CENTER HERE AND NOW / WORKSHOPS / August 2023 / 13.08.23 - 18.08.23

“In Each one of us dwells the “One” of Origin.”

Biodanza means Dance of Life. It is a dance of heart and freedom from South America. It's a system that integrates music and movement; it also makes possible to establish an authentic relationship with yourself, with other people and with the environment. Biodanza creates experiences of intense awareness of being alive in the here-and-now.

Celebrating life is a goal of Biodanza. It stimulates community bounds and makes establishing relationships easier, as well as helps participants regain joy and vitality to celebrate the sacredness of life. It makes a way to feel happy, healthy and more confident, with strengthened self-esteem, also improving the ability to make choices.

Archetypes are a set of psychic images present in the Collective Unconscious, innate patterns from the depths of the human soul and are genetically inherited. It is the inaugural heritage of humanity, or as Carl Gustav Jung wrote, the DNA of the human soul, we could say that they are the psychological equivalent of instinct. Different cultures have known that in order to know ourselves, we need to know our archetypes - the gods and goddesses who reside within us. During this workshop we will learn about the archetypes of Demeter, Persephone, Hades, Ares, Athena, Hermes, Dionysus, Eros, Apollo, Artemis, Hestia, Hephaestus, Ariadne, Gaia, Uranus and Artemis.

“In every corner of my being, there is an altar to a different god”

Fernando Pessoa

Myths are poetic and philosophical narratives, they are original revelations of the preconscious psyche. According to Jung “we don't invent myths, we experience them”. The activation or not of these internal patterns suggests our fundamental differences. Knowledge, especially the knowledge that comes through bodily experience, provides means of understanding and means of activating of these psychic realities. Greek myths, par excellence, remain current and relevant, because there is something profoundly true related to common human experience.

When Jung was asked why psychology is so young he replied that in the old days, myths were enough for people. They “represent psychological, metaphysical, sociological and cosmological functions” (Joseph Campbell).

Other cultures, perfectly connected with the “art of being”, knew that in order to know ourselves, we need to know the gods and goddesses that dwell within, we need, in the words of James Hillman, to “face the gods”. And “facing the gods” means waking up to the psychological dimensions that each one represents in our identity.

The following will be honored guests for this work:

Demeter | Persephone | Hades | Ares | Athena | Hermes | Dionysus | Khaos | Eros | Apollo | Artemis | Hestia | Hephaestus | Ariadne | Gaia | Uranus | Artémis | Others

Key authors for this creation:

Carl Gustav Jung | James Hillman | Kark Kerenyi | Jean Shinoba Bolen | Joseph Campbell | Riane Eisler | Spethen Fry | Thomas Moore & Douglas Gillette | Robert Bly

“Biodanza represents the primordial energy pattern of deep connection and freedom of expression, beauty, enthusiasm and passion. It lives through the original thirst that our species has of health, love, pleasure and well-being. It is translated by the impulse to dive deep into the world of sensations. It is guided by the compass that lives in our heart, connecting us with the need and the desire to give and receive love. It teaches us to recognize that love is an art, just as life.” (Cristiano Martins)

Life as the most Sacred of manifestations constantly asks us to reborn and become whole in a complete lovingness at every moment of our lives. The first step to take in this experiential Journey is to recognize that love is an art. In the same sense in which life in entire its splendor is an art. If we want to learn how to love, we should do the same things we do when we want to learn any other form of art, such as music or sculpture.

Biodanza is a delicate but deeply transforming work on consciousness which awakens for universal solidarity, based on working with the body, body movement and dancing.

• Integrates body, mind, emotions and soul.
• Arouses vitality, creativity, sensuality and emotionality.
• Teaches openness, joy, building good relationships and expressing emotions.

Biodanza is based on psychological and philosophical research, dance anthropology and traditional rituals. One of the teachers explains the origin of the word "biodanza" from the Greek bios meaning life, and from the Spanish danza which means dance. Workshop is based on personal, direct experience - individually, in pairs, subgroups or in a group of all participants. There is music, movement and dance to enable the creation of harmony and closeness in interpersonal relations.

Rolando Toro Biodanza System is a method that works on every human being’s potential.

It reveals various possibilities and forms of expression to us. It is based on the positive resources of each of us, according to the author's method - the creator of the system, prof. Rolando Toro. Her father is a psychologist, anthropologist, poet and artist from Chile. And since the 1960s, system itself has been distributed in over 30 countries around the world as a method of personal development.

Biodanza draws our attention into building relationships and bonds between people through eye contact. An eye contact is considered as the fundamental base of a beautiful and meaningful communication without words. This also helps to open the heart, transform person's needs and desires and to be ready for new experiences.

No dance experience or preparation is necessary to start practicing Biodanza and experience its benefits. The dance is done barefoot.

„A man doesn’t live to dance, but dances to live happier”

Thank you for the opportunity to use beautiful photos from: Agnieszka Cytacka and Magdalena Mogielnicka.

THE WORKSHOP IS HELD IN ENGLISH AND TRANSLATED INTO POLISH!

WORKSHOP HELD IN ENGLISH & TRANSLATED INTO POLISH

Details of the workshop