Tracing The Self: from Drawing to Creative Movement with Rebecca Marta D’Andrea

Session Dates: Thursdays 7th & 14 Dec 2023, 11th, 18th & 25th Jan 2024

In these five sessions we explore how moving and mark-making on paper can intertwine to become tools to develop a deeper self awareness and open our creativity and ability to imagine.

These sessions are for anyone who has a curiosity towards their body and wishes to explore this through a creative and playful way. No prior experience is required although any experience in embodied practice will be helpful.

Practical Requirements / Materials you should bring along:

*blank drawing paper
*pencils, chalks, watercolour
*a space where you can move comfortably in
*comfortable clothing

I will guide you in a series of exercises and techniques to perceive our bodies from different perspectives as suggested by drawing: as an outline, as a density, as a colour, as a texture.
We will embody these qualities through our hands on paper and moving in space, noticing what ‘felt sensations’ arise and giving them a channel of expression.
Each session will focus on a specific modality of attending to the body and to our graphic expressions, evoking a specific quality. At the end of each session we create a final composition as a way to mark our step in the process, in the shape of a drawing, a poem, or a dance.
The practice I propose, developed through my own research and drawing from techniques like Focussing (Gendlin), Authentic Movement, BMC®, Active Imagination (Jung), Tibetan Dream Yoga, and Contact Improvisation.

What we will focus on in each session:

• SESSION ONE (7th Dec):
Outline, Shapes, Surfaces, Edges:
We will start by paying attention to outlines, in our body and in space. I will introduce a first technique of tracing with eyes closed. Embodying our ‘skin’ as a sense organ, awakening the sense of touch as a signature of our identity.

• SESSION TWO (14th Dec):
Mass, Weight and Structure:
We will focus on perceiving our body as mass, weight, density and structure. I will introduce drawing with two hands and our eyes closed as a way to engage both halves of the brain in perceiving and tracing our physical body.

• SESSION THREE (11th Jan):
Colours:
We will explore our ‘inner’ body as felt sensations taking shape as colours. We will focus first on the general ‘atmosphere’ of the body to then choose more specific places in the body, calling our attention.

• SESSION FOUR (18th Jan):
The Outer Environment:
We will extend our attention to the space surrounding us, drawing felt sensations in relationship to our body, experimenting with the techniques we experienced during the first sessions. Playing with creative ways to bridge our inner and outer environment.

• SESSION FIVE (25th Jan):
Jamming:
We will combine the different tools acquired in the previous session to allow a final composition to emerge in the form of a poem,a drawing a dance, expressing our inner poetry.

Take-Away Benefits:
You will gain a deeper self awareness and develop a focussed attention towards the body, expanding your sense of presence. You will experience creative ways to access the ‘embodied’ knowledge of the body and get in touch with your ‘felt sense’. You will nurture an authentic dialogue towards your self and your environment, increasing your ability to notice details and nuances in your daily living.
You will learn some tools to expand your creativity, movement potential and poetic language, unlocking emotional and physical points of stagnation to bring back a new sense of fluidity and flow.

Type of Format: Creative Lab

Language: English-Italian

Duration of Each Session: 90 minutes

Technical Platform for the Course: Zoom Pro

Concessionary Ticket – is only for job seekers, students and seniors with a low household income.

Please ensure that you book at least 30 minutes prior to the start of the course, excluding Drop-In tickets where available, to allow time for you to receive confirmation emails and your entry link to Zoom. This is because we rely on third parties for confirmation etc. Please ensure you have read the Legal notices on our website before booking, in particular our notices regarding Privacy (including Privacy Considerations When Using Zoom), Refund & Cancellation, Disclaimers (including Medical) and Terms.‍