Spring 2024
The Art of Being: Symbiotic Life
Dance/Movement Workshop with Ayako Kato
Saturdays, May 4 - June 1| 1 pm - 3 pm*, CST
*except May 11 only: 11 am - 1 pm
Hybrid: In Person @ Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theater, Chicago & on ZOOM
Registration (including for drop-ins) is recommended; contact Ayako: furyuayajp@gmail.com
or visit Eventbrite
Early-bird Full Workshop (by May 5), 5 sessions: $70 Single drop-in $15-20 sliding scale direct payment, $18.91 Eventbrite (with fees)
For Payment: Zelle (Ayako Tsuchiya, furyuayajp@gmail.com)
Venmo (@Ayako-Tsuchiya) or PayPal: paypal.me/AyakoTsuchiya
If you are participating through Zoom, please contact Ayako for a link
We will be further diving into how to embody the composite symbiotic ways of being physically, mentally, and biologically, which mirror the way of nature and earth to retrieve what we are and where we are from.
Reverse mirroring the current challenges in society and the world, let our minds practice feeling more appreciation with holistic perspectives. Let's find and look at the positive sides of life in order to generate better relationships with people, places, and things.
During the workshop, participants touch on parts of the Complex System as well as gain a bird's eye view. Please don’t worry if you are joining for the first time. You are an expert of your daily life and Ayako will guide you to gain and expand new physical and mental notions through somatic and improvisational movement/dance exercises. Dance is the art of being. Ayako wants to offer this workshop as a daily practice of being,—as a human, mover, performer, artist, dancer, and choreographer. Through this practice, Ayako will share the way to find our centered, grounded, and balanced selves through imagery (and physical reality) based exercises. Through improvisational and simple compositional exercises, participants will raise a keen awareness of the expansiveness as well as the depth of being. Participants will explore ways to open up the body-mind as an empty conduit to welcome new wind flow through themselves and feel fullness. Ayako will share how to expand and develop the tangible and intangible tensegrity (tension x integrity) through our bodies and minds to sense new relationships within and around us. Participants will be asked to create their own short dance at the end.
ongoing - Free online CMC Workshops
part of the Chicago Park District's 8th Season of "Nights Out at Home"
for any adult, including seniors! 15 minute, mini-workshops. easy to do at home
“Your Night Out at Home” features more than 40 artists and neighborhood organizations in a series of digital workshops and performances available for the public to view on demand.
Click on these links to enjoy CMC workshops
Seated Dance Movement with Elisa Foshay
explore other Nights Out programs here
WORKSHOP ARCHIVES
The Art of Being: Degrowth/Slowing Down
Dance/Movement Workshop with Ayako Kato
Saturdays, Feb 17 - Mar 30, 2024| 1 pm - 3 pm, CST
Hybrid: In Person @ Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theater, Chicago & on ZOOM
The Art of Being
Dance/Movement Workshop with Ayako Kato
Saturdays Nov 11 - Dec 16 (no class 11/25)| 1 pm - 3 pm, CST
Hybrid: In Person @ Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theater, Chicago & on ZOOM
The Art of Being
Dance/Movement Workshop with Ayako Kato
"De-Growth/Slowing Down"
Saturdays Sep 2-30| 1 pm - 3 pm, CST
Somatic Discovery Camp
AUG 25-27, Fri - Sun. In - person at the Hamlin Park Theater.
Explorations in movement, play, improvisation + healing.
Facilitated by CMC STAIR artist Lindsay Hopkins.
This weekend series of events is an exploration of presence, the NOW moment, embodiment and relationship. The workshops offer approaches for discovering presence and embodiment through creative practices and somatic exercises.
The Art of Being
Dance/Movement Summer Intensive with Ayako Kato
"De-Growth/Slowing Down 1"
Saturday/Sunday AUG 19/20| 10 am - 1 pm, CST
Hybrid: In Person @ Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theater, Chicago & on ZOOM
Global Underscore
facilitated by Kellyn Jackson
Sunday | June 25 |1-3 pm
in - person , Hamlin Park Theater
The Art of Being
Dance/Movement Workshop with Ayako Kato
2023 Spring: "Freestyle/Inside and Out"
Saturdays | 1 - 3 pm, CST, April 22 - May 27
Hybrid: In Person @ Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theater, Chicago & on ZOOM
Dance is the art of being. Ayako wants to offer this workshop as a daily
practice of being,—as a human, mover, performer, artist, dancer, and
choreographer. Through this practice, Ayako will share the way to find our
centered, grounded, and balanced selves through imagery (and physical
reality) based exercises. More info here on our w
The Art of Being
Dance/Movement Workshop with Ayako Kato
2023 Winter: "Know More Not Knowing"
Saturdays JAN 14 - MAR 25| 1 - 3 pm, CST
Hybrid: In Person @ Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theater, Chicago & on ZOOM
This winter series will focus on Not-knowing. We will investigate our assumptions as a mover and explore the depth and richness of invisible, intangible, and indescribable matters (from science to emotion) through movement-- to encounter facts and principles physically. This will be a philosophical dialogue, yet connected to practical wiree sdom so that we can apply the artistic state of being in our daily lives and beyond.
"The Art of Being"
Dance/Movement Workshop with Ayako Kato
2022 Winter 1: Reflection: How did we move this year? How will we move next year?
Saturdays Dec 3, 10, 17, 2022 | 1-3 pm
Hybrid: in-person at the Hamlin Park Theater and ZOOM option
During this term, through the three sessions, we will reflect on how we moved this year. At the same time, we will reflect on how we want to be moving next year while the earth will be going around the sun and self-rotating, tilting 23.5 degrees from the plane of its orbit around the sun. I hope we can have tea together at the end of this session. Dance is the art of being. Ayako wants to offer this workshop as a daily practice of being,—as a human, mover, performer, artist, dancer, and choreographer. Through this practice, Ayako will share the way to find our centered, grounded, and balanced selves through imagery (and physical reality) based exercises.
CLAB
Contact Improvisation Class + Lab
Facilitated by Kellyn Jackson
Thursdays, October 6-27, 2022 6:30-8:30 pm
part class; part lab
this is a space to study
to research what's possible in these bodies of ours
to see what sharing weight with you makes possible for me
CLAB will begin with a warm up and skills training followed by labbing time.
Lab time is a time to workshop curiosities, to trouble-shoot challenges, to ask questions (to yourself and with each other). We will end with a sharing of discoveries as well as mining topics/questions for the following week. Content will be decided in collaboration with participants, so bring your questions!
"The Art of Being" - Dance/Movement Workshop
Fall Term 1: What is ETHOS?; Special Edition
with Ayako Kato.
Saturdays Sept 17, 24, Oct 1,8, 2022 | 12:30-2:15 pm
Hybrid: in-person at the Hamlin Park Theater and ZOOM option
During this term, through the four sessions, we will exchange dialogue and move on ethos. What do we observe the invisible ethos within you an others currently? Let’s detect the streamline within your body and out there. Then, let’s connect and develop our awareness so that we can act and move with more holistic selves.
Dance is the art of being. Ayako wants to offer this workshop as a daily practice of being,—as a human, mover, performer, artist, dancer, and choreographer. Through this practice, Ayako will share the way to find our centered, grounded, and balanced selves through imagery (and physical reality) based exercises.
"Breath & Improvisation"
Open level movement workshops/Laban practice
led by Andrea Cerniglia
AUG 4 and 11, 2022, Thursdays, 10:30 - 11:45 am
Free or pay-what you-can (cash only)
a welcome back-treat from us to you
"Embodying Duality"
a weekend workshop celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Contact Improvisation
JULY 16/17, 2022 | Sat/Sun, 10:30 am - 4:30 pm
Hamlin Park Theater, in -person* (hour break for lunch each day)
Facilitated by Caterina Mocciola (ITAL/AUS)
“I am currently fascinated by how opposing forces are working together to create harmony in dance. I experience it in relation with gravity, with the natural expanding and contracting of the body, in relating to myself and to my dance partner/s, in the coexistence of technique and improvisation…how they merge in three-dimensionality of the dance itself. We will work with apparent dual “forces” looking at how they come together, how can we observe the process and become aware of it, in support of our dance. I will be sharing my discoveries, what my body and my practice have taught me; while leaving plenty of space for exploration, dance and playfulness.” - Caterina
Caterina Mocciola (IT/AUS)
I am an independent performer, teacher and producer, also an interpreter and a translator. My practice is based on Contact Improvisation and Composition while related disciplines, such as Feldenkrais, BMC, Viewpoints, Release Technique, Body Weather and Kung Fu play a strong influence in my approach to teaching and movement. Since 2008 I have taught regular classes, workshops at festivals and Universities, in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Israel, Russia, Japan and across Europe. For over a decade I lived in Australia where I founded the Sydney Sunday Jam; for a few years in Berlin, where I taught at Tanzfabrik and Marameo, co-organized the Berlin Underscore and ECITE 2017 in Italy. I now live on the mountains in Italy working with animals and the earth, integrating it all with dance.
"The Sacred Art of Play" Workshop
JUNE 25, 2022 Saturday. 12:30 - 4:00 pm.
facilitated by Lindsay Hopkins
in person at the Hamlin Park Theater
In this workshop we’ll explore ‘play’ through guided energy healing, movement, breathwork, improvisational techniques, theatre games and writing to connect us more closely with our creative life force and our ability to heal. A kind of play that is sacred and inherently connects us to something larger.
May 28 - June 18, 2022 Saturdays
"The Art of Being" - Dance/Movement Workshop with Ayako Kato.
in-person, Hamlin Park Theater | 12:30 - 2:15 pm
Dance is the art of being. Ayako wants to offer this workshop as a daily practice of being,—as a human, mover, performer, artist, dancer, and choreographer. Through this practice, Ayako will share the way to find our centered, grounded, and balanced selves through imagery (and physical reality) based exercises.
Through improvisational and simple compositional exercises, participants will raise a keen awareness of the expansiveness as well as the depth of being. Participants will explore ways to open up the body-mind as an empty conduit to welcome new wind flow through themselves and feel fullness.
Ayako will share how to expand and develop the tangible and intangible tensegrity (tension x integrity) through our bodies and minds to sense new relati
APR 9 - MAY 14, 2022 Saturdays
"The Art of Being" - Dance/Movement Workshop with Ayako Kato.
in-person, Hamlin Park Theater | 12:30 - 2:15 pm
Dance is the art of being. Ayako wants to offer this workshop as a daily practice of being,—as a human, mover, performer, artist, dancer, and choreographer. Through this practice, Ayako will share the way to find our centered, grounded, and balanced selves through imagery (and physical reality) based exercises. Through improvisational and simple compositional exercises, participants will raise a keen awareness of the expansiveness as well as the depth of being. Participants will explore ways to open up the body-mind as an empty conduit to welcome new wind flow through themselves and feel fullness. Ayako will share how to expand and develop the tangible and intangible tensegrity (tension x integrity) through our bodies and minds to sense new relationships within and around us. Participants will be asked to create their own short dance.
FEB 26 - APR 2, 2022 Saturdays
"The Art of Being" - Dance/Movement Workshop with Ayako Kato. Winter 2022, Second Term.
in-person, Hamlin Park Theater | 12:30 - 2:15 pm
Dance is the art of being. Ayako wants to offer this workshop as a daily practice of being,—as a human, mover, performer, artist, dancer, and choreographer. Through this practice, Ayako will share the way to find our centered, grounded, and balanced selves through imagery (and physical reality) based exercises.
JAN 8 - FEB 12, 2022 Saturdays
"The Art of Being" - Dance/Movement Workshop with Ayako Kato
in-person, Hamlin Park Theater | 12:30 - 2:15 pm
Dance is the art of being. Ayako wants to offer this workshop as a daily practice of being,—as a human, mover, performer, artist, dancer, and choreographer. Through this practice, Ayako will share the way to find our centered, grounded, and balanced selves through imagery (and physical reality) based exercises. Participants will create their own short dance; more info on our workshop page.
NOV 13 - DEC 11, 2021 Saturdays
"The Art of Being"
Dance/Movement Workshop with Ayako Kato
in-person, Hamlin Park Theater | 12:30 - 2:15 pm
(masked and socially distanced; complete safety protocols available on registration)
Single drop-in $12-$15; Full Workshop Early Bird $60 (pay by 11/13)
Dance is the art of being. Ayako wants to offer this workshop as a daily practice of being,—as a human, mover, performer, artist, dancer, and choreographer. Through this practice, Ayako will share the way to find our centered, grounded, and balanced selves through imagery (and physical reality) based exercises. Through improvisational and simple compositional exercises, participants will raise a keen awareness of the expansiveness as well as the depth of being. Participants will explore ways to open up the body-mind as an empty conduit to welcome new wind flow through themselves and feel fullness. Ayako will share how to expand and develop the tangible and intangible tensegrity (tension x integrity) through our bodies and minds to sense new relationships within and around us. Participants will be asked to create their own short dance; more info on our workshop page.
AUG 28/29, 2021
ETHOS Movement Summer Intensive Workshop
with Ayako Kato
Saturday and Sunday, 10 am - 1 pm
Location: Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theater (in-person)
2 days, $40-$50 sliding -scale; 1 day $25-$30 sliding scale
What does it mean to make ourselves empty physically and mentally? How do we dance/move differently when we achieve this state? In this workshop, participants explore ways to open up the body-mind and stay balanced. Ayako will share her ideas and practice of how to center, ground, and align the body, and how to expand and develop the tangible and intangible tensegrity (tension x integrity) through our bodies and minds to sense new relationships within and around us. Participants will create a short dance.
April 20 - June 15, 2021 (9 sessions plus a showing)
Ayako Kato Dance Movement Workshop
"WindFlow: Going Through with Improvisation"
Tuesdays, 10 am - noon
Location: at Hamlin Park - outdoor lawn (weather permitting)
Full Workshop, early-bird: $130
Single drop-in workshops - General: $14, Professionals/Students/Seniors: $12;
or pay what you can.
The weather is getting better, and we are seeing the light. Yet, still let dance/movement help us go through this period with an activated creative mental and physical state of being. Ayako will share her approach to expand your perceptions as an improviser and advocator of multi-centrism and the art of being. Let's plan our outdoor informal performance toward the end of the session sometime in June!
Jan 5 - April 6, 2021 (14 sessions)
Ayako Kato Dance/Movement Workshop
"ETHOS: Following Nature Toward Spring"
compositional and improvisational movement, somatic exercises, meditation-
Tuesdays. 9:30 - 10 am Zazen Mediation | 10 am - noon Creative Sessions
on ZOOM /orin-person outside at Hamlin Park (weather permitting)
for Zoom link (or ?'s), contact Ayako or click here
We often notice that our minds and bodies sway like tree branches, or like the wind. In our bodies, there are many common elements, forms, and functions which humans draw from nature– because we are nature. Nature is not a resource for economic survival. Nature is where all of us are from and return. Let’s closely sense and investigate these elements and movements in our body. Let’s really dance. Through this seminar-style workshop, with deep breathing, we: meditate quietly and actively; learn human anatomy and its functions, will find our center, axises, alignment, and spiral to move more freely; and develop imagery to objectively and subjectively weave our motions with our energetic waves. Then, we will reflect on what is nature and what is dance.
Sep 8 - Dec 15, 2020 (14 sessions, no class Nov 24)
Ayako Kato Dance Movement Workshop
"Be a Poet"
Tuesdays, 9:30 - 10 am (Zazen Meditation) | 10 am - noon (Creative Sessions)
Location: outside at Hamlin Park when the weather permits, with social distancing.
Otherwise, on Zoom. Location will be given through the email list, Facebook and Instagram the previous day
Words and movements are different. Yet, the spirit connects them. How do we express and communicate through our tangible body and intangible mind? Is the movement abstract? When does it become concrete? How do we build the world through movements? How can our physical, momentary expressions travel through time in relation to the previous and the next movements? How can our intention influence space? How can we link our body-mind with the viewers’? How can an individual performer connect/link with other performers (dancers & musicians) or music/sound, sharing the same space/time to create a world? Referencing the practice of Renku (Japanese Chained Poetry) and Haiku, participants will explore physical poetry as solo, duo, trio, and as a group (reading the air). Before the creative section of the workshop, we will meditate (sitting, walking, and dancing) and also practice somatic exercises--particularly being aware of fascia connections in order to integrate our physical, mental, and energetic being.
August 23-25, 2020
Ayako Kato Dance Summer Intensive:
"Let’s Create Chained Poetry Improv-Compositional Dance!"
Sun. Mon. Tues. 10 am - 2:30 pm
On Zoom or outdoor at Hamlin Park
Renku, haikai no renga/linked verse, is a Japanese Chained Poetry form that was established by poet Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694) who is mostly known for his haiku (the first verse of Renku). This group, collaborative, improvisational, and compositional traditional activity is still practiced in modern days. As dancemakers and practitioners, there is a lot we can learn from Renku’s rules, aesthetics, and approaches. During this intensive, participants will start to learn the form’s basic structure and rules while creating their own verses and by linking them with others’ verses. At the end of the intensive, we aim to complete one volume of Chained Poetry Dance improvised/composed of 36 verses/short pieces of dance which must be the very first one in world history! There will be a showing at the workshop's conclusion.
June 23 - July 28, Tues 9:30 am -noon*
"Eclipse Dance Movement and Creative Workshop III"
with Ayako Kato
9:30 am Zazen Meditation, 10 am Warmup and Creative Session.
Single drop-in workshop $14/$12 (professionals, students, seniors)
"This third session of the Eclipse series will focus on improvisation. Yet, not in a regular manner. Participants will learn improvisation more as a principle practice. We continuously seek out the empty-self to gain maximum freedom and understanding of the natural force through our physical-mental-self and beyond. Then, again, the session hopes for participants to encounter the transformative absolute as the Eclipse moment. " Ayako Kato
To learn more about Ayako, please visit: www.artunionhumanscape.net OR Ayako Kato Dance on Vimeo Questions? Contact Ayako at: furyuayajp(at)gmail.com
Elisa Foshay. Photo: W. Frederking
Andrea Cerniglia, photo: Roberto Martinez
Ayako Kato, photo Benjamin Wardell
Image: Ayako Kato