Performance: The Desire for Immortality
2024-08-01 19:00 - 21:30 (America/New_York)
“Desire for Immortality” composer Sasha Bogdanowitsch, performing in WildHeart’s Barn.

“The Desire For Immortality” is a theatrical summer ritual where you, as the audience, together with the artists and performers, plant many seeds of ideas and stories in the beautiful gardens, forests, and lake of the WildHeart. Don’t miss this unique event—come and experience this artistic theatrical ritual where we embrace and share the power and beauty of art with one another.

The story can be read as a homosexual relationship between Enkidu and Gilgamesh. But whenyou dive deeper into the story, you encounter timeless questions and discover the narrativeblueprint of our contemporary (popular) storytelling culture. The common thread throughout thistale, about the connection of the “civilized” modern human with (the wild) pristine nature, wasthe impetus to take on the challenge of designing a sensory performance tailored to the gardensof WildHeart. Thursday, August 1, at 7:00 PM is the result of this two week performance research process.

Last summer’s show at WildHeart

Belgian queer theatermaker Pascal Buyse is fascinated by the story of Gilgamesh. The Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest stories of humanity, follows the mortal hero Gilgamesh onhis quest for identity after the death of his friend (lover) Enkidu. His journey leads him through untapped riches and offers opportunities for reflection on the fleeting nature of life. This timeless theme of humanity’s desire to transcend death echoes through the ages.

The Desire for Immortality - An Artistic Exploration of the Fear of Life's Transience - Part 2 Crafting / Rehearsing / Performing
2024-07-29 14:00 - 2024-08-02 16:00 | Wildheart, 183 East Road, Wallkill, NY, 05156, United States
During this two-week artistic research workshop and performance project with Brussels Theater Director Pascal Buyse we will explore how ‘immortality and the human urge to transcend death’ influence our modern-day life and today’s connection with nature. By connecting mystical tales from the past with today’s connection with nature, we explore together the deeper layers of the theme of impermanence and how it resonates throughout the ages. The project will culminate in a performance open to the public on August 1st at WildHeart.

The Desire for Immortality - An Artistic Exploration of the Fear of Life's Transience - Part 1 Research / Creating / Devising
2024-07-22 14:00 - 2024-07-25 16:00 | Wildheart, 183 East Road, Wallkill, NY, 05156, United States

Contact Improv Sundays @ WildHeart
2024-07-21 16:00 - 18:30, 2024-07-07 16:00 - 18:30, 2024-06-16 16:00 - 18:30, 2024-06-02 16:00 - 18:30, 2024-05-19 16:00 - 18:30, 2024-05-05 16:00 - 18:30, 2024-04-21 16:00 - 18:30, 2024-04-07 16:00 - 18:30 and 7 more dates
Contact Improv Sundays @ WildHeart

First and Third Sundays

4:00-6:30pm (2nd and 4th Sundays in Kingston!)

BYO dinner for a studio-floor picnic afterward

CI Lab 4-5pm (with rotating teachers)

Open Jam 5-6:30pm

Register in advance

Or if you prefer to pay cash at the door, send us an email to let us know you’re coming, so we can help you find your way to the studio.

Overnight guests welcome (with advance notice). Let us know if you want to make a longer visit to WildHeart… email contact@wildheartcenter.art

Weeks that we’re not Jamming @ WildHeart, Hudson Valley Contact Improv continues in Kingston. Email Hudsonvalleycontactimprov@gmail.com for more on the Kingston Jam

Location- This workshop will take place in the Barn. If you’re coming to WildHeart for the first time, please visit our Directions page for arrival info. Refund policy No refunds, no transfers

Infant Developmental Movement Education
2024-07-10 09:00 - 2024-07-21 18:00 | Wildheart, 183 East Road, Wallkill, NY, 05156, United States
with Amy Matthews and Sarah Barnaby

The Infant Developmental Movement Educator program is a child-centered and relationship-centered approach to observing and facilitating infants, and educating parents and caregivers about touch, movement and handling in the first year of life.

This program is designed to train people to evaluate and facilitate normal development in infants using an embracing, child-centered approach.

In this training, participants will learn:

the layering of movement patterns that leads to typical ‘developmental milestones’

how to observe infants and see ‘normal movement pattern’ development

how to hold and handle infants, to support their movement experiences

how to identify ways to support infants who might be having movement difficulties

how to support parents and caregivers in learning new movement patterns with their infants

MORE Info is available at https://www.sondermsma.com/idme

Talismania Concert (workshops cancelled, concert still on!)
2024-06-22 10:00 - 20:30 | Wildheart, 183 East Road, Wallkill, NY, 05156, United States
Experience the unique sonic world of Talismania through a hand percussion workshop, instrument making workshop and an evening concert.

Tree Dancing Retreat
2024-06-14 10:00 - 2024-06-16 16:00 | Wildheart, 183 East Road, Wallkill, NY, 05156, United States
Climb trees with rope / harnesses & Dance where gravity feels suspended

Facilitated by Nimble Arts & Mark Przekurat

Contact Improv + SOTAI Ancestral Body
2024-06-06 09:00 - 2024-06-09 22:00 | Wildheart, 183 East Road, Wallkill, NY, 05156, United States
This Contact Improvisation retreat is infused with Ryuta’s life research, SOTAI(祖体), “Ancestral Body” where you will be guided through embodiment practices of sensing, moving and resting of your body as well as journaling, drawing, and vocalization.

Facilitated by: Ryuta Iwashita

Vocal Flow: a Circlesinging and Vocal Improv Intensive
2024-05-12 10:30 - 17:30
Embrace your voice and unique creativity!

Facilitated by Onome

Register to Join

This intensive provides a safe and fun space to practice embodying core principles of spontaneous vocal composition: listening, attunement, courage, self-trust, compassion, dynamics, and the spirit of play. We will focus on the building blocks of vocal improvisation to develop awareness, skills, confidence and cohesion.

I will share the techniques I’ve synthesized from my studies with Bobby McFerrin, Rihannon, Meredith Monk, Música do Círculo, theater improv, folk music, hip-hop freestyle, sound healing, archetypes, chakras, somatic experiencing, and mindfulness practices.

Each participant will have opportunities to create, lead and support improvised songs. You will also learn tools for how to get “unstuck” and maintain the flow of your creativity in any improvisational context.

Open to singers of all backgrounds and experience levels! All that is required is the desire to connect in a welcoming circle of voices.

You will walk away with a deeper awareness of your creative signature, a greater appreciation for your unique expression, and an increased capacity to connect with your own heart, and the hearts of others through voice.

I recommend that you keep a water bottle handy during the intensive, and wear clothes that allow freedom of movement and breath

Schedule

10:30am – Doors open for arrival

11am – Opening +Intros

11:30am – Vocal Flow: Part 1

1pm – Lunch (Bring your own lunch)

2pm – Vocal Flow: Part 2

3:30pm – Break

3:40pm – Circlesinging

4:40pm – Debrief + Processing

5pm – Closing Circle

Who is it for?

Expressive arts enthusiasts whose souls are deeply nourished by community vocal rituals.

People looking to bring more inspiration into every aspect of their life – work, hobbies, relationships – so that they can live from a state of purpose and joy.

People looking to invest in creative nourishment in a supportive community.

Frequently asked questions

Q: I’m not a “singer.” Can I work with you?

A: Absolutely! The goal of our work together is not based on traditional vocal coaching.

The goal is for you to listen to yourself more deeply, move through negative judgment and trust the impulses of your imagination, and revitalize your creative mojo.

Register to Join

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Onome | Vocal Embodiment & Holistic Well-Being (@onome.om)

About the Facilitator

Onome opens hearts by generating a field of courage for all voices to emerge.

She facilitates transformative experiences at the intersection of voice, creativity, and mindfulness. Onome designs and leads experiential workshops and 1:1 sessions that clear energetic blockages to self-expression, empower her clients to reclaim and confidently wield the power of their imagination, and foster creative fellowship through mindfulness practices, relational games, and vocal play.

Through her audience-interactive performances, workshops and sound installations, Onome embodies joy, enchantment, and infinite possibility. She partners with numerous organizations as a teaching artist-in-residence, including the United Nations, Carnegie Hall, Madison Youth Choirs, and Grace Episcopal Church.She leads community vocal immersions at concert halls, conferences, galleries, museums, schools, cultural centers, shelters, prisons, parks, churches, online, wherever voices gather.

Register

Cost:

Register to Join Us!

Roots and Reverence: Honoring our CI lineage through ritual and practice
2024-05-11 10:00 - 21:30 | Wildheart, 183 East Road, Wallkill, NY, 05156, United States
Honoring the teaching of Steve Paxton & Nancy Stark-Smith through ritual and practice

with Moti Zemelman and Taina Lyons

Register to Join

Founders and finders of Contact Improvisation, Steve Paxton and Nancy Stark Smith have now both passed into the ancestor realm. In this daylong exploration, we will honor their teachings and explore the ways their movement lineages continue to live through us. We’ll share video footage and writings of these master teachers, and explore some of their teachings such as the Small Dance, Paxton puzzles, aikido principles, Nancy’s Underscore and more… together we will also co-create an ancestor altar and a ritual to honor them.

Option to stay overnight at WildHeart before or after – come early or stay late.

Workshop Schedule

10-12:30pm Class Session 1

12:30 -2pm BYO Lunch

2-5pm Class Session 2

5-7pm BYO Dinner (Moti & Taina will bring a big pot soup, bread, a main dish and a salad to share. Please bring anything else you’d like to eat!)

7-9:30pm Underscore Practice

Who is it for?

For mixed-level Contact Improvisation dancers

Testimonials

“I love Taina’s approach to Contact Improv. Her classes explore CI not only as a dance of connecting bodies, but as an inquiry into being human. Taina holds space that feels safe and open, playful and meaningful, while offering skills that build our inner and outer movement vocabulary for both the dance floor and for life.”

– RF (Rhode Island, USA)

“This Retreat was an absolute highlight in my over 30 years on again off again CI dance life. Moti is a sensei, a true master teacher, who has fed my love for CI on a very deep level and has brought out new curiosities and inner explorations into my being a CI practitioner.”

– CH, (USA/Germany)

Register to Join

About the Instructors

Moti Zemelman

As your co-host and teacher I bring 35 years of CI experience to share. Based in Massachusetts, I’ve taught and performed across USA, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Europe and Israel. My teachings emphasize the importance of cultivating a deep and embodied sense of presence, as well as developing a compassionate non-judgmental relationship with oneself. My workshops and classes offer a space for individuals to explore movement and embodiment in a supportive and non-competitive environment, and are open to people of all ages, backgrounds, and levels of experience. Over the last 15 years in my desire to integrate communication and intimacy skills in teaching and life I have studied Non-violent communication, Tantra, Butoh, Byron Katie’s “The Work” and Betty Martin’s “Wheel of Consent”. I have been both a teacher and a board member at Earthdance Retreat Center in Plainfield, MA where I co-directed the Touch&Play Festival for 6 years. I am a featured dancer in Sanford Lewis’ documentary film about CI “An Intimate Dance.” I also design and moderate the international Contact Improv resource website www.contactimprov.com.

Taina Lyons

I am a somatic ritualist, movement artist, and holistic counselor. I teach Contact Improvisation and hold spaces for grief, rites of passage, ancestral & nature connection, and consent. My capacity for intuitive guidance supports students’ growth and discovery through dance and reflection. I center gentle inquiries into purpose, healing, and connection and invite you to deepen in your awareness of self and other. Along with Moti Zemelman I co-founded Consentient Beings, offering trainings in consent, movement, and relating practices for groups and organizations.

Emergeholistictherapy.comConsentientbeings.com

Register

Cost:

Full Day Sliding Scale: $100-200Workshop only: $85-185Underscore only: $15-30

Register to Join Us!

BIPOC spots- We are offering 2 free spots for BIPOC folx. Please email contact@wildheartcenter.art to get the registration code for one of these spots.

Refund policy-

In advance of 1 week – full refund (less processing fee)

Within 1 week – no refund

Covid policy- To protect the group, please don’t come if you have any symptoms of illness or had contact in the last 3 days with anyone who has COVID

Rejuvenate - a creative women's retreat to refresh body, mind, and spirit
2024-05-02 11:00 - 2024-05-05 15:00 | Wildheart, 183 East Road, Wallkill, NY, 05156, United States
A women’s weekend of journal making, meditation, movement, connection, and creativity. Over the course of the retreat, we will make our own paper and create hand-bound journals in which to write and paint, incorporating natural objects found in the forest! This reflective process will be supported by guided meditation, movement sessions, delicious food, good community, and plenty of time to follow your own inspiration.

Facilitated by: Stephanie Sharp, Jude LaFollette, & Neva Cockrell

Sacred Vessel Workshop with Sound Healing
2024-03-23 10:00 - 16:00
Facilitated by Cari Skier

At WildHeart: Center for Performance and Embodiment Practice

10am-4pm, Saturday March 23, 2024

The Sacred Vessel Workshop is a full-day retreat of integrating the art-making process with a live, immersive, healing soundscape to help you release the things that no longer serve you.

This workshop explores the Japanese art of Kintsugi and the philosophy of Wabi Sabi as a means of self-acceptance and healing.

The vessel represents us as an individual, we are vessels that hold many things. But sometimes we break and need to be put back together. Our brokenness changes us, makes us who we are. And so we will break and then repair our bowls by painting, collaging and writing and highlighting our beautiful cracks with gold. Expressing through images and words, all the hidden components that make us, us. This is a deeply personal process that will challenge you to embrace your imperfections with self-compassion and love.No artistic skills necessary,All materials provided.

$75 per person

*Please reach out if money is a barrier

Register to Join Us!

Frequently asked questions

Who is it for? Anyone interested in exploring art-making as a process for healing. No prior skills needed.

Do I need to bring anything? Just a bag lunch! All workshop materials are provided.

Do I need to be an artist to participate in this workshop? No, no art skills are necessary. Anyone can do this activity.

What is Sound Healing? Sound Healing, or sound bath is a meditative experience where those in attendance are “bathed” in sound waves. These waves are produced by various sources, including healing instruments such as gongs, crystal singing bowls, percussion, chimes, rattles, tuning forks, and even the human voice itself.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

About the Facilitator:

Cari Skier is a Therapeutic Art Specialist & Certified Sound Healing Practitioner. She specializes in supporting people to heal symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression through the healing modalities of art and sound. Cari holds a BFA, a Masters degree in Education and a degree in occupational therapy. Working for years with people struggling with emotional health matters, Cari believes that use of art and sound compliment each other well to heal past wounds, ease emotional symptoms, manage pain and strengthen resilience. ​Cari offers warm-hearted and individually tailored programs that will support you to accept, express, make sense of and transform your emotions for powerful healing.

REGISTER HERE

Loom Ensemble March Devising Intensive
2024-03-14 18:00 - 2024-03-17 19:00
We are beginning the development process for Loom Ensemble’s next show, and are welcoming new collaborators into the creative process!

This fall, winter and spring, we’ll gather about once a month for either a long weekend or full week intensives, at WildHeart: a performance incubation / retreat space in the Hudson Valley.In these creative workperiods, we welcome performers (dancers, actors, musicians), writers, composers, designers, dramaturgs — we’ll be approaching the material from all angles.

This is a body positive, queer, anti-racist space. The work is explicitly political, leaning into raw conversations, but centering wellbeing and respect for the artist throughout.

lush & whole: welcoming our fat as an embodied resource
2024-03-07 14:00 - 2024-03-10 14:00 | Wildheart, 183 East Road, Wallkill, NY, 05156, United States
Your fat is pulsating with more energy density than any other tissue in your body but most of us haven’t been invited to connect with it. What becomes possible when you have more of your body to feel and move with? In “Lush & Whole: Welcoming our Fat as an Embodied Resource” you will spend 3 nights exploring your fat somatically and creatively, to discover what emerges when you let your fat be felt and known.

Faciliated by Jules Pashall & Laura McCunniff Reid

The Winter Artist with Hanna Satterlee
2024-02-02 15:00 - 2024-02-04 16:00 | Wildheart, 183 East Road, Wallkill, NY, 05156, United States
Amongst still snow, vast skies, and quiet earth, this three day journey of activity, rest, connection and play will include an arrangement of modalities to help you connect to your inner creative fire. A retreat of contemplative, creative and community practices with interdisciplinary rituals of making, moving, sharing, and discovering. “The Winter Artist” retreat invites your full artistry to awaken and create within a structured group cohort. Treat yourself with ease, and see what arises!

with co-facilitation from Neva and Raffles

Cuddle Party
2024-01-02 17:30 - 21:00
Facilitated by Facilitator-in-Training Tommy “Captain Cuddles” Seda

At WildHeart: Center for Performance and Embodiment Practice

Third Saturdays, 5:30-9:00pm

For ages 17 and over

$30 per person

*Please reach out if money is a barrier

Register to Join Us!

Welcome to Cuddle Party!

A workshop on Consent and Communication, cleverly disguised as a Pajama Party.

Have recent events left you feeling deprived of opportunities for touch? Do you feel stressed, overwhelmed, isolated, or alone? Have you ever said yes when you really wanted to say no? Do you struggle to ask for what you really want?

If any of this sounds like you or you are just curious then you are invited to pack your PJs, your favorite pillow, and a snack to share and give yourself the gift of a Cuddle Party.

What Happens at a Cuddle Party?

First, A Welcome Circle & Mini-Workshop

After you arrive at the event location, sign in, and change into pajamas in the private changing area, the Cuddle Party starts with an hour-long Welcome Circle, led by Tommy Seda

This Welcome Circle is where we create the structure and safe space for the socializing to follow. It is also where we break the ice and get a group of strangers to feel not so strange to one another. This is where you and other Cuddle Party participants can…

Introduce yourselves,

Learn about the Cuddle Party philosophy,

Get oriented to the Cuddle Party rules,

Practice the Cuddle Party communication skills

Be led through a few ice-breaker exercises

As the Welcome Circle concludes, most participants find themselves feeling surprised by how comfortable they feel.

Then, Two Hours of Self-Directed Connection

Now it is time for you to ask for what you want, say yes and no to requests and invitations, cuddle according to your desires and comfort (or just talk if you prefer), connect with fascinating people, “cuddle mingle,” and, ultimately, relax into the flow of an unusually playful and respectful social environment.

Some participants cuddle in groups, others one-on-one, while some like to talk and not cuddle for a time, or not at all. Cuddling can mean feet against feet, full-body hugs, head-rubs, spooning — it is, indeed, up to you. And, configurations and positions shift significantly throughout the event, thanks in part to Rule 6 Change your mind & keep yourself happy.

Also throughout the event, the Cuddle Party Facilitators participate with you so that you can feel relaxed and supported and have a great time with your experiences.

The socializing and cuddling, like the Welcome Circle, all take place in our cozy environment, enhanced by an eclectic and charming mix of music played at a volume that allows easily for conversation. There are cookies, fruit, munchies, juice and no intoxicants (other than the oxytocin, that is).

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

About the Facilitator:

Tommy “Captain Cuddles” Seda has always followed the philosophy he learned as a teen of “learn one, do one, teach one”. With that motto driving him, he has been teaching and facilitating programs that range from one hour workshops to summer long camps. He has held certifications as instructor with several private and government organizations. Currently his passion for teaching is focused on cuddle parties where he is a facilitator in training enrolled in the Cuddle Party Inc training program.

“What Else Do I Need To Know?”

This event is non sexual, drug and alcohol free, and limited to participants who are 17+

Please bring a blanket, pillow, and healthy snack to share!

Also a reusable water bottle so we can save on plastic use 🙂

Doors will be locked at 6:15 as no one may join after the opening circle has started.

This event is non sexual, drug and alcohol free, and limited to participants who are 17+

COVID PROTOCOL: Please present a negative rapid test.

If you test positive or are not feeling well, please stay home. Your ticket will be refunded in full if you must cancel due to illness or exposure. Masks will not be required but anyone’s choice to wear one will be honored without question.

REGISTER HERE
