Current Classes and Workshops
Gwinna~ The Owls Daughter
Spring 2023
Dearest Dancers,
I am writing to you this morning, just before dawn. But for the sound of the rain and the flickering fire, the house is still quiet with sleep. These are moments I steal for myself, with my tea and my books. The inspiration for these classes always arrives before the sun—it has been this way for 20 years or more, and I have learned to accept it, to trust it, and finally, to welcome it—like opening the door to an old friend bursting to share what is in her heart. When inspiration comes, I cannot go back to sleep, so I get up, and I put the kettle on, and I listen to what my old friend has to say. And it is upon one such morning, that I have for you, this invitation for the upcoming session.
As we stand upon the threshold of spring, with the light finally returning and the first snowdrops opening their bell shapes to the world, you may have heard, just barely perceptible, a song in the wind—one that stirs new life, calling the sap to rise in the trees, and the bees to rise to their feast of hazel pollen, the first of the year.
This is the season of promise, the season of green buds and purple crocus, of pussywillows and of new born lambs and we are reminded, even if we have once more forgotten (as seems to be the way of our human hearts) that life rekindles ever brighter after darkness; that lakes thaw, that snows melt, and that rivers swell when the darkness subsides.
In these old tales that together we pour over, promise is a common theme. The promise of a child that comes against all odds; a promise made and then broken; a promise held close, like a talisman, which carries the protagonist forward, no matter what, or who, stands in her way. And there is one such story that has recently landed in my heart, and has found a steady foothold within it, in which such varied forms of promise abound. Upon reading the first chapter by the fireside this winter (my daughter asleep in my arms in her green corduroy dress, a half eaten gingerbread in her hand) I have known that this is a story I must bring to you, and I promised myself then and there that I would.
It is the story of an Owl Girl who can hear a song in the wind. It is a story of promise and possibility. It is a story about strangeness and alienation, but more than anything, it is a story about learning to fly.
And so, without saying too much, I would like to invite you to join me for 6 weeks, as we explore the theme of promise, and follow Barbera Bergers’s exquisite fairytale known as Gwinna, The Owl’s Daughter, into the dance and the landscape within. We will ask ourselves questions about fear and longing; about courage and surrender; and we will listen to the wisdom of the body as it interprets myth through the language of movement, So that we, too, may someday hear the song in the wind.
Class Outline
Class One: The Feather
Class Two: The Ribbons
Class Three: The Wind
Class Four: The Owls
Class Five: The Wings
Class Six: The Voice
Dates and Times
Classes will commence the week of February 27th and run through the week of April 3rd, 2023.
I will be offering one Zoom class and one In- Person Class.
Zoom
Zoom classes will take place on Monday evenings from 6:30pm until 8:00 pm. Pacific Standard Time. Details for zoom links will arrive in your inbox one week prior to class commencing.
In Person
In person classes will take place at Sally’s Yurt, in Courtenay, on Wednesday evenings, from 6:30 pm until 8:00 pm.
Cost
The total cost for the in-person session is $150
The total cost for the Zoom class is $120
To register please send an e-mail to : naoisobel@gmail.com
I am writing to you this morning, just before dawn. But for the sound of the rain and the flickering fire, the house is still quiet with sleep. These are moments I steal for myself, with my tea and my books. The inspiration for these classes always arrives before the sun—it has been this way for 20 years or more, and I have learned to accept it, to trust it, and finally, to welcome it—like opening the door to an old friend bursting to share what is in her heart. When inspiration comes, I cannot go back to sleep, so I get up, and I put the kettle on, and I listen to what my old friend has to say. And it is upon one such morning, that I have for you, this invitation for the upcoming session.
As we stand upon the threshold of spring, with the light finally returning and the first snowdrops opening their bell shapes to the world, you may have heard, just barely perceptible, a song in the wind—one that stirs new life, calling the sap to rise in the trees, and the bees to rise to their feast of hazel pollen, the first of the year.
This is the season of promise, the season of green buds and purple crocus, of pussywillows and of new born lambs and we are reminded, even if we have once more forgotten (as seems to be the way of our human hearts) that life rekindles ever brighter after darkness; that lakes thaw, that snows melt, and that rivers swell when the darkness subsides.
In these old tales that together we pour over, promise is a common theme. The promise of a child that comes against all odds; a promise made and then broken; a promise held close, like a talisman, which carries the protagonist forward, no matter what, or who, stands in her way. And there is one such story that has recently landed in my heart, and has found a steady foothold within it, in which such varied forms of promise abound. Upon reading the first chapter by the fireside this winter (my daughter asleep in my arms in her green corduroy dress, a half eaten gingerbread in her hand) I have known that this is a story I must bring to you, and I promised myself then and there that I would.
It is the story of an Owl Girl who can hear a song in the wind. It is a story of promise and possibility. It is a story about strangeness and alienation, but more than anything, it is a story about learning to fly.
And so, without saying too much, I would like to invite you to join me for 6 weeks, as we explore the theme of promise, and follow Barbera Bergers’s exquisite fairytale known as Gwinna, The Owl’s Daughter, into the dance and the landscape within. We will ask ourselves questions about fear and longing; about courage and surrender; and we will listen to the wisdom of the body as it interprets myth through the language of movement, So that we, too, may someday hear the song in the wind.
Class Outline
Class One: The Feather
Class Two: The Ribbons
Class Three: The Wind
Class Four: The Owls
Class Five: The Wings
Class Six: The Voice
Dates and Times
Classes will commence the week of February 27th and run through the week of April 3rd, 2023.
I will be offering one Zoom class and one In- Person Class.
Zoom
Zoom classes will take place on Monday evenings from 6:30pm until 8:00 pm. Pacific Standard Time. Details for zoom links will arrive in your inbox one week prior to class commencing.
In Person
In person classes will take place at Sally’s Yurt, in Courtenay, on Wednesday evenings, from 6:30 pm until 8:00 pm.
Cost
The total cost for the in-person session is $150
The total cost for the Zoom class is $120
To register please send an e-mail to : naoisobel@gmail.com
