Conscious dance keeps on inspiring and fascinating me.
Dance as a way of enhancing our awareness on many levels: psychological, physical, mental, emotional, spiritual. As well as a way of integrating these different facets of our being. And expressing and relating to these feelings, sensations, emotions, stories, relations.
I’ve been practicing conscious dance for more than 20 years, since my first 5 rhythms weekend workshop with Mati Engwerda in Amsterdam, during many more or less intense evenings, weekends, intensive workshops, and ceremonies. Movement Medicine, as one of the conscious dance practices, has especially formed me. More info about this on the website of the School of Movement Medicine.
Being a dancer is an integrated part of my life now. I dance at least once a week intensively for 2 hours. Even when I don’t dance, My ‘dancing awareness’ is always with me. Inviting me to ground myself more when needed, allowing myself to relax and stretch when I feel too much stress, guiding my balance when I climb a mountain.
Being a musician, it was inevitable that I started to accompany dancers with live music myself. First (and still) together with other musicians. Since 4 years I started to hold the space for dancers with improvised solo piano music on a regular basis, in 2 hour events called ‘Live Dance Piano’. And I seem to have found a good spot for myself and ‘my’ dancers. As a pianist I feel I can relate easily to the dance, just because I know ‘the other side’ so well. And I keep learning, through interaction during the event, and conversation after. My improvised playing is evolving as well. And I couldn’t play like that on my own, inspired as I am by the dances I see in front of me.
