Contemporary dance
Ikebana
Choreografic workshop inspired by the poetry of nature
We can rediscover authentic and sincere movement qualities through a mindful and poetic practice inspired by your ikebana, created with elements offered by the surrounding landscape,
Two-Day Workshop in 2025
Dates: Saturday and Sunday, May 17–18
Registration Deadline: April 30, 2025
why participate in ikebana
When we dance, we sometimes wear someone else’s clothes—gestures that feel unfamiliar or disconnected from who we are. So we can feel dry, ungrounded, and distant from ourselves. Often, this happens when we are not in touch with our nature, not rooted, making dance feel like a form imposed upon us. This is especially true when we improvise: we struggle to find the resources that make gestures meaningful or we don’t recognize the roots of our danced creativity.
This separation from ourselves deepens when we experience improvisation and choreography as isolated acts, confined to the self, without sensing our connection to nature or perceiving our roots in the environment.
Observing and interacting with natural harmony takes dance beyond the boundaries of our skin, embedding us in a flow that lightens the creative process and guides us toward unique, original gestures—free from ego or self-centeredness. It becomes the blossoming of our deepest selves, rooted and distinct, yet intrinsically part of the whole.
In this work, we collectively cultivate art without competition, celebrating each person’s uniqueness as in a grand ikebana arrangement.
The Philosophy Behind Ikebana
The blend of discipline, improvisation, choreography and interaction with nature is rooted in my life choices. Thirteen years ago, I moved to a mountain cabin in the woods of the Italian Alps, near Turin, where my daughters were born. Slowly, the forest, together with my children, transformed my way of living and sensing dance.
The forest brought me back to my childhood in a small countryside village, where I danced under the protective and inspiring presence of ancient oaks. Here in the mountains, Rajan and I adopted our first families of bees, cultivated a garden, and experienced the pure beauty of the forest in every corner.
This integration led me to blend my academic training in contemporary dance with meditative and improvisational practices tied to the environment. I believe this dynamic approach is a gateway to the spiritual within art, unlocking immense beauty.
Nature teaches me daily to expand imagination while honoring its meticulous care for detail.
Through this work, you’ll connect to the roots of your dance, allowing them to expand and blossom into your most authentic language. You’ll explore movement qualities that resonate with you, free from the pressure to showcase a vast repertoire. The goal is to uncover the gestures most aligned with your nature, making dance a magical space for nourishment and transformation, within a welcoming and inspiring community.
details of ikebana workshop
What is Ikebana?
A dance seminar in a nature-immersed setting over two days, designed to help you uncover your unique gestural universe and cultivate movements rooted in your individuality.
Together, we’ll explore through discipline, intuition, and creativity, in a trusting, judgment-free atmosphere where the group energizes and inspires each dancer.
We will begin with mindful walking, transitioning into danced walks, listening to each step and breath with the delicacy and fascination with which we might observe a wild animal.
We will choose leaves, flowers, branches, stones, and moss, with which each of us will create our own ikebana, serving as a guiding spirit during our physical work.
Collecting, arranging, and carefully tending to the details of this sculpture made from elements of the landscape helps quiet the mind, ground our gestures, and awaken in us a sense of beauty deeply connected to nature. It opens our imagination beyond ourselves. The small pieces of the environment we adopt will become creative stimuli: inspiring the curves of the back, the qualities of arm movements, the strength of stillness, and the power of action. Our hands will carry the tactile memory of that vibrant yellow leaf you chose, unique and special, and our eyes will open with a new brightness, recalling the silvery color of a piece of bark.
We will move through dance techniques and improvisational actions with attention and care, focusing on what is essential, on the simplicity of expression—avoiding virtuosity or performance anxiety. This will allow us to encounter the generosity and imperfect beauty of nature, and to experiment with a dimension of pure, unadorned movement where the landscape becomes our teacher.
This workshop integrates contemporary dance practices, particularly the discipline of movement combined with the exploration of gesture, listening, and interaction with the surrounding nature—of which we will feel increasingly a part.
The work is driven by the desire to bridge the gap between body and inner self, between self and others, between the spiritual and the physical. Cultivating one’s own dance means reach the depth of one’s roots to reveal oneself with a profound sense of freedom—beyond the boundaries of the ego—through expressions and flows as unique as every flower.
what we’ll do
We will immerse ourselves in a mindful and poetic practice, surrounded by the beauty of nature.
Ikebana. In particular, we will create a personal ikebana, a composition of natural elements chosen by you, which will serve as your guide throughout the journey: your arms will hold a different density of movement if inspired by a branch or the stem of a flower; a curve of your legs that presented technical challenges may find inspiration in the shape of a shiny stone you adopted from the woods; your plié might finally feel grounded through a red autumn leaf resting on the ground, and a bud could teach you much about the grace of your hands. The work will gradually take shape based on you.
Walking. In this initial phase, we will focus on walking meditation and danced walks, to feel the body one step at a time, slowly, in safe and evocative spaces and in the practice room that will welcome us.
In doing so, we stretch time and space to feel and to see new possibilities of beauty and being.
Floorwork. We will then move in contact with the grownd, incorporating conscious breathing and movement drawn from Yoga, Feldenkrais, and other somatic methods. Through dynamic practice, we’ll explore floorwork to awaken the body, its joints, and the organs, which are like deities that have made themselves small to live in us.
Dance Technique. We will traverse movement techniques from various fields of contemporary dance, synthesized into a linguistic blend that lets the codes gradually dissolve in pursuit of subtle, light beauty. We will approach the work with precision and discipline, to free the body—gently and firmly, without virtuosities—from restrictive habits and to release it from tension. Through fluidity, linearity, and spirals, we will expand the sense of length in the limbs and spine, extending into the surrounding space.
Improvisation. We will engage in improvisational actions inspired by observing natural scenes or small details in a meadow, transitioning into dynamics and gestures that manifest in the moment, with the urgency and spontaneity of the present.
Choreography. I will guide you in preparing a small composition born from these improvisations, a phrase that emerges from your most authentic dance.
Together. Finally, we will share a small collective improvisation, where we can experiment with the uniqueness of our gestures emerged from the work, interacting with other participants and the elements of our ikebana.
Where
The workshop will take palce in Caascina Maria, We will alternates between outdoor and indoor settings, adapting to weather conditions and work. Whether working on the historic wooden dance floor at Cascina Marie or in nearby meadows and trails, the focus is on creating a loving, creative space where the body can reconnect to its essence.
The aim is not to experience dance in extreme places or in difficult climatic conditions, but on the contrary to bring back the body in a state of loving, where it can find a creative dimension sincere and essential. The work will adapt to the climate, when we work in the room we will bring the memory of what we saw outside and have our Ikebana with us.
Cascina Marie is painted by the colours of flowers, offers a historic dance space of 100 square meters equipped with parquet for dance, a large dining room and a courtyard that inspires harmony and beauty. Immersed in the countryside will allow us to walk in silence and peace. I chose Cascina Marie because it is a place born to give the possibility to groups to work well together. The photos on this page do not show the places of Cascina Marie, all the information and images of Cascina Marie are in the links below.
https://cascinamarie-spaziolistici.it/
https://cascinamarie-spaziolistici.it/contatti/
Qui puoi trovi la mappa:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/AoqtL9WEvkx7TrUS9
Dates and time together
- May 17–18: Saturday (9:30 AM–6:30 PM) & Sunday (9:30 AM–5:30 PM)
Each day includes a one-hour lunch break, with post-lunch time reserved for journaling and reading inspiring poetry to enrich the practice.
In addition to the hours of practice distributed over the two days, we will share the moments of meals and for those who want to stop to sleep, the work will be even more focuse and calm, without car transfers. To arrange the stay even on one or more nights, you can contact Cascina Marie directly at +39 3491815715
Who Can Participate?
This workshop is designed for dance lovers, dancers, actors, performers, and movers who have prior experience in dance or movement practice. While not virtuosic or competitive, familiarity with movement techniques is essential.
Price
The seminar, held on Saturday and Sunday, costs €350, including vegetarian meals (Saturday lunch and dinner, Sunday lunch) prepared by a local gastronomy. To participate the deadline is April 30, either in three installments or in a single payment.
These prices do not include accommodation.
For those who wish to stay at Cascina Marie, the cost of accommodation, including breakfast, ranges from €10 to €20 per night. These prices are reserved for seminar participants.
The bathrooms are shared among the rooms.
Cascina Marie can accommodate up to 11 people; for additional requests, Cascina Marie can provide alternative contacts nearby, up to a maximum of 15 participants per seminar.
dubbi e domande
1. How do I get there?
Cascina Marie is in Bricherasio, near Turin, and accessible by car. If you arrive by train to Pinerolo on Friday, transport can be arranged for an additional €5 by Cacina Marie. It is important to call Maria in advance to arrange the car ride
Qui trovi le indicazioni: https://cascinamarie-spaziolistici.it/contatti/
2. Do I need experience in ikebana?
No prior experience is needed. The concept of ikebana symbolizes focus, care, and respect for nature—qualities we explore through dance. Choosing natural elements is a poetic and concrete way to inspire the practice of the body. The goal is not to make a perfect Ikebana, but rather we can dance with the elements of Ikebana.
3. What kind of locations will we explore?
Safe, tranquil natural spaces that foster peace and beauty, avoiding extreme conditions or risky environments. In particular we will work in the large and historic dance space, in the courtyard of Cascina Marie, we will walk the countryside surrounding the farmhouse.
Where will I sleep?
You can sleep at Cascina Marie, to enjoy two days of calm and concentration, in which we will dedicate together this research. It is also possible to stay overnight from the Friday, the day before the seminar starts. Otherwise you can reach the group at 9 in the morning, so that you can start the seminar on time.
The overnight stay costs from 10 to 20 euros per night including breakfast.
The Maria’s phone number +39 3491815715
cascinamarie-spaziolistici.it/contatti/
Do you want to attend the dance workshop?
Write to us for the registration form
