The Alchemy* of Moving

Dancing together through time

​*a seemingly magical process of transformation, creation, or combination.​ 

Facilitated by Benjamin Tree and the barefoot community

at Gidleigh Village Hall

These are strong times. This is an invitation to bring what’s real for you right now into movement, into the alchemy of the dance. 

On this weekend we will be held by the maps of Movement Medicine to travel through the arc of time; so that the past can be turned into medicine for the present, and empower possibilities for the future. 

 We will begin by connecting with ourselves and each other, and by resourcing ourselves for the journey ahead.

Then we’ll move and turn our attention back down the timeline to the past, to bring movement and expression to anything that isready to be met and worked with. This will be done in a ceremonial form to give us a strong and supportive container. 

We will then land clearly into the present to digest and integrate whatever experiences and material has surfaced from our danced journey. From this clearer place, we will then move and dance with our dreams for the future, both personal and collective. 

To complete, we’ll dance with the harvest of the journey.

We will be leaning into the support of our togetherness, as well as the place of inner resource. From here, we can dance for ourselves, for our wider community, and for the communities of all life. 

 “Dance when you're broken open. Dance, if you've torn the bandage off. Dance in the middle of the fighting. Dance in your blood. Dance when you're perfectly free.” - Rumi​

Booking will be open on Sunday the 20th March at 5pm, initially for barefoot regulars only. Then from Sunday the 3rd of April at 5pm, we will be open for booking from the wider dance community if we have any places left.​

Please note we have set a maximum of 26 places this year. 

​​If you would like to come, please book your place by emailing barefoot.dancer@yahoo.co.uk from Sunday the 20th March at 5pm

(Please do not email to book a place before this date and time).

Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis; if oversubscribed, we will have a waiting list in case a place becomes available. 

​Cost: £120 for the weekend  (ask about concessions if needed). 

This includes food (apart from the Friday night when this year it will be bring food to share), camping fees and facilitation.​

Open Invitation for the Barefoot Friday Night (20th May 2022).   

There is an open invitation for all barefoot dancers to join us for supper at 6.30pm and a Barefoot dance (at 8pm) on the Friday evening. Please bring food to share (as we will not be providing food on this evening) - something that doesn’t need heating up or cooking. Please note there is no limit to the number of people able to come along on the Friday evening, however we are unable to offer you a space to stay overnight as we have a limited number of spaces which are allocated for those staying for the whole weekend. ​

Please note: If you book a place on the weekend, we strongly encourage/request that you attend all sessions on the Saturday and Sunday (although we also understand that there may be unexpected difficult circumstances which may mean this is not possible).  

​Covid: We have reflected on how to create a safe space for the whole community. We ask that you do not attend if you are unwell and also kindly request that you take a Lateral Flow test before attending. 

Cancellation policy: If you cancel up to 4 weeks in advance we will offer a full refund. If you cancel after then if we have people on the waiting list you will have a full refund. However if we cant fill your place we will retain half of the money to cover our costs. 

​​​Friday 20 May 2022

5pm onwards ... arriving and setting up (please note we cannot have access to the hall or the grounds of the hall before 5pm this year - please do not arrive any earlier)  

6:30pm Supper

8pm - 9:30pm Opening Circle followed by a barefoot dance                                                                       one of us with the music

Saturday 21 May 2022 

Breakfast provided

10am - 1pm Opening session with Benjamin (1)

​1pm - 4pm Lunch (provided) and free time

 4pm - 6:30pm Session with Benjamin (2)

 Supper provided

 

Sunday 22 May 2022

Breakfast provided

10am - 12:30pm Session with Benjamin (3)

Lunch provided

​2pm to 3:45pm Session with Benjamin (4)

 3:45pm Closing ritual by barefoot dance community

and  clearing away (5) 

​5pm END

​

Further information

​Here are a few other details about the weekend, which you might find useful:

Please arrive anytime from 5pm on the Friday evening 20th May (please note we cannot have access to the hall or the grounds of the hall before 5pm this year - please do not arrive any earlier) Directions to Gidleigh Village Hall are included at the end of this page. If you are camping you will need time to pitch your tent and settle in, so do allow time for this. 

 The hall has a fully equipped kitchen and toilets and a shower so you do not need to bring, for example, any of your own cooking gear – your tent is simply to sleep in. Please note there is just 1 shower!!!! If anyone has a camping shower it could be a useful addition.

On the Friday evening we will eat together around 6:30pm …. please bring food to share … all the food for the remainder of the weekend is provided and will be vegetarian and if you have any other special dietary requirements please let Karen know by email.

If you have a special diet which requires you to eat meat then we will make arrangements for you to cook with us using separate pans and utensils.

From 8pm we will hold an opening circle and a barefoot dance. One of us will be bringing the music. 

​We hope that everyone will pitch in with cooking and clearing up over the weekend so that we can all enjoy it. All food will be provided but any contributions of home baked cakes welcomed!

We are asking that everyone attends all the sessions. At other times you are able to please yourself, to walk on the moors, swim in the nearby stream or sit around the fire (if we have one) and, of course, help with the preparation of the meals and clearing away.

​Over the course of the weekend we aim to build trust within the group as the sessions progress. Because of this it is not possible for people not signed up for the weekend to drop in on the Saturday or Sunday this year. 

Quick reference checklist (things you might like to bring):

Pen, paper / journal

Cushion / sheepskin /blanket to sit on

Water if you don’t wish to drink tap water

Outdoor walking gear and maybe brolly in case of rain?

A candle and holder

Loose comfy clothes to dance in, perhaps layers you can put on and off as you get hot and cool down.

It is still possible to have a frost at this time of year - please bring enough warm clothes and bedding to account for this.