focalising at all. I've never experienced this before, and am slightly nervous and also excited!

The IN SILENCE Contemplative CI meeting will have focalisation in the morning, and some in the afternoon. The Jams and the in between time will mostly be contemplative, meaning in silence, if you want to. There will also be spaces where one can talk and share.

So if you are up for pioneering a (semi) silent CI meeting in the Netherlands, I'd love for you to join us!

It will be a somatic journey into Contact Improvisation, where movement, stillness, and deep connection intertwine. Guided by Alessandro Rivellino, this gathering invites dancers to refine presence, sensitivity, and experience the poetry of perception.

• Dates: 19 to 24th of August
• Location: a beautiful estate next to Ommen, the Netherlands

Organizing together with my friends: Alessandro, Lana, Erica and Karka. Really looking forward!

If you register via Life is a Jam - mention it in the registration form and get a EUR 20 discount! (on top of the current early pricing)

Have a look at the delicious proposal we prepared: IN SILENCE website

Looking forward to pioneer with you!

For years I have been practicing Qigong, and I feel absolutely great doing it! To be honest I became a bit addicted to how good it feels.

It is the perfect practice to build and maintain a good and joyfull body and cultivate abundant energy for CI research and play!

Qigong can be a daily practice (4-5 times a week) of approximately 20-30 minutes, which feels like a breath of fresh air, but then inside of the body.

It gives me a sense of deep relaxation almost on a bone level (if such a thing exists..), and at times makes my arms and legs feels like rubber bands. They are both strong and flexible, at least that is how they feel.

The interesting part is that these practices give real results, both on a physical level as on an energetic level.

So I can highly recommend to learn Qigong as well! At the meditation center where I work we offer this as a series of workshops, which starts with a weekend offering level 1 & 2 combined.

Qigong at the Shambhala meditation center, more information

Readers of Life as a Jam can get EUR 20 discount per weekend! (Mention it at the registration form)

Qigong has in the past been used as the basis training for Kung Fu, and it is the perfect basis for CI as well.

If you ever met the enthusiastic and inspiring Artem Markov you know that diving in for a four day workshop will be absolutely amazing.

If you have not met him, this is a great time to do so! Artem has an incredible amount of experience in dancing, Somatics and CI, and brings novel and great ways to build up excercises and facilitate real embodied learning.

The workshop is called "From Small Dance to Wild Flight"

Below some of the description of the workshop:

Physicality, technical skills, subtlety, pleasure, depth, strength and lightness. Can these qualities be in your dance at the same time?

In contact improvisation, we are accustomed to playing with the fall of the central axis, which is called the small dance. The fall of the vertical axis is one of the main tools that initiates movement in space.In somatic approaches based on BMC (Body-Mind Centering), we utilise the material of human embryonic development to see how new forms and new possibilities of movement are nurtured within us. I invite you to dive into profound method of embryological bodywork and find your own depth. We will also learn from imagination qualities for flying.

Additionally, you will study to recognise movement directions, the vector of movement. Birds can soar on air currents, surfers glide on the waves of ocean movement. You will learn to distinguish the directions of movement in order to surrender to the flow and not argue with physical forces.

• Location: Studio 239, Prinsengracht - right next to Westerkerk.
• Time: May 2nd - May 5th from 10:00 till 17:00 with an hour lunch break

EUR 150 when registering with a friend EUR 170 eur solo

Registration & Questions: movement2research@gmail.com

Looking forward to see you there!

p.s. if you are still on Facebook, this is the Event

A dancy introduction to Artem Markov: