Dance movement practices offer the opportunity to connect with and explore your inner experience through improvised movement.

This way of dancing is about being rather than performing, witnessing rather than spectating, feeling rather than creating smooth aesthetic surfaces. It is a form of meditation in which we offer our attention to what's happening beneath the level of cognitive mind, feeling into dances that spontaneously materialise and then dissolve. By putting ourselves in motion in very simple, immediate ways and witnessing what occurs, we allow a different aspect of our experience to emerge. This instinctive embodied movement offers knowledge that we may not be able to access through thinking and talking.

Dance movement can be fun, therapeutic, playful, deep, creative, joyful, a form of exercise, a way of being in community with a friendly and diverse group of people ... or all of the above and more!

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Jess's approach

My dance background is eclectic, and all sorts of influences show up in my approach to holding dance space, from the 5Rhythms™ of Gabrielle Roth to Authentic Movement, and encompassing the work of dance artists on the independent dance scene. Over the years, my own personal dance practice has involved cycles of moving, sounding, drawing and writing, and I am certified as an Open Floor dance movement teacher. You can hear me talking about What Moves Me as a conscious dancer here.

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It’s important to me to create containers that are both robust enough to hold safely and elastic enough to include whatever arises in the dance. I will offer support if you get stuck – perhaps by moving with you or suggesting a focus for your attention – but I want to get out of the way as much as possible, so that what happens is your dance, your experience, and I am a quiet witness.

Who is it for?

Dance movement is for anyone who is curious about moving, from people blessed with two left feet to dance floor animals and professionally trained dancers. This way of dancing is about being present to the natural impulses of your body to move, so you don’t need to be young, fit or flexible; all that’s required is a willingness to move and an interest in expanding the possibilities for being in your body. Whoever you are, you are welcome to the dance floor.