Tend the flame of our humanness
Open Floor and 5 Rhythms dance facilitator Sacha Paddy will host a workshop called Tending the Flame at the end of April at Te Atamira. The one-and-a-half day conscious dance workshop will focus on dance and movement as expression rather than performance and is open to everyone – no prior experience is necessary.
Sacha Paddy is based in Waiheke Island and regularly holds classes there and in Auckland. She’s been teaching for over 15 years and loves leading Conscious Dance, which is a dynamic, fun, deep and light practice that helps participants to move well on every level – in body, heart, mind and soul. Sacha has a heartfelt presence and creates a freeing space where self-judgement can be left at the door.
“Open floor dance is a conscious dance practice in which we get to explore life themes, connect with ourselves and with others through dance and movement,” says Sacha.
“It can be fun, it can be deep, it can be transformative even, and we often have insights into aspects of our life as we dance. It’s not only for people who think of themselves as dancers, and certainly not just for trained dancers, it’s very much open to all people with a willingness to move.”
The workshop is not focused on learning steps or choreography, but rather on tuning into how your own body and being wants to move. It won’t be intensive the entire time – there will be moments where you may be moving slowly, writing, and sharing with others. Sacha often sees a range of people attend her classes and everyone tends to find their own pace.
“A lot of us are sitting a lot of the time and movement helps the body stay healthy and balanced. It also helps on other levels – emotionally and spiritually. We probably all know the feeling of something being sort of locked or stuck in the body, it can be a feeling of tension. When we’re dancing, we don’t always have to know what we’re moving through – sometimes we just move and things are released – we feel lighter and refreshed afterwards.”
The specialised workshop that Sacha has put together for Queenstown will also have an element of taking stock of the end of autumn as we move into winter. The aim is to help people take some of the goodness and warmth of the season into the colder months.
“I’m really looking forward to coming down there and meeting a new group of people who are keen to explore dance in this way. I hope it really offers something valuable to the community in Queenstown,” says Sacha.
Tending the Flame Open Floor Dance Workshop will take place at Te Atamira on the weekend of 29 and 30 April. The Saturday session will run from 10:30 – 5:00 and Sunday will run from 10:30 – 1:00. More information and tickets can be found at teatamira.nz/whats-on
