Quotes from Participants...

"At last life has offered me a moment to sit down and thank you both for the extraordinary week of Contemplative Dance at Hampshire College. The practice of silent witnessing is finding its way into many aspects of my work and personal life. What a gift indeed. The care you both took to manage such vastly different personalities and backgrounds while keeping us all feeling safe was a testament to your collective skills as practitioners of the work. I treasure the inspiration, creativity and friendships I found in my week there. "

- Participant, Week I 2018

"If love for another person, another being, is to allow that 'other' to be as they are in the moment, moving through whatever it is they are moving through on their unique journey, letting them be who they are, so long as they are not harming themselves or another, then Contemplative Dance/Authentic Movement, is a laboratory for the practice and manifestation of Love, a practice that begins at the very core of oneself.

That is how I experience the after-image of Week 1, thanks to the wonderful teachers, the compassionate structure of the course itself, and fellow classmates too."

- Participant, Week I 2016

"Your structure is superb. One of the best of any experiential workshops. The structure implied respect of self and others, acceptance, and safety. Very well thought through, developed and presented."

"I fully got what I came for. Plus, I really enjoyed the other participants."

"There are many ways to be more in touch with the deepest parts of ourselves. Being inspired to move our bodies without thinking too much about how, so that we feel and understand more of our soul than we could in any other way is the special talent of these lovable, gentle, mature, dedicated and able teachers. Anyone who comes to study and work with them will have a valuable experience."

-Minister

"I think you are fabulous facilitators. You create a safe and supportive container and somehow manage to make the work relevant to people from all sorts of different perspectives. I also appreciated how very present you were in the small group gatherings. It makes all the difference!"

"From this workshop, I will take with me a new way of being with my body when I am scared, and the ability to dialog more compassionately with my inner critic."

"Again and again, I was struck by the mindfulness and effort you've devoted to creating this structure and this experience. Your partnering relationship is especially deep and elegant, and it gave me the chance to value each of you individually and as a team."

-Organizational consultant

"The Contemplative Dance Workshop was deeply moving, connecting experience. I was able to enter into an attunement with myself and others that is rare. I was able to find my voice in chanting, to find my cheeks softly touching the floor, the space, the earth. I was able to draw myself in bold colors of blue and yellow and orange. I am still drawing myself in the afterglow of our class. Your work is sensitive, powerful, responsive, healing, loving and heartfelt. I especially liked connecting my movement to my own inner stories that I could envision and then form through movement and stillness."

-Licensed Psychologist

"Thank you. Your openheartedness, wisdom, centeredness and joy were strong guides for me throughout the week. The work you do is beautiful and healthy."

"Warm ups were luscious and I liked the live music."

"I continue to be stirred within by thoughts, insights, and physical impulses, which had their inceptions at the workshop. In fact, I'm making a new solo, which is sustained/informed by material begun at Omega… Each of you has a unique and extraordinary gift that you bring to the work and in combination is incredibly rich and inspirational."

-Dancer

"Afternoon workshops were fun! A great [way to] digest tools…for my own practice," and learn a "sympathy and appreciation for the diversity and depth in each individual."

"You are both skillful, insightful, honest, and loving in your style of facilitating. You kept us on schedule and knew where we were and what to say at every juncture. This was absolutely perfect for me. I hope to return to Week II next summer."

"The willingness of the facilitators to openly and honestly explore themselves inspired me to do the same. I felt safe to explore various parts of myself without judgment and free from being told "how to do it." I found my week with them to be a rare opportunity."

-Organizational consultant and Yoga teacher

"I was impressed with the openness and acceptance of all ways of being and working that was modeled by the facilitators. For me, that openness and acceptance went beyond the usual that is a part of the authentic movement practice. Even in this form, especially over a longer time period such as this, I have experienced more unspoken rules or assumptions that have, for me, served to exclude me or others if we were not in the same place. The style of this week was for me very inclusive, very gentile, open and accepting, and I greatly appreciated that."

-Participant, Week II workshop.

"I enjoy the dance studios with all the space."

"I loved the mixture of play and work."

"I appreciated how welcoming and caring you all were. Coming to this without any experience in authentic movement and little in dance, I could have felt intimidated and out of place, but the context you created allowed instead for the continued opening and growth and comfort with moving that I was seeking."

-Participant, Week I workshop.