MAIN PRESENTERS – INSPIRATIONS

Ruth Douthwright
Katharine Harts
Leah Mann
Carlynn Reed
Judith Rock
Wes Yarbor

LIVING LEGACIES

MOVING MUSICIANS

AWAKENING THE MYSTERIES

LEADERS OF THE MYSTERY

Claire Elizabeth Barratt
Greg Burrows
Harriett Cambell
Debbie Danbrook
Latifa Kropf
Dana Lupton
Joceile Nordwall
Alice Elle Radar
Kathryn Sparks
Angela Yarber

GLIMPSES OF HERITAGE

Luigi
Sally Moravitz
Susan Olsen
Robin Rice
Connie Pwll Walck Tyler
Sharon Werth and Josephine Nicholson

MYSTERIES UNVEILED

Rosalie Branigan
Stella Matsuda

MAIN PRESENTERS – INSPIRATIONS

RUTH DOUTHWRIGHT
From Here and Beyond
Studying and performing her own work in many different countries, Ruth brings an understanding and appreciation for sacred dance culture from around the world to this workshop where each day we will be guided into dances from different times and places. Dances filled with fluid undulations, dynamic, stillness and mystery. The fundamental approach is grounded in Ruth's extensive study of anatomy and movement analysis using the Axis Syllabus (see www.axissyllabus.com). Beginning from a place of quiet and reflection as we enter into the mystery of each dance, taking time to move through smooth minimal transitions and off balance situations resulting in a dance spiraling from the ground to standing and onward flying with resonance. The energy rises as the body, mind and spirit travel far and wide. From the reflective and powerful dances of Japan to the rhythmic and pulsating dances of Africa, in these classes we will work individually, with a partner and as a group to experience From Here and Beyond!

Ruth completed her professional dance training at "Les Ateliers de Danse Moderne de Montreal" in 1997 and following graduation worked as a dancer for contemporary choreographers in Montreal. Her keen interest in world dance and music led her to further her study with world dance groups, specifically West African, Israeli, Cuban, Brazilian and Japanese. She spent two years in Japan studying Noh at the Kyoto Arts Center with Sensei Takabayashi, Taiko drumming with Takatora Daiko and Butoh with Min Tanaka at The Body Weather Farm. Ruth studied in the UK at "The Laban Centre" and co-founded the "all dance project" performing and teaching dance in diverse community settings and schools in the UK, France, Belgium and Canada. From 2003, Ruth focused her study on the AXIS SYLLABUS™ under Frey Faust and as a performer with Ardent Body Communications Dance Collective. She is currently living in Belgium and is working with L'Inattendue Compagnie on a new creation integrating dance and voice. Ruth regularly choreographs and teaches dance for schools, companies and studios around the world

KATHARINE HARTS
Playing with Mystery: Exploring the mystery of the child and its relationship with the Mystery of God
There is mystery to our own journeys and to our child. We will treat our child not as a problem to be solved but a wonder to explore and lead us into deeper mystery. We will not attempt to explain the mysterious child, we will let her dance and evoke responses of wonder to refresh our dancing and push us out of certain patterns of thinking and responding. "The Mystery of the Child," by Martin E. Marty will be used as a resource, along with a poem by Charles Peguy entitled "Le Mystere des Saints Innocents" – ‘Faith is a loyal wife, Charity is a fervent mother. But hope is a very little girl…It is faith who holds fast through century upon century. It is charity who gives herself through centuries of centuries. But it is my little hope Who gets up every morning…'

Katharine has an M. F. A in Dance from the University of Arizona Katharine and has had dance training with Betty Jones (Limon technique), Robert Davidson (Skinner Releasing and Low-flying trapeze), and has studied Laban Movement Analysis and Bartenieff Fundamentals. She has taught at the University of Arizona, Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, and for children and adults in her own studio for seven years. She currently is in her sixth year as Associate Minister of Scottsdale Congregational United Church of Christ, conducts dance and movement groups that share in worship services regularly. and serves as Program Director for the church's Ocotilla Center that is devoted to the arts.

LEAH MANN
The Dance of Awareness
With movement, voice and the exploration of polyrhythms in the body, this workshop will play with the concepts of conscious/unconscious, ritual/habit, and powerful/powerless amid the systems in which we are immersed. Participants will look at the "circle of our influences and gifts" amid the larger, noisier "circle of concerns." We'll find the dance between our profound connection to everything and loving connection to self. Personal growth exercises will become spiritual practice and community celebration tools. We'll explore the mysterious, miraculous process of symbolic action affecting our reality.

Leah received her BS in Education from the University of Georgia. She is Director Emeritus and co-founder of the award-winning company, Moving in the Spirit, just nominated as one of the top 10 youth development organizations in the US. She is co-founder of Lelavision Physical Music that melds dance with kinetic musical sculpture, is co-founder of and administrator of Integrated Music, a program providing music on wards and at bedside in Seattle medical centers, and teaches restorative movement to Alzheimer patients. Leah's work is the integration of her life's experiences manifested in movement. From competitive gymnast to urban missionary, from brain hemorrhage survivor to improvisational player, she works with the idea of "transformation." Using a hybrid genre of movement, sound, and "play," she focuses on the common denominators of the human experience, the formation of community, and the relationships therein. Her choreography and movement study emphasize the physics of energy, effort, and sound, and her work includes the use of kinetic sculptures, trapeze, bungee, text, vocals, polyrhythmic action and music. As a teacher and performer for people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities, she brings the values of respect, discipline, commitment and responsibility to create art as a tool for empowerment and healing. See http://www.lelavision.com/

CARLYNN REED
How to Fly and Grow Brain Cells: Bearing One Another's Weight
Contact improv dance invites us into the unknown where we dance on that edge of trust and caution. We encounter who we are – our fears, joys, patterns, and whether or not we trust God. New movement dynamics threaten our sense of stability and alter neural pathways in our brain. In this workshop, participants play with the combined forces of shared center of gravity and momentum, and gain practical skills in giving and bearing weight. The contact dance experience changes thinking processes, tests and inspires faith, and can save a sacred dance group from the death grip of predictability. Dance knee pads would be helpful, especially Chinese ones.

Carlynn is a free-lance performing artist in the greater Toronto area, is director of Imagiscape Theatre, teaches drama and movement classes, writes and directs shows for all ages, tours with her performing company, leads workshops in contact movement and theatre, and coaches individuals in movement and theatre. Her eclectic dance background includes ballet, tap, modern, swing, and contact improv. In drama she has written and produced over 40 one-act and feature-length productions. Prior to moving to Canada, Carlynn served on the board of the Sacred Dance Guild, and was the Guild President in 1980-82. She is author of And We Have Danced, an early history of the Sacred Dance Guild, published in 1978. Mother of a disabled child, Carlynn is currently touring her two-person show, Heal Thyself, a dance theatre piece about the tumultuous journey of the caregiver. See http://www.imagiscape.ca

JUDITH ROCK
Good Bones
Enfleshed mystery needs good strong bones in order to communicate to watchers! These bones are the structure of a dance. Without structure, without physically created form, there is no communication in art, as the painter Ben Shahn has said. "Intention" is no substitute for bones. This class is a time and place to hone your choreographic skills so that your dances emerge strong and clear in the time and space of performance. Because, like anyone else who dances for watchers, those of us who attempt to dance mystery are performers. Bring a one or two-minute segment of a solo in progress or an old solo, and work it and work it some more, getting feedback from the instructor and the other class members. The feedback will be given around what we will be learning in class about movement dynamics, use of space, rhythm, tempi, and more. If your segment has recorded music, it must be without lyrics. Please bring the music and something to play it on. (However, we will not always use the music as we work.) Wear leotard/tights or looser clothes. Bare feet. NO SKIRTS, PLEASE. NOTE: Because of its nature, this class will be limited in size. Please indicate on your registration if this is the class you are considering "majoring" in. If you would like more information, please contact Judith Rock: wingrock@mindspring.com

As a modern dancer, choreographer, actress, writer, and teacher, Judith Rock has helped shape the field of art and theology since her first commissioned dance concert in 1977, when she was the McCall Lecturer at the First Congregational Church, in Berkeley, California. Following a 20-year dance career, her current theology and artwork takes the form of guest teaching and residencies, workshops on physicality and theology, lecturing and writing. She founded Body and Soul Dance Company in Berkeley, and co-directed, choreographed for, and danced with the company during its eleven-year life, touring and teaching across the US and in Europe. She has been Lecturer in Dance at Berkeley's Pacific School of Religion, has been guest performer, worship consultant, and preacher at New York's Union Theological Seminary, and was assistant professor of dance at St. Olaf College in Minnesota, where she directed the college's principal company and taught modern dance, ballet, tap, choreography, dance history, and women's studies. Judith has a B.A. from Duke University (Durham, NC), an M.A. in Dance from Mills College (Oakland, CA), the M. Div. From San Francisco Theological Seminary (San Anselmo, CA), and a Ph.D. in Theology and Art from the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA.

WES YARBOR
Dancing the Mysteries All Around Us
Beginning with high energy technique based on Alvin Ailey's work, this in depth presentation will invite movement responses to the many mysteries around us, those discovered by approaching space differently, hearing music and sounds from our environment with a new wonder, truly listening to silence, and reflecting deeply on the spoken word. Wind, drums, leaves rustling, birds chirping, scripture read, and music of many kinds will inspire the participants to find deep movement connections as they explore a new relationship to the familiar. Learned movement sequences with individual improvisation will culminate in dance that comes from the mystery of our center abiding in relationship with Divine Mystery. Wes brings his years of performing with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to this exciting workshop.

Wes's dance journey began with a full scholarship to S.U.N.Y and then studies with Purchase, Luigi's, Dance Theater of Harlem, and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, among others. An avid student and a dynamic performer, he became a member of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Second Company, dancing lead roles in numerous repertory pieces, including Revelations, and giving lecture demonstrations in high schools and junior high schools throughout the metropolitan New York area. Amongst many other credits, Wes danced a lead role in the Broadway musical "Dancin," with Bob Fosse directing and choreographed and performed for former Miss America, Vanessa L. Williams. Wes currently works with the St. Luke‘s Liturgical Dancers from St. Luke's Episcopal Church in New Haven, CT, choreographing for and performing with the group. Wes's teaching experience includes ongoing and master classes in modern dance, jazz, ballet for men, body placement, stretching, strengthening, and toning, and home-based personal training. Comfortable in the classroom with both children and adults, Wes shares his passion for dance with all levels of students, from untrained to professional.

LIVING LEGACIES We are truly blessed with dancers that have played an integral role in SACRED DANCE in North America for many years. We cannot imagine celebrating our 50th without these living legacies:

Carla DeSola – San Francisco, CA
"Come, come again, come"
"Come again…" is a line from a poem by Rumi and was used for a dance created for Doug Adams' Memorial Celebration. Carla will be teaching the dance, and also offering a taste of material garnered from years of dance classes and liturgies. She will include warm-up, dance meditation to Taize chant, some peace material and improvisation to sacred texts as well as liturgical dance forms, as time permits.

Carla DeSola, graduate of the Julliard School in New York City, and the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA, is known internationally as a liturgical dancer pioneer. She founded Omega Liturgical Dance Company at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, and now directs the Omega West Dance Company located in Berkeley. She and the company conduct workshops and master classes, perform concerts, and choreograph for and perform in liturgies and religious services for churches, synagogues, schools, and retreat centers, with emphasis on the history of liturgical dance and the theology of dance, and how dance may be incorporated into today's church or synagogue worship service. Omega West has been described as "a voice in the sacred dance movement, invoking and serving a vision of peace, community, spirituality, healing and enjoyment through the medium of dance." Now on the faculty of PSR, Carla is the author of "The Spirit Moves," among other books, and has made a number of videotapes on liturgical dance, including "Dance Prayer" and "Movement Meditations from Taize." As a beloved major presenter for the Sacred Dance Guild, Carla has influenced and inspired legions of dancers. She works deeply from her own prayer "… that everyone, sitting cramped inside a pew, body lifeless, spine sagging and suffering, weary with weight and deadness, will be given space in which to breathe and move, will be wooed to worship with beauty and stillness, song and dance--dance charged with life, dance that lifts up both body and spirit, as we will be a holy, dancing, loving, praying, and praising people."

Kathryn Mihelick – Cleveland, OH
Soul to Sole – Making Dances Divine
We shall Move from the Inside out…Exploring the body as Gift…Discerning the Healing Power of Touch…Discovering the Meaning encompassed in Movement, the Mysteries enveloped within the Spaces we inhabit on Earth, and the special Mystical Moments when the Spirit fills us with wonder in our encounter with the essence of Life. We will then focus on the Scriptures in a way that goes beyond words alone – so that the message is not only heard, but is also felt, experienced, and expressed by the whole self – body, mind and spirit.

Kathryn Mihelick, Founder/Director of Leaven Dance Company, was Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Dance Division at Kent State University. A scholar of sacred/liturgical dance, she has performed, lectured, and presented workshops nationally and internationally in Australia, Europe, and Asia, and has served on the SDG Executive Board. In the face of opposition to liturgical dance in the Catholic Church, Kathryn has researched church documents and is spearheading an advocacy effort to get the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Vatican to officially affirm dance as a viable form for worship. She has performed professionally with Orchesis Ensemble, Heidt Touring Company and Indianapolis Starlight Musicals, and was resident choreographer for Porthouse Theatre at Blossom Music Center, home of the Cleveland Orchestra. Recognition of her contribution to the field of dance includes the SDG 1999 Honor Award, OhioDance Award for the Advancement of the Dance ArtForm in 2002, and the Akron Area Arts Alliance's 2005 Outstanding Artist in Dance Award.

Karen Josephson – New Haven, CT
Dance Your Hands Across the Sky, and Your Feet Across the Earth
The components of American Sign Language will be highlighted in relationship to how ASL can enhance traditional dances. Several methods will be included. No prior knowledge of ASL is necessary. Karen is the child of deaf parents, and has explored the relationship between the visual languages of dance and ASL for many years, incorporating ASL in much of her work.

At the age of seven, Karen began dance as therapy for the polio that had ravaged her body. Now a performance artist and teacher, she incorporates dance with storytelling and American Sign Language. Born to deaf parents, she has worked as a sign language artist in regional theaters and on Broadway, and has a long association with the National Theatre of the Deaf as an actor and an interpreter. She holds a Ph.D. in theology and the performing arts from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. Karen joined the Sacred Dance Guild in 1983, when it celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary. She served as Connecticut Regional Director from 1989-1994, Vice President from 1999-200, and President from 2000-2004. She chaired the 1996 Berkeley Festival, and was on the faculty for the international festivals in 1989, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2005 and 2007; and the regional festivals in 2004 and 2006. Most recently, she was the SDG Festivals Director from 2004-2007, and is a member of the Past President's Advisory Board.

Mary Jane Wolbers – Temple, NH
Experiencing the Mystery of Meditation
This will be a session for active participants including preparation for dance; improvisation to enhance and explore the experience of meditation; and meditative studies on designated subjects, the final one being a highly motivated personal action toward PEACE.

Mary Jane Wolbers is Professor Emerita of the School of Health Sciences and Human Performance at East Stroudsburg, PA. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Hampshire and a M.S. degree in Dance from the University of Wisconsin, where she studied with Margaret H'Doubler. She established the dance major curriculum at Jordan College of Butler University and was Chairperson of the Dance Department there, was director of Physical Education and Dance at Vermont College, and was head of the Dance Department at West Virginia University. She is a charter member of the Sacred Dance Guild and has taken a pivotal role in its growth and development. A frequent presenter at Guild events, she has directed five SDG Festivals, and has served in numerous positions on the Guild's Executive Board and Board at Large, including two terms as President, four terms as Program Director and many years as Parliamentarian. She was elected to the office of Archivist in 1999.

Mary Jane continues to share her deep conviction in the power of dance as a medium of religious expression through her dancing, teaching, writing and speaking, in the United States and abroad.

Cynthia Winton-Henry & Phil Porter – San Francisco, CA
InterPlay and the Sacred Dance Tradition
Cynthia Winton-Henry and Phil Porter have been collaborators for years and years and years. Because of Doug Adams and the activities of the Sacred Dance Guild and Pacific School of Religion, they both met Judith Rock and later were part of Body & Soul Dance Company. In 1989 they began developing InterPlay, an arts-based system for personal and community transformation, which grew out of their desire for bodies and spirits to be fully united. InterPlay is now in over 50 locations on 5 continents. Over 500 people have completed their InterPlay Leadership Program. Although Cynthia and Phil have chosen to take their work far beyond the walls of the Christian Church, their goals are firmly rooted in the idea that dance is sacred no matter the "who," "where" or "why." The instructors will share a glimpse of their playful and creative ideas and practices and the personal commitment and joy that has kept them at it forever so long.

Cynthia Winton-Henry and Phil Porter are philosophers, speakers, teachers, and performers. For 25 years they have been collaborators, first in the Body and Soul Dance Company, and now as co-founders of InterPlay, an art-based community practice that combines movement, voice, storytelling and stillness. They co-direct WING IT! Performance Ensemble, a company of improvisers who weave together movement, storytelling, and singing, and they also co-direct the non-profit organization Body Wisdom, Inc., which encompasses all InterPlay activities. Through teaching, organizing, and writing from their home base, InterPlayce, in Oakland, California, Cynthia and Phil have trained over 500 people as InterPlay leaders in the US, Australia, India, and Germany. Together they have written and published several books, have been major presenters and directors for Sacred Dance Guild Festivals, and continue to lecture, teach, and perform throughout the United States and in other parts of the world. Cynthia teaches dance and religion courses at Pacific School of Religion. Phil is minister of arts and communication at Berkeley's First Congregational Church. Their purpose has been and is now to have fun, make things, and change the world.

MOVING MUSICIANS
Dance and Music are so integral one to the other that in many cultures they do not differentiate between the words! Festival 2008 is delighted to have three full-time musicians on site who will participant in some classes, will be present at morning and evening events and at concerts. Our dancers will be moved by:

Debbie Danbrook
Debbie Danbrook, an award-winning master of the Shakuhachi, an ancient Japanese bamboo flute, is the first professional female player to specialize in the unique healing abilities of this sacred instrument. She has recorded seventeen CD¹s that have been embraced by healers and spiritual practitioners around the globe. She performs around the world at concerts, workshops, conferences and special events and has been featured in articles in the Toronto Star newspaper, Canadian Living and the Elm Street magazine. Debbie has been seen many times on TVO, Vision and CBC and was profiled in a half hour documentary on the Person to Person TV program. Debbie has performed for Japanese royalty, the famous Buddha in Kamakura, Japan, at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo, at the International Wellness Conference in Galveston, Texas, which featured Deepak Chopra, and has played for numerous Spa, Therapeutic Touch, Healing Touch and Sound Colloquium conferences. Many of Debbie’s original compositions have been featured in Japanese television programs. See Debbie’s web site at http://www.healingmusic.com/

Emmalyn Moreno
Emmalyn is a performing artist, pianist, percussionist, composer, singer, dancer, and teacher who uses her God-given talents in Music and Dance. She is deeply involved with several interfaith groups and serves as board member, music and dance minister. In the Dance Ministry, Emmalyn is Vice President for the Southern California Chapter of the Sacred Dance Guild, Director of Chapters for the International Sacred Dance Guild, member of the Alleluia Dance Theater and director of Movin’ With the Spirit Ensemble. Emmalyn has offered drum and dance workshops across the United States and in Canada. Emmalyn’s original composition “We are One” is the 50th Anniversary Festival song. See Emmalyn’s web site at: http://www.musicbyemmalyn.com/

Ian Hepburn
Ian, originally from Montreal, Canada, is an accomplished composer, harpist, pianist, teacher and weaver! He was a member/manager of the musical group “Imaginary Heaven” that toured Canada several times playing in venues such as the National Arts Centre and Harbourfront. He is a daily practitioner of ZEN meditation and was recently featured in a documentary called “Strait from the Harp” which explored Ian’s initiative working with a regional hospital in Canada to become the first hospital in North America to offer vibroacoustic harp therapy. Aside from being an accomplished harpist and pianist, Ian is an established hand weaver who has exhibited nationally and internationally

AWAKENING THE MYSTERIES

Metta Meditation
With Gail Guy
Metta is a Pali word translated as "loving kindness." Practicing Metta helps us be receptive to the 'mystery' of what is moment to moment; it softens the heart/mind to hold the past more gently, embrace the present more fully and bring calm to future looking. The meditation is quietly repeating an intention; a series of self-created phrases for peace and well being, while sitting and walking. Its purpose is to deepen our connection with our natural center of calm and caring so that we may live richer in kindness, compassion and wisdom for our self, family and world community.

Mindfulness Yoga
with Pamala Lewis
Mindfulness Yoga combines the newest development in Hatha Yoga which releases deep tensions in the spine with Meditation Practices creating relaxation, stillness and friendly wakefulness. "The spine begins to become supple when the mind learns to rest."

Body Prayers to Wake up With
with JoyBeth Lufty
Dancers will wake up with 16 interfaith, multicultural Body Prayers that include various breathing and dance techniques, music and singing, chanting and drumming, energetic work and more. Body Prayer is Sacred Dance that helps us to express our Moving Mysteries by using body movement, our voice, inner images, symbolic interpretation, rhythm, and repetition designed to unite body, mind, spirit, and Soul for deeper direct connection with the Divine. Each day’s session will incorporate a theme that will include Body Prayers to lead us through the daily spiritual processes of connecting, cleansing, co-creating, and celebrating.

Moving Your Body, Energizing Your Day
with Marcia Miller
We will warm up our bodies gently with stretches and isolations. We will let the music transport us into a more awake and moving being. We will stretch our entire body, gradually waking up our muscles. We will progress by moving across the floor gaining more energy to use throughout our day. We will continue by making combinations of the steps we have learned, thereby getting our minds energized along with our bodies.

Solving the Mystery of Physical Challenges: The Chair Dance Warm Up
with Andrea Shearer
Dancers leap! Dancers twirl! Dancers stretch and bend…and sometimes they do it sitting down. For those of us who are getting older, have conditions that limit our movement abilities, or who aren’t all that familiar with the techniques of dance, the Chair Dance Warm Up might be just the thing. Class will use movements from ballet, modern dance, jazz and yoga to “tune up” the body from head to toe. If members are able, standing movements with chair support will also be incorporated.

T'ai Chi Ch'uan: Moving from Center – the Sacred Space of Inner Peace
with Lana Spraker
This ancient form of Chinese movement has been transforming the health and spirit of human beings for over 1000 years. A well-kept secret from the West until the mid-20th Century, T’ai Chi has become a popular means of accessing a foundation of inner quiet for each day. It is a way of sustaining and enhancing health in times of stress and times of joy. The gentle, circular movements of T’ai Chi open us to the mysteries of our “still point,” and balance our mental, physical and spiritual energy (CHI). When in harmony they together open and connect our souls to the Great Uniting Spirit of Compassion in the Universe; they connect us to God.

LEADERS IN THE MYSTERY

Motion Sculpture: Movement Installation as Divine Meditation
with Claire Elizabeth Barratt
Motion Sculpture is the beauty of the living body as pure art. Every second can be captured and frozen in time as a piece of sculpture. It is constantly, incrementally changing and shifting, like the sands of the desert, creating new landscape and form with every breath. It is a sculpture in which the clay is the creator, perpetually reinventing itself. During this workshop, we will approach this work through a variety of techniques. The process is very meditational. There is a strong emphasis on tapping into natural sources of energy: breath for creativity; earth for stability; sky for expansion; water for fluidity. We will also approach concepts of being a powerful presence in space and defining our "edges" to give strength to the shapes we create. This workshop will culminate in a glorious presentation: an outdoor Motion Sculpture Movement Installation/Meditation in the light of the setting sun. Those wishing to participate in the performance must attend all Motion Sculpture sessions and be willing to rehearse before the performance begins.See Claire's website.

TaKeTina
with Greg Burrows
TaKeTiNa is a rhythm-based, mind-body-spirit oriented musical group experience. Open to anyone seeking a new way of learning – a doorway to go profoundly into rhythm at levels you’d never imagined were possible – and a direct pathway from inner noise and chaos, to true stillness and silence. TaKeTiNa provides a pathway into the expansive magic and power of polyrhythmic, enabling participants to experience to or more rhythmic layers simultaneously. Developed by Austrian percussionist and composer Reinhard Flatischler, it is a vital and dynamic worldwide program that continues to expand and evolve.

Bronx, NY based Greg Burrows has over 25 years experience as a working musician performing in and around New York City with many eclectic and original artists with frequent involvement with the world of dance (modern, improvisational, jazz) including the Merce Cunningham School, José Limon company, Tap Fusion, RhythMutation and others. Greg has been a certified Ta Ke Ti Na rhythm teaching since 2003.

Honoring the Instrument
with Harriett Campbell
This workshop will provide participants with an overview of the science of physical training as it may relate to dance specifically. Topics will be explored in a participatory environment, and will include: locating proper alignment, identifying and correcting muscle imbalances, stretching techniques and strength training concepts. The goal is to give each dancer an understanding of how to improve physical abilities while avoiding injury and strain. With this understanding, each dance artist may create for him/herself a more versatile instrument.

Healing Music & Breath – The Spirit of Shakuhachi - Zen breathing technique
with Debbie Danbrook
The Shakuhachi is a Japanese Bamboo Flute originally played only by monks as a type of Zen called ŒSuizen¹ or blowing Zen. The Shakuhachi¹s revitalizing and powerful sound vibrations lead to a relaxed meditative state where healing can take place. During this session the participants will be taught some basic information on the Chakras, the energy centers in the body, and they will experience how the Shakuhachi is able to help clear and balance these centers to facilitate balance within the body. A Zen breathing technique will be taught and utilized during a chakra meditation. This breathing technique can be used not only for meditation, but as a tool for grounding and gathering up chi or life force while sitting, standing or during gentle movement.

Jewish Sacred Dance
with Latifa Kropf
Come learn and participate in some simple circle dances done to liturgical phrases in English & Hebrew. This is an opportunity to praise the Holy Blessed One of Being with song, movement and silence. These easy to learn yet profound dances are joyous, peaceful and heart opening. They offer the unique opportunity to bless and be blessed by the other dancers. Handouts including the words, melody, and dance steps will be provided so that these dances can be shared with your home dance circles.

Talk to the Hand
with Dana Lupton
Talk to the Hand is an interactive conflict resolution workshop that equips participants with practical tools to be successful communicators at home, work, and in the world. Moving through the mystery of non-verbal communication toward understanding takes the participants toward a truly sacred place.

Moving with the Mysteries of the Psalms
with Joceile Nordwall
The writers of the Psalms were familiar with the mysteries of life: joy and sorrow, hope and despair, searching and serenity, praise and repentance. Psalms present us with the human response to the mysterious acts of God and to the puzzling relationships with humankind. In this workshop we will take a look at the book of Psalms: psalms of lament, of praise, of pilgrimage and of trust. We will work with text, music, and movements in silence. The workshop will include an Israeli dance and improvisation. Participants are invited to bring a favorite psalm.

The Dao of Dance: Exploring Sacred Pathways to Peace
with Alice Elle Radar
We dance to awaken our spirit! We dance to strengthen community, to seek justice and kindness and to honor all of creation. We dance to celebrate the rainbow of life experiences – to revel in joy and resurrection and to heal from death and sorrow. In this workshop, you are invited to participate in a dance journey that explores the energy generated when people come together. These dances are moving meditations that embrace principles of Dances of Universal Peace and are inspired by phrases from Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, Islamic and Native American traditions. These dances are meant to be shared to heal our world with the wonder and mystery of the Dao of Dance.

Enlarging the Pallet: A Dance Sampler for Multi-Sensory Worship
with Kathryn Sparks
Come gather new resources! We will practice a choreographic method that is useful when working with text and people of varied movement backgrounds. Together we will also discover and explore varied ways of including our body when we worship God, individually and corporately. Some time will be set aside to discuss the evolving role of the dance minister in current worship trends.

Sacred Dance as Inter-religious Dialogue: Learning about Dance in Comparative Religions
with Angela Yarber
These daily lectures/workshops are a discussion forum and opportunity for learning about the role of sacred dance as a form of inter-religious dialogue. Nearly every faith tradition holds some form of dance as sacred or holy; in this workshop participants will learn about the histories and ideologies surrounding these sacred dances. The format will be an interactive delivery of information regarding dance in comparative religions, discussion, and praxis via movement application. Handouts and information will be provided. Bring your questions and experiences. Come and allow the depth of knowledge about these various dances to permeate your mind and body, and thus permeate your own dances.

GLIMPSES OF HERITAGE

Luigi Jazz Technique - Luigi, a Moving Mystery
with Francis Roach
Francis Roach, major teacher at Luigi's Jazz Center, offers a master class in the classic, elegant, sophisticated style developed by Luigi, the innovator of the world's first jazz dance technique! A professional entertainer by the time he was in his teens, Luigi suffered a basal skull fracture and paralysis in a near fatal auto accident. Expected not to recover, he created his own stretching exercises, regained strength and equilibrium, and went on to become a dance legend. Francis Roach travels the world teaching Luigi Jazz Technique, is on the faculty of the Joffrey Ballet School and the West Side "Y," and has danced with Liza Minnelli, Shirley MacLaine, and Gene Kelly, among others.

Doris Humphrey’s Fall and Recovery: The Arc Between Two Deaths
with Sally Moravitz
Doris Humphrey’s Modern Dance technique is based on her exploration of gravity and force as the center of all movement. Breath gives visual life to movement. Her breath movement technique, swings and jumps, successions and falls will be presented. There will be examples of how these elements were used in her choreography, and participants will explore how these movements may be used in a sacred space. Humphrey believed that Modern Dance was “The Arc Between Two Deaths.” Come find out what that means. Visit http://www.dorishumphrey.org/ for details about Doris Humphrey.

Dancing with Hildegard: The Mystery of Hildegard von Bingen
with Susan Olson
Experience the mystery and dance to the beautiful music written by this 12th Century woman. Hildegard von Bingen, writer, composer, visionary, artist, and Doctor of the Church, has left a rich treasure of music that begs to be danced. Her writings and the record of her visions invite the dancer into a world of creative images. This workshop will introduce the work of Hildegard and allow the dancer to learn movement sequences and to work creatively with the music and visions of this incredible woman. Visit http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/med/hildegarde.html for details about Hildegard von Bingen.

The Spirit of Denishawn
with Robin Rice
This two-hour workshop will be an introduction to Denishawn – the artistic dance collaboration of Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn. Both eminently known early 20th Century dance visionaries came to dance as a performance art through their unity of belief in expressive movement as a reflection of God, or the Divine. Class will include a simple ballet-modern warm-up, Denishawn center work, and excerpts from Denishawn dances. Robin trained from childhood with her grandmother, Marion Rice, who studied with members of the original Denishawn company in the 1920’s and 30’s in Boston, MA. Visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denishawn for information on the Denishawn school and links to it’s founders.

Dancing in the Streets: Creating simple dances and songs for community events
with Connie Pwll Walck Tyler
Simplicity will be the word of the day as we learn how to create words, melodies, and movements to help participants at church and organizational committee meetings, at celebrations, public gatherings, and demonstrations come together in song and dance. This workshop is rooted in the teachings of Sacred Dance Guild legends Doug Adams, Carla DeSola, and the InterPlay founders, Cynthia Winton-Henry and Phil Porter. Visit http://www.psr.edu/page.cfm?t=17&id=3246 for information about Doug and his work.

50 Years of Erika Thimey's Liturgical Dance
with Sharon Werth and Josephine Nicholson
Come and share in the rich legacy of Sacred Dance pioneer, Erika Thimey (1910-2006). You will learn excerpts from her repertoire from 1932 through 1982. The excerpts will be from such dances as: The Pieta, Bucket of Ashes, A Day for Dancing, and Dance of Jubilee. Her works were choreographed for soloists and dance choirs. The workshop will be led by Josephine Nicholson and Sharon Werth, Co-Directors, the Erika Thimey Dance & Theater Co. Visit this website for summary information about Erika.

MYSTERIES UNVEILED

Choreography to Go: Dances To Take Home with Rosalie Branigan
This class will focus on the mysteries of different seasons or subjects, such as Psalms, Advent, Lent, etc., with one or more pieces of choreography taught on the chosen theme. Written choreography will be available for each piece taught, and additional choreographed pieces will be offered for a nominal fee.

Dancing Waters: Joyful, Peaceful and Mysterious
with Stella Matsuda
There will be two dances taught from Alleluia Dance Theater’s Repertory: “Bread Upon the Waters,” which is a fun, jazz-influenced and upbeat piece. There are two different parts and it will be quick -- fast moving and quick learning skills needed. But FUN! So don’t worry but come enjoy the experience. If time allows, another very simple, peaceful piece will be offered – “Come Drink Deep of Living Water,” a song written by Carolyn McDade that addresses our concern with the environment and our inner peace

Quick Facts:

Place: Connecticut College,
New London, CT

Dates: July 20 – 25, 2008

Tuition:

• $425 (for SDG members)
  
• $475 (for non members)

Housing: $350 (five-nights including meals)