The Blending of Yoga + Feldenkrais Winter Series

The Blending of Yoga and Feldenkrais Winter Series
An 8-week series with Sarah Baumert
December 4-February 5
No class December 25 or January 1
Mondays, 6:00-7:15pm CT
Live classes will be taught on Zoom.

Each class will infuse a more traditional yoga asana practice with the Feldenkrais® Awareness Through Movement method. Sarah’s teaching for each class changes based on the seasons and the students in the room. These classes are an interdisciplinary excursion of yoga, Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement, joint specific training, self-massage, breathing exercises, movement puzzles, and a compassionate mindset to help you feel a greater sense of ease and comfort in yourself. You will train your sensitivity in such a way that you find yourself feeling more alive, vibrant and spacious.

For all of you who have been joining Monday nights, this whole body reset is like a maintenance plan! For new comers, come with no expectations. Allow your body to be your guide. All levels are welcome. This will be a nonjudgemental, un-intimidating space to create friends with your body (yourself!). You will train your sensitivity in such a way that you find yourself feeling more alive, vibrant, and spacious.

Scholarships are available for this series. Please contact Sarah directly at sarah@body-matter.com for scholarship inquires. No questions asked.

If you cannot attend all of the live classes, each class will be recorded and the videos will be available for those attending the series. Space will be limited so that I can manage watching everyone, sign up early to hold your spot! There will be time for questions and community discussion after the livestream class, as well as an option to engage with Sarah and the other students in the class through the online comments following each lesson.

Live classes and recordings will be accessed via the BODY MATTER studio platform using Marvelous software. Once you have purchased the series, you will have access to the livestream classes and recordings.

CoreAlign® Teacher Training at Paragon Pilates & Physical Therapy

Balanced Body® CoreAlign Instructor Training 1: Foundations
Friday-Sunday, November 17-19, 2023

Friday: 4:00-8:00pm
Saturday: 11:30am-6:00pm
Sunday: 9:30am-4:30pm

Fee: $475 + $60 materials

At Paragon, we offer CoreAlign Teacher Training for fitness professionals, movement educators and rehab clinicians.
This course includes CoreAlign method theory and 60+ foundation exercises to build functional movement skills. Areas of focus are trunk integration, upper body strength and balance, lower body strength, power, gait and dynamic flexibility. Progressions and regressions for all ability levels. Specific modifications and precautions for special populations. Equipment set up, maintenance and safety.

Instructor: Matthew Hodge-Rice

Moving Words – Threads Dance Nexus

Join Threads Dance Project’s Karen Charles and acclaimed poet Chavonn Williams Shen for Moving Words, a 90-minute workshop that blends the magic of movement and poetry.

Experience a dynamic session starting with a simple movement warm-up, followed by an introductory poetry writing workshop, and concluding with participants crafting their own poetic dance creations. Guided to integrate their writing into a literary-inspired dance, participants will gain a newfound appreciation for the synergy between poetry and dance. No prior dance or poetry-writing experience is necessary.

Friday, November 18
1:00-2:30pm

About Karen
Karen (she/her) is the founder and artistic/executive director of Threads Dance Project and the visionary of the Moving Words workshop. Read more about Karen at ThreadsDance.org

About Chavonn
Chavonn Williams Shen (she/they) is a 2022 McKnight Writing fellow and was a first runner-up for The Los Angeles Review Flash Fiction Contest. She was also a Best of the Net Award finalist, a Pushcart Prize nominee, a winner of the Loft Literary Center’s Mentor Series and a fellow with the Givens Foundation for African American Literature. Learn more about Chavonn here

This workshop is offered in conjunction with Threads Dance Project’s fall season performances of Let America Be America, an exquisite, collaborative work that seamlessly integrates movement, spoken word, and original music. Be inspired by the artistry of Langston Hughes’ famous poem and discover the transformative power of words and dance.

Critical Conversations – Fundamentals of Editing a Video Work Sample

The Cowles Center’s Critical Conversations: Fundamentals of Editing a Video Work Sample
Sunday, November 19
2:30-4:00pm
Cowles Center first floor Flex Space, off the main lobby

Join us for an informative experience as we guide you through the process of creating a work sample in real time. Whether you’re a budding dancer or a seasoned pro, this workshop is designed to help you enhance your skills and leave with basic fundamental tools, tips and tricks to apply to your own video projects.

Free and open to the public!
Snacks and transportation stipend provided.

Moderator: Colin Edwards, Programs Coordinator & McKnight Artist Fellowship Programs Assistant for Dance and for Choreographers

The Artistry of Fluid Strength with Sarah Baumert

The Artistry of Fluid Strength
November 29-February 11
A 10-week Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement Series with Sarah Baumert

Live stream classes will be taught over Zoom
Sundays, 4:00-5:00pm CST
Wednesdays, 6:30-7:30pm CST
No class December 24, 27, or 31.

Free Intro Class November 15!

Moshe Feldenkrais’ own personal experience of sustaining injuries on both knees led him to develop a strong interest in human movement and health, and what we can do to improve it. He defined health as the ability to recover from shock.

“Health is measured, not by the capacity to stay standing, but by the ability to be knocked down and then return to standing.” This thought became central to building his method.

In the winter Feldenkrais Series, The Artistry of Fluid Strength, we will explore Feldenkrais’ unique definition of what it means to be strong and resilient; where concepts of physics and artistry will intersect during the experiments of our Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement research. Using the playground of our own bodies and the surfaces that support us, we will study themes of skeletal support, distribution of effort, and proportional tone. Oftentimes the outcome of lessons can be perplexing to students. It can seem paradoxical that a movement can become so much easier and smoother without trying harder.

“Can sensitivity and awareness really make me stronger?”
“How did the movement become so easy?”

We will practice building the strength of our internal resources, so we can enjoy moving with both ease and confidence in most anything that we do.

A Sampling of the lessons that will be taught in this series include:
Organizing Your Torso to Carry Your Head
Clocks Under Your Heels for Sitting, Standing, Balancing
Organizing Your Pelvis for Power and Quickness
Counterbalance and Ground Force When Lengthening Your Hamstrings
Understanding Ground Forces in Walking

Pilates Teacher Training at Paragon Pilates and Physical Therapy

Balanced Body® Reformer 1 Instructor Training
Friday-Sunday, December 1-3, 2023

Friday: 4:00-8:00pm
Saturday: 11:30am-6:00pm
Sunday: 9:30am-4:30pm

Fee: $499 + $60 materials

This course introduces you to what Joseph Pilates called the ‘Universal’ Reformer, which is the centerpiece of the Pilates equipment studio and an invaluable training tool. Reformer 1 teaches you how to safely utilize the Reformer and many of the beginning and intermediate Pilates Reformer exercises. Reformer 1 also reviews common modifications and variations necessary for teaching the client in front of you and gives you the ‘why’ behind the ‘what’, empowering critical reasoning skills from the very start of your training.
Prerequisite: Movement Principles

Instructor: Matthew Hodge-Rice

TU Dance Center: Community Class with Adji Cissoko of Alonzo King LINES

Join CULTIVATE trainees and Alonzo King LINES Ballet dancer Adji Cissoko for a dance class at TU Dance Center open to participants thanks to a partnership between Northrop Auditorium and TU Dance. This class is for intermediate/advanced dancers and will start with a warmup followed by choreography and movement exploration!

Date: Wednesday, November 1
Time: 9:30-11:00 am
Location: TU Dance Center
Cost: $20

For more information and to register, click here.

This class is free for University of Minnesota students, faculty, and staff. If you are affiliated with the University of Minnesota, please email mvorhis@umn.edu to register. 

Adji Cissoko was born and grew up in Munich, Germany where she trained at the Ballet Academy Munich and graduated with a diploma in dance. Cissoko attended the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre in New York City on full scholarship, before joining the National Ballet of Canada in 2010. In 2012 she was awarded the Patron Award of Merit by the Patrons’ Council Committee of The National Ballet of Canada. Cissoko joined LINES Ballet in 2014. Since then she’s originated many central roles and guested for galas worldwide. Cissoko has given multiple master classes and taught classes around the world as part of the company’s outreach program. In 2020, she became certified in health/life coaching and ABT’s National Training Curriculum. Cissoko choreographed her first piece “AZIZ “ for Ballet X in 2021. She also is a 2022 recipient of the Toulmin fellowship.

Moving Words – Threads Dance Nexus

Join Threads Dance Project’s Karen Charles and acclaimed poet Chavonn Williams Shen for Moving Words, a 90-minute workshop that blends the magic of movement and poetry.

Experience a dynamic session starting with a simple movement warm-up, followed by an introductory poetry writing workshop, and concluding with participants crafting their own poetic dance creations. Guided to integrate their writing into a literary-inspired dance, participants will gain a newfound appreciation for the synergy between poetry and dance. No prior dance or poetry-writing experience is necessary.

Friday, November 3
6:30-8:00pm

About Karen
Karen (she/her) is the founder and artistic/executive director of Threads Dance Project and the visionary of the Moving Words workshop. Read more about Karen at ThreadsDance.org

About Chavonn
Chavonn Williams Shen (she/they) is a 2022 McKnight Writing fellow and was a first runner-up for The Los Angeles Review Flash Fiction Contest. She was also a Best of the Net Award finalist, a Pushcart Prize nominee, a winner of the Loft Literary Center’s Mentor Series, and a fellow with the Givens Foundation for African American Literature. Learn more about Chavonn here

This workshop is offered in conjunction with Threads Dance Project’s fall season performances of Let America Be America, an exquisite, collaborative work that seamlessly integrates movement, spoken word, and original music. Be inspired by the artistry of Langston Hughes’ famous poem and discover the transformative power of words and dance.

CoreAlign® Teacher Training at Paragon Pilates & Physical Therapy

Balanced Body® CoreAlign Instructor Training 1: Foundations
November 17-19, 2023

Friday: 4:00-8:00pm
Saturday: 11:30am-6:00pm
Sunday: 9:30am-4:30pm

Fee: $475 + $60 materials

At Paragon, we offer CoreAlign Teacher Training for fitness professionals, movement educators and rehab clinicians.
This course includes CoreAlign method theory and 60+ foundation exercises to build functional movement skills. Areas of focus are trunk integration, upper body strength and balance, lower body strength, power, gait and dynamic flexibility. Progressions and regressions for all ability levels. Specific modifications and precautions for special populations. Equipment set up, maintenance and safety.

Instructor: Matthew Hodge-Rice

Critical Conversations: Fundamentals of Editing a Video Work Sample

The Cowles Center’s Critical Conversations: Fundamentals of Editing a Video Work Sample
Sunday, November 19
2:30-4:00pm
Cowles Center first floor Flex Space, off the main lobby

Join us for an informative experience as we guide you through the process of creating a work sample in real time. Whether you’re a budding dancer or a seasoned pro, this workshop is designed to help you enhance your skills and leave with basic fundamental tools, tips and tricks to apply to your own video projects.

Free and open to the public!
Snacks and transportation stipend provided.
Moderator: Colin Edwards, Programs Coordinator & McKnight Artist Fellowship Programs Assistant for Dance and for Choreographers