Somatics in Practice – Schwartz

Photo by Jason Akira Somma

This class is a journey. The vehicle will be our somatic selves. The landscape we will cover will be based on a contemporary dance technique class.  Along the way we will take detours, pause at scenic overlooks, pull over for rest stops, get out and rearrange the luggage, check the engine, and look at maps.  Using tools such as Body Mind Movement, the Feldenkrias Method, Bartenieff Fundamentals, Zero Balancing, and other somatic methodologies we will go deeper in our understanding of warming up, negotiating phrase work, and dancing.  There will be surprises and magic. As well, there will be dancing, rhythm, space, sweat, presence, and breath.  All of it engaged through our whole moving selves.

Ray Eliot Schwartz received his BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and MFA from University of Texas-Austin. He is the Co-director Performática: Foro Internacional de Danza Contemporanea y Artes de Movimiento. Ray co-founded four contemporary dance projects in the southern U.S.: Sheep Army, The Zen Monkey Project, Steve’s House Dance Collective and THEM. He has been a guest artist for diverse student populations in communities, colleges and universities in the U.S., Indonesia, and México. Ray has served on the faculty of the American Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival, MELT, the ZMP Summer Dance Intensive, the Colorado College Summer Dance Festival and SFADI, among others. His somatic studies include certifications in Body-Mind Centering and the Feldenkrais Method.  Additional studies include Zero-Balancing, Gross Anatomy, Cranio-Sacral Therapy, and Traditional Thai Massage. Ray is a research associate at the Center for Mind Body Movement and has been a guest lecturer at the Institute of Kinesthetic Education. He currently serves as Coordinator of the Dance Program of the University of the Americas-Puebla in México.