XYZ Artist Retreat | Winter

We learn from each other and our bodies as our teachers about pleasure, communication, resiliency, adaptability, compassion, and vitality through creative problem solving and expression.

WHEN IS OUR WORKSHOP RETREAT?

3 hour sessions over 3 day weekends for 3 seasons

X | Feb 10-12 | Wintering

Y | April 14-16 | Springing

Z | Sep 1-3 | Summering

Friday | 4-7pm

Saturday | 11am-2pm

Sunday | 11am-2pm

​

WE INVITE YOU TO MOVE WITH PLEASURE

We engage in creative problem solving and expression to learn from each other and our bodies as our teachers about pleasure, communication, resiliency, adaptability, compassion, and vitality.

​

WHEN IS OUR WORKSHOP RETREAT?

Three retreats for three seasons:

​

X -  Feb 10-12 | Wintering

​

Y -  April 14-16 | Springing

​

Z  - Sep 1-3 | Summering

​

Three hour sessions over a three day weekend:

​

FRI -  4-7pm

​

SAT - 11am-2pm

​

SUN - 11am-2pm

​

WHO IS THE WORKSHOP FOR?

All of you with a desire to move and interest in human development from diverse experiences, ages, and abilities.

​

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT AT WOOD HAVEN:

Our host is Wood Haven ATX, a private studio and sacred space in the woods of SW Austin. The studio floor is the finest wood, and there are big windows but no mirrors. Mirrors spoil the soul. On breaks, we congregate on the back porch. You can enjoy fresh rain water to drink, tea from my garden or hot cocoa for your delight. Sometimes we have a bonfire and look at the stars. Parking is free. Our neighbors across the fence and grove of trees are horses, donkeys, and deer.

​

WHAT YOU CANNOT EXPECT FROM OUR PRACTICE:

You won’t get everything the first time, or the 100th time. This way it is more fun! We don’t practice static workouts because being an expert of only one great system creates even greater deficiencies. We are not machines. We are human. The chaos of life is also what makes it beautiful. The fleeting nature of dance is what makes our time together meaningful. Learn to trust your intuition and non-linear ways of learning. We learn more together by asking questions and experimenting with how we can teach without a teacher. I will guide the sessions, propose ideas, offer my 20 years of movement research, but ultimately your body is your teacher and it is up to you what you bring and what you get out of our session together. I am excited when the “student” surpasses the “master” and our multi-generational practice continues beyond what I could imagine.

​

WHAT YOU WILL RECEIVE FROM OUR PRACTICE:

X, Y, and Z are coordinates for how we navigate life and find our way back to ourselves through each season of life. Let's dive into more detail. More about XYZ at www.xyzatlas.com.

​

X - 1st hour of pleasure and play

​

We are guided through personal somatic practices with Amy Morrow using tools inspired by fighting monkey, cultivating qi, gaga, feldenkrais, with inspiration from Jesse Zaritt, Deborah Hay, Kira Blazek, Jason Akira Somma and most importantly, each other.

• We challenge our speed, dynamic variability
• We are body positive and pleasure activists - there is no shaming
• Weaknesses are opportunities for growth and deeper understanding
• What is your biological make-up, physicality, and personal expression?
• How does your solo practice bring you back to a baseline, a zero point, a balance of kinesthetic potential?
• What is the unique experience of being yourself in your body?
• We rest and digest the research

​

Y - 2nd hour of creation

​

We play with partner and group dancing as a vehicle for communication through movement situations. We explore the anthropological art of hugging.

• The tools we explore in the first hour now help us compose and create our own emotional journey as both the mapmaker and the traveler
• You are a world maker - shape and be shaped by your dance
• Everyone has the option and agency to modify or adapt these games to your comfort level with boundaries, communication, & consent
• What is consent? A verbal or non-verbal yes means yes and no means no - clarity is liberating and kind
• Movement situations test our problem solving strategies through playful games that keep us young and ageing gracefully
• We rest and digest the research

​

Z - 3rd hour of integration

​

We connect what we found artistically to to our daily lives and areas of interest. Showing up is the show - when you find an end, the game is to begin again. This is our XYZ Practice.

• How do you find an internal desire to go from XYZ to ABC and begin again?
• How do you practice returning to your practice and what keeps you inspired to keep showing up for yourself?
• How is the voice a fifth appendage that opens channels inside the body and reaches past where the body can?
• Bring a pen and paper, we often incorporate a writing and drawing practice.

​

​

​

​