Tag Archives: improvisation

Teresa Smith

Earthbodyevents.com

Teresa brings to her teaching a warm appreciation of each person’s essence and delights in awakening the creative spirit. She is a certified teacher of Open Source Forms and studied the root form Skinner Releasing Technique for several decades. Encountering the work of Joan Skinner in the mid-nineties had a profound influence on Teresa as a choreographer, performer and teacher. She is deeply happy to return to this source through OSF, and honored to join Stephanie Skura and all OSF teachers in carrying this important work into the present moment.

Teresa teaches Open Source Forms, contact improvisation, authentic movement, dance improvisation and composition. She is also a certified teacher of Sufi Dancemeditation, a facilitator of Grof Legacy Breathwork, and a senior facilitator and mentor in Dreamshadow Transpersonal Breathwork. Through Earthbody Events she presents performance and workshops emerging from an intimate conversation with the body, psyche and nature environment.

In addition to presenting her own solo and group choreography, Teresa has performed internationally in the work of Stephanie Skura, Yvonne Meier, Ellen Webb, Joan Laage, Lance Gries, David Hurwith, La Fura dels Baus, and with many improvisation ensembles. She is a graduate of Bennington College, VT (B.A. dance & anthropology), and the European Dance Development Center in Arnhem, NL.

OSF – in person weekly classes (foundational series)

Thursdays 5:30 – 7pm in Kingston, New York

OSF Dance Classes in the Hudson Valley! (2 hr from NYC) Join us as we practice releasing into moving and being moved. Thursdays 5:30-7pm thru December 18, 2025 @ the Arts Society of Kingston, NY. (97 Broadway, 2nd floor). All abilities and movement experience levels welcome. Special price for this foundational series, or drop in at any date. 2026 weekly class times TBA. Please rsvp: earthbodybreath@gmail.com. Learn more: earthbodyevents.com

In OSF classes we enter a creative process; letting go of outer layers of holding to find primal energy and ease. Guided by embodied imagery as a powerful tool for transformation we’ll learn to move with agility, transparency and depth. Through alignment studies, movement exploration and group improvisation we’ll cultivate a deep connection to our inner and outer environments. A remarkably effective and revolutionary way of learning, the OSF approach can catalyze learning and transformation in many kinds of practices and in daily life.

Teresa Smith brings to her teaching a warm appreciation of each person’s essence and delights in awakening the creative spirit. She is a certified teacher of OSF and studied the root form Skinner Releasing for several decades. Through Earthbody Events she presents performance and workshops emerging from an intimate conversation with the body, psyche and nature environment.

ANNUAL 2025 OSF OPEN WORKSHOP IN SEATTLE

June 2 – 20, 2025
Mondays – Fridays, 10:30am – 1:30pm PDT
The Russian Community Center of Seattle
704 19th Ave E, Seattle, WA
, US

Facilitated by Stephanie Skura and Manuela Bondavalli

 All are welcome  —  whether new to the practice or experienced. We’ll navigate  the entire 3 weeks of Introductory level work, And lots of juicy improvisational processes, refined by Skura over three decades of teaching & choreographic practice, and refreshed continually with new ideas & experiments.

  Now in its twelfth year, this annual Seattle OSF workshop continues to provide solace both as refuge and engagement, assembling a worldwide community for movement, creative practice, and deep immersion. Being amongst colleagues with diverse experiences in teaching, healing, therapy, performance, theater, visual art, writing, organization-building and more, contributes to a catalytic yet safe environment for deep transformation.  Sessions are inclusive, welcoming & vitally useful for participants at all levels.  Deeply rooted in & fluidly expanded from Skinner Releasing Technique (SRT), OSF involves shedding outer layers, accessing primal energy, agility navigating subconscious realms, imagery as potent tool for transformation, & developing a high degree of consciousness without self-consciousness.                 
        OSF celebrates diversity & individual empowerment: free of inhibition, accessing intuition, inviting the mind to collaborate. Sessions offer powerful strategies to catalyze freedom, specificity & courage in movement, vocal practice & creative practice.
A key aspect is individual creative empowerment as an instigator of positive change on the planet. With our dancing and our voices, this work says NO to fascism, with diversity, mutual respect, deep reflection, vulnerability and collaboration.

Join us for one, two or three consecutive weeks.
Discounts for multiple weeks. Additional $100 early registration discount before May 15, 2025.
Those with comprehensive experience of Introductory level OSF or SRT may opt to drop in and/or join for Advanced Practice Week.

**Minimum of first two consecutive weeks fulfills prerequisite for OSF Sourcing Deeper Program. 3 consecutive weeks fulfills prerequisite for our Advanced Practice workshops.**

Fees:

2023 Annual OSF Open Workshop in Seattle

With STEPHANIE SKURA

Jump Straight to Registration

Updated:

One week: 3 – 7 July 2023
Monday – Friday, 10:30 AM – 1:30 PM
19th Ave & Roy, Capitol Hill, Seattle

Open to all! Those without prior experience in SRT, OSF or traditional dance, as well as experienced practitioners are welcome.  One week of introductory OSF work as well as daily improvisation, with advanced options for those with more experience.

Now in its tenth year, this annual Seattle OSF workshop assembles a worldwide community for movement, creative practice, and deep immersion in a catalytic environment of colleagues with diverse experiences in teaching, healing, therapy, performance, theater, visual art, writing & organization-building.  Sessions are inclusive, welcoming and vitally useful for newcomers to the practice and experienced practitioners.

Deeply rooted in and fluidly expanded from Skinner Releasing Technique (SRT), OSF involves shedding outer layers, accessing primal energy, agility navigating subconscious realms, imagery as potent tool for transformation, and developing a high degree of consciousness without self-consciousness. The practice celebrates diversity, collaboration and individual empowerment: free of inhibition, accessing intuition, inviting the mind to collaborate. OSF sessions offer potent tools to access freedom, specificity and courage in movement, vocal practice and creative practice. A key aspect is individual creative empowerment as an instigator of positive change on the planet.

Drop-ins are limited to those with comprehensive experience of Introductory Level OSF or SRT.

OSF Beyond Beginnings Online, March 15 – April 19, 2022 with Susanna Hood

Tuesdays from 1-3pm ET (Montreal)
March 15 – April 19, 2022
Price: $120 CAD

These classes are destined for anyone who has had at least the first week of OSF/SRT Introductory material. Depending on enrollment, I may play with some remixing as in the Jan/Feb series. However I will prioritize foundational sequences,  beginning with material from the second week for anyone experiencing this level of the work for the first time.


Info, registration, and payment: susannahoodhum@gmail.com

OSF Basics Online, Jan 26 – February 23, 2022 with Susanna Hood

Wednesdays from 1-3pm ET (Montreal)
January 26 – Feb 23, 2022
Price: $100 CAD

These classes will focus on the foundational material from the first week’s worth of OSF/SRT Introductory material. It is perfect for anyone new to the practice and a great opportunity for those with more experience to go more deeply into this basic material.


Info, registration, and payment: susannahoodhum@gmail.com

OSF Beyond Beginnings Remix Online, Jan 18 – February 22, 2022

with Susanna Hood

Tuesdays from 1-3pm ET (Montreal)
January 18 – Feb 22, 2022
Price: $120 CAD

These classes are destined for anyone who has had at least the first and second weeks of OSF/SRT Introductory material. I look forward to getting a little more creative with remixing materials from mostly the first 2 weeks of material and dipping into the 3rd week of material where appropriate.


Info, registration, and payment: susannahoodhum@gmail.com

OSF Beyond Beginnings Online, Jan – June, 2021

with Susanna Hood

2 separate series of 10 classes of Intermediate-level OSF material + improvisation (possible as drop-in for those who have experienced OSF basics)
Wednesdays, 1pm-3:30pm EST
First series: Jan 20 – March 24
Second series: April 7 – June 16 (April 23 replaces April 21; no class May 19)
Each class: full price – $30; un/underemployed price: $15
Info, registration, and payment: susannahoodhum@gmail.com