Zenon Dance School – Contemporary Floorwork Workshop with Amanda Sachs

Zenon Dance School Fall Workshop – no regular weekly classes September 5-10.

Join us for a special Contemporary Floorwork workshop with Fall Zone Choreographer Amanda Sachs before our Fall Session kicks off!

Thursday, September 7, 9:30-11:00am
Register

Class info:
This class is accessible for all movers, all levels and all bodies. Students will explore coming in and out of the floor softly, drawing upon Amanda’s extensive professional experience. Using contemporary, modern and release as a base, students will be guided to build confidence and take up space through movement phrases and explorational tasks. Kneepads and long pants are softly suggested. Let’s roll, fall, and discover together!

Open House Discounts, September 5-11:
$10 off 10 Class Card | Code: OH10OFF
20% off Fall Enrollment | Code: OHENROLL

Click here to learn more about Zenon Dance School’s full Fall Session schedule.

Pilates Teacher Training at Paragon Pilates and Physical Therapy

Balanced Body® Movement Principles
In person and online attendance options

September 8-10
Friday: 4:00pm-8:00pm
Saturday: 11:30am-4:00pm
Sunday: 9:30am-5:00pm

Fee: $549 + $65 materials

Paragon Pilates and Physical Therapy offers Pilates teacher training through Balanced Body Education. The foundation of Balanced Body’s program, Movement Principles (16 hours) shows how to recognize, improve and teach fundamental movement. It is the prerequisite and sole entry point for the Balanced Body Pilates teacher training program.

This course is designed for both new and experienced instructors to refine their understanding of the body in motion. It provides the foundational knowledge necessary for you to understand fundamental movement and become a truly transformative instructor. Movement Principles is a program requirement for our Pilates Instructor Training and Integrated Movement Specialist certificate.

Instructors: Matthew Hodge-Rice and Ann-Marie Chesterfield, DPT

Pop-Up Classes with Alternative Motion Project are Back

Connection, Community, Curiosity, Courage, Change

Move BIG, sweat, and play while building awareness and exploring expansive possibilities within your own body. Within an empowering environment, we will utilize improvised and structured movement vocabulary to research freedom, 3-D expansion, mobility, rigor, presence, choice-making, and agency.

Led by AMP Co-Director Joanna Lees. Suitable for intermediate/advanced dancers. Knee pads recommended. Come as you are!

Contemporary Movement Practices will be held 10:00-11:30am on the following dates:

Friday, September 8
Friday, September 15
Friday, September 29
Friday, October 6

No practice on September 22.

Cost: $15. Pre-registration through AMP’s website preferred; drop in option is available.
No one will be turned away due to lack of funds. Please email alternativemotionproject@gmail.com for low/no cost options or with any questions.

Location: Eleve Performing Arts Center. Free parking!

Zenon Dance School – Fall Open House and Free Classes

Join us for a free Open House day at Zenon Dance School! Get a sneak peek into some of our Fall Session classes before the session kicks off Monday, September 11. Pre-registration encouraged but not required).

Zenon Fall Open House
Saturday, September 9, 9:00am-2:00pm

Class Schedule
9:30-10:00am | Creative Movement with Mary Willmeng
10:00-10:45am | Musical Theater Jazz with Xan Mattek
11:00-11:45am | Intermediate Modern with Dustin Haug
More classes to be announced soon!

Open House Discounts – September 5-11 only
$10 off 10 Class Card | Code: OH10OFF
20% off Fall Enrollment | Code: OHENROLL
Click here to learn more about Zenon Dance School’s full Fall Session schedule.

Being Good to Yourself – Feldenkrais Series with Sarah Baumert

Being Good to Yourself: Moving Towards Wholeness and Pleasure
Caring for your neck, shoulders, eyes, and breath in an 8-week Feldenkrais® Awareness Through Movement Series with Sarah Baumert. Livestream classes will be taught over Zoom.

September 20-November 15
Wednesdays at 6:30pm
Sundays at 4:00pm

In this year’s fall Feldenkrais series, we will explore lessons that promote self-connection and pleasure, finding equanimity in movement, and adapting to change with resilience. In a world where technology has become ever more prevalent, it can be easy to feel disconnected from our bodies, our emotions, and the people around us. But through the gentle, exploratory movements of the Feldenkrais Method, we can find a sense of joy and connection that is uniquely human.

“Joy is exactly what’s happening, minus our opinion of it.” -Charlotte Joko Beck

In Feldenkrais we explore the subtle movements of our bodies through a practice of being in perception rather than evaluation, we become more aware of our sensations and emotions and can cultivate a sense of ease, playfulness, and curiosity that can carry over into all aspects of our lives. Whether you are new to the Feldenkrais Method or a seasoned practitioner, this series is designed to help you tap into the joy of movement, rediscover a sense of wholeness and pleasure, and may even help you redefine your relationship with pain.

Through a combination of movement lessons, group discussions, and guided meditations, we will explore themes such as:

  • Connecting with yourself through movement and touch
  • Cultivating emotional awareness and flexibility
  • Finding joy and ease in movement
  • Reducing stress and tension caused by screens and technology
  • Improving posture and body awareness
  • Anatomical themes of study that include the neck, shoulders, eyes, and breath in relation to the whole self

Lessons that will be taught include:

  • Balancing the Head on the Spine
  • Infinite Eyes
  • Organize Your Spine
  • Soft Hands to Swimmer Arms
  • Rolling Around One Shoulder Blade
  • Global Breathing
  • Freeing the Center to Act
  • Refining the Spine Between the Shoulder Blades

This series offers a unique opportunity to connect with a community of others and cultivate a sense of joy and ease in our lives. Join us and discover the transformative power of the Feldenkrais Method for yourself!

Movement: This series will include 16 livestream classes. Each lesson is taught twice, once on Sunday and once on Wednesday.

Educational talks: Pre-lesson anatomy lessons and the philosophical framework for ATM.

Connection: Access to recorded Q&A to listen to questions, connect with the other students, and discuss the method and tools we are learning about. Includes optional 10-minute consultation with Sarah, online forum to connect and ask questions if you are doing the recordings, and email support.

Ways to keep practicing: Stream recordings indefinitely and have the option to download recordings.

Continuing Ed Workshop at Paragon Pilates and Physical Therapy

Balanced Body® Reformer Fundamentals for Rehabilitation Professionals

September 22 and 29
Two Fridays, 12:00-4:00pm

Fee: $250 – Early Bird pricing ends September 1.

This course is designed specifically for rehab professionals seeking to expand their use of therapeutic movement as a treatment modality. This course will introduce you to the Reformer as a tool for effective neuromotor training. Learn how to use the Reformer’s spring resistance in a variety of functional positions, including supine, seated, all-fours, and standing, to resolve movement impairments and restore overall function. Each of the exercises presented includes patient set up and useful regressions and progressions for common injuries. The course includes a case study and applications specific to the rehabilitation setting.

Instructor: Ann-Marie Chesterfield, DPT

The Blending of Yoga and Feldenkrais Fall Series

An 8-week series with Sarah Baumert. This will be a time to create space and feel what it is like living in this body.

September 25-November 13
Mondays, 6:00-7:15pm CST

Live classes will be taught on Zoom.

When we have the courage to release places that feel physically stuck, mentally tight, or emotionally restricted, we can uncover a new internal landscape of this body we are living in. In these sessions, we will invite space to become a more intimate part of our practice and our life. We will explore ways to move in harmony with our unique needs and how we feel each day, to encourage the body to soften and connect with the feelings of space and freedom.

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, it will be a continuation and deepening of your personal process of discovering and listening to your body. 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.

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 Sarah can manage to watch 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.

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

Adult Ballet Fundamentals

Learn ballet at any age! This 8-week Ballet Fundamentals Session will teach adult students the basic steps of ballet, how combinations in class are built and the history and roots of ballet terminology. No ballet or dance experience necessary.

Fall Session: September 28-November 16, 2023
Thursdays, 6:15-7:30pm

Attire: Leotard (any color) and tights (pink or skin tone), or yoga apparel.
Teaching Artist: Zoé Henrot or Anna Betz
Tuition: $145

Minnesota International Dance Festival – Registration Open

The Minnesota International Dance Festival (MNIDF) brings together international dance instructors, choreographers, community members, and emerging Twin Cities artists for a week of community exchange through workshops and performances. This year’s featured country is Mexico. The festival will include 3 week-long workshops, a choreographer’s panel conversation, and three performances.

Workshops October 17-20, 2023

Workshop Program Schedule:
Class A | 10:00-11:30am – Alexis Zanety, Circular Drawing Movement
Class B | 11:30am-1:00pm – Susana de Leon, KetzalCoatlicue, Chichimeca Dances – Indegenous Mexican tradition
Class C | 1:30-3:00pm – José A. Luis, Dance Composition

Performances at the Southern Theater, October 20-21 at 7:30pm.

Strictly Between Us: The Blues Dance Larp

Strictly Between Us is for dancers who want to tell stories and for roleplayers who want to move. This workshop blends the expression of partnered blues dance with the emotional storytelling of theater. Explore the dynamics of a relationship either coming together or falling apart by playing with the physical and emotional connection between two people. Taught by Riley Karbon and Jon Cole.

No prior dance or theater experience is needed, as everything you need to enjoy this game is taught during the workshop. So put on your dance shoes, learn about the blues community, listen to some incredible music, and dance your heart out!

November 4, 1:30-6:00pm
Sliding scale: $10-30