Evening Classes – Flexible dances, dynamic connections with Susanna Hood

Wednesday — 8-9:30 p.m.

SPRING: May 4 – June 15 (no class on June 1st – 6 classes)
Contact Susanna to register
$18/class, $90 for full 6-class series (No one turned away for a lack of funds, please be in touch if you’re in a precarious financial position and we’ll find a solution for you to join!)
Payment by cash or e-transfer: susannahoodhum@gmail.com
Class in English and French

Mask required – please consult Studio 303’s COVID-19 Protocol for further information.

CONTENT// This class will draw on my experience with a number of somatic, vocal and improvisation practices, and most specifically, materials from Open Source Forms (OSF), a somatic movement practice fluidly expanded from Joan Skinner’s Skinner Releasing Technique (SRT). Some underlying principles that will guide our time together are that we are all born with natural grace and coordination with free and open voices & natural creativity; that in letting go of learned patterns of holding, of preconception, and of expectation we can connect to our own inherent process and potential; that sound is part of our physicality and is an expression of and release of energy; that learning through allowing instead of forcing gives us access to fullness with less effort; that we can be physically touched and transformed by the use of imagery; and that play is a fundamental part of our humanness.
The structure of the class will be fairly seamless, and the amount of time we will spend in any one kind of activity will vary depending on the day and what’s needed in the room. Generally speaking, we will begin with a physical (and possibly vocal) warm-in, move towards scores and structures for improvisation in small and large groups, and finish with a somatic integration and some personal time for writing. There is a cumulative nature to the series of classes, but I will be designing them so that they are equally accessible to dropping in.
I am particularly interested in the idea of dancing with… dancing with different parts of ourselves, with each other, with imagery, with touch, with our voices, with language, with drawing, with space, with objects, with listening to the inherent musicality of our physicality… all in a spirit of relational interdependence.
If we consider Open, Source, and Form as verbs instead of nouns, we can approach the class as an opportunity for opening; sourcing or resourcing; and un-forming to reform or to find new forms.

ACCESSIBILITY // This class is for whoever wishes participate. OSF as a foundation, and my approach generally, promote experiential learning – allowing for the timing of each individual’s process of discovery and integration, working both together and alone but in community. In this way, people of all levels of experience and with a variety of needs can explore alongside each other, tailoring the work to their individual capacities and needs. I will offer potential adaptations and also collaborate with participants to create adaptations so that everyone feels safe, included, and suitably stimulated and challenged. I wish to support the building of trust by each individual in their inherent psycho/physical wisdom. I have some limited experience working with people who are deaf, people who are neuro-divergent, and people with disabilities. If you have specific concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me in advance.

BIO // Susanna Hood (she/her/elle) is a Tiohtià:ke/Montreal-based dance artist, musician and educator. For over two decades, she has devoted her career to synthesizing voice and movement within her dynamic practice, creating intimate, sensual and raw performances both in dance-theatre contexts as well as in the context of improvised music. Since 2004, Susanna has been teaching improvisation, composition, and voice and movement synthesis in various institutions and through independent workshops across Canada and internationally. Since 2012 Susanna has become a teacher trainer of Open Source Forms (OSF), a practice that combines the principles of Skinner Releasing method with the varied and developing practices of its teachers. She is also currently pursuing teacher certification in Emotionally Integrated Voice with her teacher of 20 years, Fides Krucker. susannahood.ca

Evening classes are open to all levels, and it is recommended to register in advance for one or multiple classes.

Registration is done directly with the teachers, please contact them if you need additional information.