Workshops

ANNUAL 2024 OSF OPEN WORKSHOP IN SEATTLE

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“It is such a special place, space, and world you facilitate.” Jeremy Steward

July 8 – August 2, 2024
10:30am – 1:30pm PDT
The Russian Community Center of Seattle
704 19th Ave E, Seattle, WA, US

Facilitated by Stephanie Skura, Susanna Hood, Manuela Bondavalli, Marisol Salinas, Amanda Hamp

 All are welcome  —  whether new to the practice or experienced. We’ll navigate  Introductory level work, with a fourth week of Advanced Practice. 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 eleventh 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.

Join us for two, three or four consecutive weeks.
Progressive discounts for multiple weeks. Additional $100 early registration discount before May 15, 2024.
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:
2-week OSF Open Workshop (8-19 July 2024):
Full Price: $515
3-week OSF Open Workshop (8-26 July 2024):
Full Price: $670
4-week OSF Open Workshop (8 July – 2 August, 2024)
Full price: $775
Early registration discount of $100 before May 15, 2024 !
Experienced practitioners, please contact us for drop-in special code.:
info@opensourceforms

REGISTER HERE:

2024 OSF Open Workshop
Workshops

OSF ADVANCED PRACTICE WEEK SUMMER 2024 LIVE IN SEATTLE

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July 29 – August 2, 2024
10:30 am – 1:30 pm PDT
The Russian Community Center of Seattle
704 19th Ave E, Seattle, WA, US

Facilitated by Stephanie Skura and Susanna Hood


“Revelatory experience of dancing & understanding anew in your workshop… Releasing into the subtlety of qualities, finding precision within the un-named, letting go into power and nuance.” Eva-Maria Mutka, Bristol

Open to all who’ve experienced the first 3 weeks of OSF or SRT, either in 2024 Open Workshop or previously. Already a part of four-week OSF Open Workshop, Experienced practitioners may choose just the Advanced Week.

For those who want to deepen their practice. 
Advanced OSF material is deeply rooted in & fluidly expanded from advanced Skinner Releasing (SRT) practice. Though 12 codified ‘Ongoing’ SRT classes are sometimes taught, we create unique advanced sessions, culled from a wealth of material passed on by SRT creator Joan Skinner & early practitioners, & integrated with Skura’s/OSF’s improvisational research.  This level of the practice is sophisticated, deep, and evolved in alignment approaches — richly navigating states below conscious level. 

Prerequisites: Full spectrum of Introductory OSF or SRT (3 weeks). 

FEE: $260 USD

REGISTER for Advanced Practice Week
$ 50 discount with registration by May 1!

Workshops

OSF Sourcing Deeper 2024 live in Seattle

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“I’ve learned an incredible amount, not only about releasing dance, but about teaching, facilitating transformation, and about my own physical, imaginative and spiritual layers of self.” Anastasia Barron, Sourcing Deeper & Teacher Certification, 2020 -22

July 8 – August 2, 2024
10:30 am – 6 pm PDT
The Russian Community Center of Seattle
704 19th Ave E, Seattle, WA, US

Facilitated by Stephanie Skura, Susanna Hood, Manuela Bondavalli

This 3-week  preparatory program is designed for experienced OSF & SRT practitioners who long to more deeply understand underlying conceptual structures & strategies of OSF. Some may decide to follow with an OSF Teacher Certification Program. Others may want to take the work in other directions.

Though not a commitment to OSF Teacher Training, OSF Sourcing Deeper is a required pre-requisite for all applicants to OSF Teacher Certification Programs.  It’s also designed for those who choose to participate for their own studies, reflections, research, or integrations with other practices. 

OSF Sourcing Deeper is a ‘first pass’ at the complex array of skills & concepts that allow facilitators to create seemingly magical environments conducive to deeply transformative experiences. 

The program includes the full spectrum of Introductory Level OSF material in morning sessions, plus substantive afternoon participatory discussions, vocal practice, sophisticated improvisational practice, hands-on practice, writing & drawing practice, language & music considerations — plus related readings in relevant philosophical topics that enhance our understanding of the profound concepts underlying this practice. For those who choose to follow with OSF Teacher Training, Sourcing Deeper will render the rigors of OSF Teacher Certification more digestible, less overwhelming, and decidedly more fun!

2024 Fees

$1900 USD
Hold your place and receive a $100 discount with application by February 15, 2024  and non-refundable deposit of $400  or payment-in-full within two weeks of acceptance. Balance due by May 15, 2024. 

OSF Deep Sourcerors who opt to stay for Advanced Practice Week morning sessions, July 29 – August 2, will receive a code for a $100 discount for that fourth week!

Registration information will be provided upon acceptance. To apply, please access the application at the link below.

PREREQUISITES FOR OSF SOURCING DEEPER

Applicants for OSF Sourcing Deeper need experience with a minimum of two consecutive weeks of Introductory Open Source Forms or Skinner Releasing Technique, ideally within the past two years. To apply for OSF Sourcing Deeper Seattle 2024, please complete the application at the link below:

https://opensourceforms.com/programs-2/sourcing-deeper/#prereq-and-app


Bios

Michelle Erard

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I am a dance artist and educator trained in physical theater and non-western dance forms, the traditions of which underpin my artistic work.

My work has been presented at Smith College, University of New Mexico, Tricklock Company, and other US venues. I have performed in works by Angie Hauser, Marilyn Sylla, Barbie Diewald, Rujeko Dumbutshena, Bill Walters, Tomaz Simatovic, Sonia Olla, Alejandro Granados, and with the companies Los Flamencos, Alma Flamenca, and Afriky Lolo.  

My journey with somatic practices and bodywork began in the year 2000. My bodywork training wove together physical, energetic, and somatic healing practices. I was introduced to OSF in 2015 and found the work life-changing. OSF bridges my healing and creative work.  

I trained at the Conservatory of Flamenco Arts, received BAs from University of New Mexico, and my MFA from Smith College. I am a certified teacher of Action Theater and Open Source Forms and am currently on faculty at Keene State

Workshops

2023 SUMMER OPEN SOURCE FORMS WORKSHOP in BRESCIA, ITALY – The Italian Capital of Culture for 2023

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OSF Faculty Teachers:
Manuela Bondavalli and Nathan Dryden

August 21 – September 8, 2023

Monday – Friday, 10:30am – 1:30pm

I.dan.ce International Dance Center via Carducci 12/e Botticino -Brescia

Option for 1, 2, or 3 weeks (with discounts for multiple weeks): 

Week One: 21- 25 August 2023
Week Two: 28 August – 1 September 2023
Week Three: 4 – 8 September 2023

Plus a weekend of OSF Advanced practice: 9/10 September, 2023


Open to all! Those without prior experience in OSF, SRT or traditional dance, as well as experienced practitioners are welcome. The first three weeks cover the full spectrum of Introductory Level OSF work plus daily improvisation. The final weekend introduces OSF Advanced practice.

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.



Sessions are inclusive, welcoming and vitally useful for newcomers and experienced practitioners. Workshop participants can join for one, two, or three weeks, with progressive discounts based on number of weeks. Those without prior experience in OSF or SRT proceed chronologically beginning with the first week. Experienced practitioners can choose which weeks to attend. Drop-ins are limited to those with comprehensive experience of Introductory Level OSF or SRT.

Register for more and save! Per-week price decreases with each additional week added.

OSF WORKSHOP
NUMBER OF WEEKS/ PRICE PER WEEK 

Full price:
Week 1 €250,00
Week 2 €230,00
Week 3 €205,00

Save even more by registering before 15th July 2023 for a €100 discount if you register for at least two weeks.

OSF ADVANCED PRACTICE WEEKEND

Register before 15th July 2023 the price is € 50,00 for the weekend. Full price is € 90,00

To register please write to: idanceworkshop@gmail.com

Workshops

SUMMER INTERNATIONAL OSF SOURCING DEEPER WORKSHOP IN BRESCIA, ITALY – The Italian Capital of Culture, 2023

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with MANUELA BONDAVALLI and NATHAN DRYDEN, OSF faculty teachers

I.dan.ce International Dance Center 

via Carducci 12/e Botticino -Brescia

With the permission and blessing of Stephanie Skura, it’s finally happening!

21 August – 8 September 2023

Monday – Friday, 10:30am – 6pm

2023 Fees: €1,900

To apply for OSF Sourcing Deeper Italy 2023, please send an email to idanceworkshop@gmail.com

Enrollment in Sourcing Deeper is not guaranteed until application is approved and payment is received.

ABOUT SOUCING DEEPER

The 3-week OSF Sourcing Deeper program is designed for experienced OSF and SRT practitioners longing to more deeply understand underlying conceptual structures and strategies of OSF. Some may decide to follow with an OSF Teacher Certification Program. Others may prefer taking the work in other directions like research in movement, somatics, or integrations with other practices. The program also supports those purely interested in deeper study and reflection of the releasing process, allowing future applications to unfold in time.

Though not a commitment to OSF Teacher Training, OSF Sourcing Deeper is a required pre-requisite for all applicants to OSF Teacher Certification Programs. OSF Sourcing Deeper is a ‘first pass’ at the complex array of skills and concepts that allow facilitators to create seemingly magical environments conducive to deeply transformative experiences.

The program includes the full spectrum of Introductory Level OSF material in the morning sessions, plus substantive afternoon participatory discussions, vocal practice, sophisticated improvisational practice, hands-on practice, writing and drawing practice, language and music considerations — plus related readings in relevant philosophical topics that enhance our understanding of the profound concepts underlying this practice. For those who choose to follow with OSF Teacher Training, Sourcing Deeper will render the rigors of OSF Teacher Certification more digestible, less overwhelming, and more fun!

PREREQUISITES FOR OSF SOURCING DEEPER

Applicants for OSF Sourcing Deeper need experience with a minimum of two consecutive weeks of Introductory Open Source Forms or Skinner Releasing Technique (SRT classes 1-10), preferably within the past two years

To apply and register please write to: 

idanceworkshop@gmail.com

Workshops

2023 Annual OSF Open Workshop in Seattle

With STEPHANIE SKURA

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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.

link to 2023 OSF Open Workshop Registration

2023 OSF Open Worksop

Register Now
Workshops

Fall 2022 Weekly OSF Advanced Practice (Online)

Sundays 2 October – 20 November 2022

10am – 12pm Pacific Time (Find the time at your location at https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/ )

Register Now

Following rewarding experiences offering Open Source Forms programs ONLINE VIA ZOOM since July 2020, we’re offering another series of eight two-hour weekly online Advanced Practice OSF Sessions, Sundays October 2 – November 20, 2022.

For those who’ve experienced the full spectrum (3 weeks) of Introductory OSF or SRT, and want to deepen their practice and/or pursue OSF Teacher Certification.

Though most Open Source Forms programs are now in-person, we’re continuing to offer weekly advanced sessions online, because so many advanced practitioners in our community live at great distances. We’ve discovered we can indeed feel in-community despite inhabiting separate far-flung environments. That for many, this community became a psychic lifeline during the challenges of a long pandemic. That we can experience rewarding levels of intimacy, adventure, trust & compassion. And that with a playful approach to screens, we’re finding new forms while avoiding the dreaded ‘zoom fatigue.’

Advanced OSF material is deeply rooted in and fluidly expanded from advanced Skinner Releasing practice. It’s where OSF/SRT Introductory work is headed! New alignment insights, new depths, more and deeper deep-states, transporting imagery. Joan Skinner did not intend Advanced Level SRT to be codified or limited to 12 ‘Ongoing’ SRT classes. She left us with a wealth of material not included in those 12 classes. Our advanced sessions are culled from decades of notes, explorations, & advanced material created & passed on by Joan and other veterans, and integrated with improvisation experiments — material developed & augmented by Stephanie and other experienced OSF & SRT teachers during the past 25 years. Stephanie is the only still-practicing facilitator who worked closely alongside Joan Skinner for over a decade, and had the precious opportunity, as a close friend, to roam inside Joan’s brilliant mind with any questions & curiosities.

“These classes are amazing, beautiful, releasing, healing, vital and a bargain.” Julia Sasso, SRT teacher, Toronto

We’re the only SRT or OSF teachers on the planet, that we know of, currently creating classes at this advanced level!

To ensure responsible facilitation, participant numbers are limited. Hold your place by registering for the whole series of eight at a discount, or register in advance for single sessions.

Once again, we offer three payment options: full, online & out-of-work price. Full price participants help subsidize those who are out of work — THANK YOU!

Photo Credit: Wendy Perron, Juliette Mapp, Stephanie Skura in ‘Surreptitious Preparations for an Impossible Total Act’, Sundays on Broadway, NYC, 2016. Photo by Anja Hitzenberger.

Advanced Practice –– Fall 2022 (Online)

Advanced Practice –– Fall 2022 (Online)

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Bios

Raha Behnam

Raha is an Iranian-born, Canadian-raised, US-based artist. Her performance work has been presented in at Danspace Project (Food for Thought), Para\\el Performance Lab, The Wild Project (the CURRENT SESSIONS), and the Knockdown Center (Sunday Service). She has also shown work at the Performance Studies international 2017 conference (Hamburg), FRESH Festival (San Francisco), and Figure One Gallery (Illinois).
Raha holds a Master’s in Urban Planning and Bachelor’s degrees in Dance and Anthropology.

Bios

MANUELA BONDAVALLI

MANUELA BONDAVALLI is a dance artist, teacher, performer.

“Manuela is a remarkably potent and experienced dancer, with a strong foundation in traditional and alternative techniques. She has the courage, flexibility and passion – plus integrity, eloquence and humility – to be among the most innovative leaders in her field”.

Stephanie Skura

Manuela holds a Degree from University of Brescia, graduated in Dance studies and then obtained an MA in Choreography and Choreology -Trinity Laban of London, University where in 1995, she started her personal course of choreographic research receiving the “Sylvia Bodmer Award”. She lived in London from 1994 to 1998. Continued her studies in the USA, she is a Certified teacher in Skinner Releasing Technique™ – Ongoing and Introductory level – Skinner Releasing Institute – Seattle (USA). Certified Teacher Trainer of Open Source Forms -OSF- under the guidance of Stephanie Skura.

As a teacher, her investigation includes both in-depht analysis of the contemporary releasing technique, improvisation and compositional techniques. Contact Improvisation it’s a further, nodal source of inspiration and research for Manuela, as is real-time composition. Her work has been influenced and inspired by Steve Paxton, Lisa Nelson, Simone Forti e Nita Little.

As a dance artist, she has carried on her career for more than twenty five years, creating about thirty works and presenting her group choreographies, compositions and collaborative works locally, nationally, and internationally. 

From 1995 to 2011 she was Artistic Director of the Company Manuela Bondavalli. She collaborated with Stephanie Skura in the creation of “ Ruins memories “ and “Prima fila”.

From 2006 to 2014 she was Director and choreographer of the project Sperimental Company No Frills, which aimed at supporting the creative process and the stage presence of young dancers, investigating on-scene improvisation. 

Her creations have been supported by Cariplo Foundation, the Regional Council for the arts (winner of the NEXT award in 2013 and 2014),  Lombardy Dance Circuit, Brescia Theatre Center, ASM and the Municipality of Brescia.

Apart from working with many Lombard actors and directors, she collaborates with the American choreographer Stephanie Skura, musicians and composer like Markus Stokhausen, Fausto Beccalossi, Paolo Benvegnù, Luca Formentini, Ludovico Peroni.

Many of her works are site-specific and were made in collaboration with Croydon College (UK), Dams in Bologna, Teatro Grande in Brescia, Museum Santa Giulia in Brescia, Laba Academy of Fine Arts.

From 2009 to 2014 she was Artistic Director of the Container Festival dedicated to improvisational dance and videodance(in collaboration with Cinedans). She realized “Dance insights”, a project for the dissemination of the history of contemporary dance realized with Francesca Pedroni, in collaboration with the Santa Giulia Museum in Brescia

Currently Artistic Director and Teacher at the International Dance Center former Container12.