SHAKING OUR GROUND By Silva Laukkanen Image description: A figure drawn from the back is sitting in a wheelchair. One hand reaches down to the side of the chair where their hand connects with a blue pool. The other hand reaches up into the air with an open, extended palm. A red line runs from…
March 1, 2020 Art Spark Texas artist Tanya Winters is a dancer and choreographer with Body Shift Collective and Art Spark Dance. Tanya is also one of our teachers for Elements classes and she will be facilitating the first class of March – March14th from 2:30-4:30 pm at the Townlake YMCA. Tanya moved to Austin from…
Hello from Olivia O’Hare, project coordinator of Body Shift! A few weeks ago a group of long time Body Shifters had the pleasure of participating, teaching, and performing at the 10th annual Texas Dance Improvisation Festival (TDIF) hosted by Texas Women’s University. Thanks to Veronica DeWitt, our lead instructor, we were accepted to teach a…
Hello, friends! This is Olivia, project coordinator for Body Shift, VSA Texas’ acclaimed mixed-ability dance project. Every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month Body Shift offers a class we call Elements in which we practice improvisational dance in an inclusive way. We use the DanceAbility method as our foundational approach but we also have…
Elements class in which we practice movement improvisation for people of all abilities is this Saturday April 14 from 2:30-4:30pm at the Town Lake YMCA. Do you tend to be a leader or a follower? Are you aware of your habitual tendencies and preferences? Veronica DeWitt will take you on an exploration of leading/following using…
Hello, friends! Body Shift project coordinator, Olivia here to share a little about our recent class happenings. The February Body Shift: Elements class was taught by guest instructor, Brandon Gonzalez. Brandon and I have danced together and in similar circles for nearly 20 years now. We both have a deep appreciation and natural inclination toward…
Hey there! Body Shift project coordinator, Olivia O’Hare here to share what’s to come in 2018. After a heavy emphasis on performance and advancing the skills of long term participants in 2017, the Body Shift team has agreed that it is time to focus inward in the new year. We plan to cultivate space for…
In order to enhance our practice of moving together we have invited guest artist, Lauren Tietz, to teach movement from a somewhat different perspective. She will offer an exploration of Lisa Nelson’s Tuning Scores which, similar to the DanceAbility method, uses more open directives to allow freedom to move in ways that feel good to…
Body Shift is hosting award-winning director, choreographer and media artist Stephan Koplowitz September 15-24 to create a site specific work for people of all abilities. His residency will take place here in Austin culminating in a performance September 23rd and 24th at centrally located Sparky Park! The Sparky Park project is a creative laboratory and…
A Note from Silva: This is my very first blog post. I’m a little nervous about it. If I could dance it to you, I would. Here, isn’t everything possible nowadays? insert video here Dancing and movement have always been part of my life. First as a classical ballet, then different modern dance techniques and…