Awakening Art: Embodied Movement Relief workshop with Diane Butler at Subterranean ArtHouse in Berkeley 12-14Dec2014

Awakening Art is for people of all ages and backgrounds with an interest in intercultural creative dialogue through traditional and contemporary dance/movement studies, music, theater, craft arts and fine arts, architectural design, environmental art, writing and poetics, performance art, media arts, contemplative arts, healing arts or interarts. In Bali, the annual series cycles through four themes: Twenty-One Moments of Stillness, Tri Hita Karana in Environmental Art, Embodied Movement Relief, and Awakening Art & Religiosity.

Embodied Movement Relief begins with daily life walking to become aware of place and space. I like to say from the ‘soul’ of the foot gesture can arise like the centuries-old engravings on a candi temple. As our bodies transform in movement relief, gradually the presence of our gestures comes to life. In composing attuned with the surrounding environment, our physical narratives unfold as an offering, expressing awakening.

Each day will begin with a guided practice to sense our bodies based on daily life postures and movement. We will then engage in solo and small group improvisations. Discussion will address both practical and academic views.

Contact Hours: 15 hours 

Workshop Fee: US $135 per person     (part-time participation is available)

Inquiries and to register            <awakeningartworkshops@gmail.com>

Diane Butler, Ph.D., is a movement artist, teacher, and cultural program director who has collaborated with artists from diverse cultures and faiths in the Americas, Europe, and Asia for 25 years and resided in Bedulu and Tejakula, Bali since 2001. She co-initiated with Suprapto Suryodarmo an international foundation, Dharma Nature Time, to support interculture in cultural environments through sharing in the arts, religiosity, and nature. In 2014, she was appointed as a volunteer Associate Professor in the Cultural Studies Doctoral Program at Universitas Udayana, Bali. In the 1980s, Diane lived in New York and assisted and performed in site-specific dance works by Ruby Shang with American, Asian, and European artists in the USA, France, Japan and UK. In the 1990s, she served as an Associate Professor, Founding Chair of InterArts Studies, and Director of Dance/Movement Studies for eleven years at Naropa University in Colorado and Director of the 2001 Naropa Study Abroad in Bali. She holds a BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School; MALS in Dance & Culture from Wesleyan University; is the first foreign scholar to earn a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies from Universitas Udayana, Bali; and is an alumna of the 2011 UNITAR Series on the Management and Conservation of World Heritage Sites. Diane has been leading Awakening Art workshops since 1997, initially in Europe and the USA, and since 2001 in an annual series in Bedulu and Tejakula, Bali and as a guest teacher in other countries.