Sound & Silence in Dance Improvisation Workshop
Workshop | Available
Spend a day exploring the relationship between movement and sound as you tune into your kinesthetic sense. Discover the natural rhythms of the body and allow expressive dance forms to emerge. Rooted in the work of somatic dance pioneer Barbara Mettler, Mettler-based Dance Improvisation awakens individual movement imagination while fostering rich, collaborative group experiences. This workshop highlights the interplay and unity of silence, sound, and movement.
Whether you’re a professional or recreational dancer, educator, therapist, or simply curious about dance as a creative art form, the workshop offers a chance to deepen body awareness, nurture creativity, and share in the joy of collective improvisation.
No previous experience is necessary—just openness and a willingness to move. Teens and adults of all ages are welcome.
Note:
Participants should bring a water bottle as well as lunch for the 12:30-1:15 lunch period.Wear clothes that allow for freedom of movement.
Barbara Mettler (1907-2002) believed that dance—the art of body movement—is a basic human need, she wrote that “my lifelong goal has been to seek out creative principles of dance in order to revel in its power and make it available to all people.” She explored somatic approaches to both the body as instrument and movement as the material of dance. Her development of creative studies for cultivating craftsmanship in group dance improvisation is recognized as a ground-breaking, unique contribution to contemporary dance.
A 1933 graduate of the Mary Wigman Central Institute of Dance in Germany, Mettler was a part of the early modern dance world in New York City. For sixty years she directed Mettler Studios, which in 1963 found a permanent home at the Tucson Creative Dance Center. She taught thousands of people of all ages from kindergarten to elderly, including people with special needs. Her intensive summer-long course attracted large groups of students, many of whom went on to teach creative dance in their own communities or integrate her principles into their professional lives. For information on Mettler Studios, which continues development of her approach to dance go to barbaramettler.org
The workshop is supported by funding from Mettler Studios. For more information on Barbara Mettler and the work of Mettler Studios go to www.barbaramettler.org
Tuition assistance is available. Email darrah@creativedance.org for more information.
Mary Ann Brehm
Presenter Mary Ann Brehm, PhD is a dance teaching artist/author focusing on creative somatic approaches to dance. President of Mettler Studios, she co-directs their in-person and virtual Mettler-based Dance Teacher Trainings. This year she traveled to Vietnam for week-long teacher trainings in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. She is the author of Foundations of Barbara Mettler’s Approach to Dance: Principles and Teaching Guidelines (2021) and co-author of Creative Dance and Learning: Making the Kinesthetic Link. (2008, 2015). She has taught dance courses for several universities and offers intensive workshops throughout the United States and on Zoom. Her doctoral researched focused on dance teaching principles of Margaret H’Doubler.