Tsunami Studio

The Month of March ~ Matters of the Heart

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched.  They must be felt with the heart."  ~Helen Keller

This month we've decided to pick one theme to explore and expand upon for four weeks in our Thursday night class. "Matters of the Heart" will give participants an opportunity to learn more about the physical components of their hearts as well as the psychological ones and dance their discoveries.

How miraculous it is that our hearts beat within our bodies without us having to think about it.  Is there a difference between dancing with our heart and dancing from our heart?  We'll spend time becoming more familiar and in touch with the beat of our own hearts.  We'll ask our hearts questions and listen for its answers.  We'll dance with our chests out and open.  We'll dance heartbreaks and heartaches.   

Lisa and Elia are co-facilitating this class and encourage you to participate in all four classes as each one will build on the previous week's teachings and insights (plus you get a nice discount if you enroll for the month!).  However, every class will be a unique exploration onto itself and we welcome you to join us for as many Thursday evenings as your schedule allows. 

If you're visiting our blog for the first time and you're considering taking one of our classes, all you need to know is this...just show up and we promise you'll have a grand time.  Stop thinking about it and start dancing instead. It really is that simple.  And when you start dancing, oftentimes you'll stop thinking. For many people, that's a very wonderful place to be. 

For the love (and everything else) of dance

I dance because...

it makes me feel free. 
it provides an outlet for my creativity. 
it gives my body a chance to move
in different ways than I normally do. 
it connects me to something much larger than myself. 
it allows me to express how I feel 
without having to speak words.
it's fun. 
it creates the space for me to suspend 
self-judgments and doubts for a time. 
it gives me an opportunity to see others'
in all their beauty and splendor. 
I can't sit still for long. 
it brings me peace and contentment. 
I must.

Because of dance I...

experience more joy in my life. 
have had conversations with God
and they've been oh-so interesting.  
have found what it means to do great work. 
can follow my passion and be of service to others. 
have met amazing people and
have made sweet friendships. 
have learned to grieve openly. 
can let go of anger in a productive way. 
have kept strong and fit into my forties. 
am a better human being.

Why is it that you dance?   What has dance brought to your life?  This Thursday, our Explorations class will give you an opportunity to dance your responses to those two statements...

I dance because... 

and   

Because of dance I...

Thursday Explorations ~ The Next Story

 
During our Explorations class last week, I invited participants to dance their stories; the ones that make up who we are and the ones we make up in our own heads.  For many of us, it was a visit down memory lane as we danced the stories of our past. This week we'll continue to explore the same theme of stories, but with the focus being on the stories yet to be.  

You are currently creating the future you'll live into.   What kind of stories about your life would you like to be telling one, five, and ten years from now?  This Thursday, we'll let our imaginations and dreams run wild and dance the story/stories that haven't been told just yet. Come and dance yours!

Thursday Explorations ~ What's Your Story?

(a recent moment with my parents in Nelson, New Zealand)

There are millions of moments that make up our lives and yet we often tell the same stories about ourselves over and over again.  What kind of stories are you telling yourself and others?  What is it about those particular stories that prompt and persuade you to retell them?  Do they inspire and delight you or do they injure and disparage? 

Are you currently living the greatest story ever told or are you telling yourself a story that is false and full of holes?   During Thursday night's class, you'll have an opportunity to dance your stories...the ones that define and remind you who you really are as well as the ones that aren't real and you can let go of.   

It's your life.  It's your story.  It's your dance.  Always.

Thursday Explorations ~ Birth & Death

What were you born to do?  Who were you born to be?  What are you "giving birth to" in your life this year?   This week in our Explorations class, you'll have an opportunity to consider your own coming into existence and dance what that means for you.  Birth, bringing forth, beginning, light...these are a few possibilities to play with. 

And then during next week's Explorations class...we'll explore death, dying, ending, darkness.  What meaning do you give to endings?  How does one die well?  What might it be like to dance your own death?  Again, these are a few suggestions to consider.  You might discover that these two topics are very similar or vastly different from each other.  

The invitation for the next two weeks is the same; be open and willing to let the dance take you to some place you haven't been before.  It will be as deep as you want to dive.  It will be as wide as you want to wander.  Each class will be powerful in and of itself, but I encourage you to attend both as a way to heighten your dancing experience. As always, we hold a very safe place for all emotions to be expressed and for all dances to be danced.  Come and dance your dance.

We're Still Dancing ~ January Class Schedule

A big THANK YOU to all of you dancers who joined us on New Year's Day dance.  Two hours of dance definitely did our bodies and souls GOOD! 

It's a new year and for many people it's a time to reconsider what we want in our lives.  Consider dancing with us if you want to...

• Move your body more
• Express yourself creatively
• Add more fun and joy to your life
• Unwind and relax your mind
• Meet and connect with interesting and interested people
• Deepen your spiritual practice
• Try something you've never done before
• Become a part of a community that cares for one another 
• Experience the unexpected 
• Have a damn good time

Whether you want all of these things or you want just one of them, we invite you to come and experience a class and see for yourself that what you want is possible for you to have through dance. 

Here are our January offerings at Lotus Yoga Studio (2935 Marine Drive) in Astoria, Oregon:

~Sanctuary~
A half hour of sitting meditation to music followed by an hour of dance designed to move both body and spirit.
Sundays 6:00-8:00 p.m.

~Explorations~
An opportunity for you to play with creative elements in your dance and connect in new ways to yourself and with others.
Thursdays 5:30-6:45pm

Classes are $12 and are on a drop-in basis.  We respectfully ask both newcomers and seasoned dancers to arrive early so class can start on time.  We're excited for another year of hosting ecstatic dance classes and events along the north coast of Oregon.  Dance on!

A chance to dance in Cannon Beach

 
New Year's Day 2010 is only three days away.  Wow!  And now what?   What's next for you as one year comes to a close and another one is about to begin?  I'm reminded of a particular line in a Mary Oliver poem that says, "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" 

Above all else... over the voices that whisper sweet wishes and the voices that roar passionate dreams...beyond the shoulds and coulds and the maybes and the might-nots...there is an answer I return to again and again with no hesitation and no self-doubt...above all else, I plan to dance. 

I will dance my days filled with glee and sorrow. 
I will dance today. 
I will dance tomorrow. 
I will dance with others. 
I will dance alone. 
I will dance why not and just because.
I will dance ridiculous joy and fun.
I will dance for laughter.
I will dance for love. 
I will dance on solid ground and on clouds high above.
I will dance my madness. 
I will dance my fear. 
I will dance in faraway places
and those near and dear. 
I will dance because I can and because I must. 
I will dance because it's what my spirit trusts.
I will dance in the morning light and in the setting sun. 
I will dance until my dance is done. 

This Friday, January 1, 2010 from noon until 2:00pm, Elia and I will be hosting a special dance to welcome in and celebrate the New Year.  We invite you to come to Cannon Beach and dance your one wild and precious life.  Happy New Year's to you and yours!  We wish you a safe and insanely good holiday.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

New Year's Day Dance Details

WHERE: Chamber of Commerce  207 N. Spruce Street

WHEN:  Friday, January 1 from 12:00-2:00pm

$12 per person or two for $20

 

Dance Your Blessings in December

This month we're continuing to offer two classes each week at the Lotus Yoga studio in Astoria.  Elia is facilitating the Explorations class on Wednesday evenings from 7:00-8:15 p.m. and Lisa is facilitating the Sanctuary class on Sundays from 6:00-8:00 p.m.  

The holidays tend to be hectic times and so perhaps it's even more important now than at any other time of the year to pause and give thanks for all you are and all you have in your life.  Dance provides us opportunities to reflect and also to rest. Movement of the body often brings stillness to the mind.  And stillness of the mind...that's an exquisite gift only you can give yourself this holiday season.

We invite you to join us this month as we explore contact improv on Wednesdays and "Reasons for the Season" on Sundays.  

Wednesday classes are December 16, 23 and 30.

Sunday classes are December 13, 20 and 27.

There are many reasons we celebrate this time of year with special events, family gatherings and holiday festivities.  I chose four reasons for us to dance in celebration with this month.  Last Sunday we danced JOY.  This Sunday we'll dance LOVE.  The following Sunday we'll dance PEACE and the last Sunday of the month we'll dance GRATITUDE.

Speaking of gratitude...Elia and I are ever-so grateful for all of you who continue to make dance a part of your life and have supported our efforts to create and sustain a dancing community along the north coast. We wish you and your loved ones a beautiful and blessed holiday season!

Wednesday Explorations ~ Bring "IT"

What is it that you really want?   If there was just one thing that you'd like to create or do or have in your life between now and the end of the year, what would it be?   Whatever "IT" is, more than likely it's been something you've wanted for some time now.   Maybe it's something you've been thinking about for a good long while or maybe it's even been years, but for some reason you've procrastinated, postponed it indefinitely or purposely ignored it despite the fact that it's still something you desire.  Maybe it's something you've decided you'll put off until the New Year. 

Consider this...what if you brought that idea, goal, dream of yours to class on Wednesday and explored how it might feel if you were you to begin passionately pursuing what you really want RIGHT NOW?  What if you were not only reminded why "IT" was so important to you, but also realized how you could bring "IT" into your life before 2010 begins?  

It will be a dance of possibility.  A dance of passion.  A dance of epic proportions.  And in the end, if you choose to share "IT", it will be a dance of acceptance and accountability.  Come dance what you desire.  

The Shape of Your Dance

YIPPEE! 

After a month-long hiatus, our Explorations class is back!   It's on a new night (Wednesdays at 7:00pm) and it's in a new space (Lotus Yoga Studio - see previous post for location details), but it's the same dive-a-bit-deeper-into-your-dance experience that we've been offering for most of this past year. 

This Wednesday night, November 4th, we'll be exploring the different shapes our body takes as the music changes and we move across the dance floor.  You'll be given an opportunity to dance circles, angles, and lines and perhaps discover what shapes move you the most both physically and emotionally. 

What meaning, if any, do you give to certain shapes and how might that effect how you move and where in the room you move to?   When Is your shape blatant and big and when is it subtle and small?  Come and play with the shapes your body takes.  Come find out where a shape takes you.