Upcoming/current 2010: Embodied Anatomy Yoga Ongoing, Thursdays 4:00-5:30 pm @ Studio 34 EAY is the study of anatomy, experientially through the practice of Yoga. We will explore our different body systems -skin, muscle, bone, fluids, organs, endocrine, nervous- their different qualities and functions through yoga postures and movement. All levels of experience are welcome. This class emphasizes a sense of curiosity and play as we find our unique alignment within yoga postures. EAY is for folks who want to gain ease and efficiency within their yoga practice and gain kinesthetic awareness through a slow, deep, student focused class. This class is free for the duration of Nicole's training in EAY. Students are encouraged to ask questions and give feedback. Contact Improvisation Sundays, 12:30-2:30pm (beginning August 15th) Rotating teachers, $10 @ Studio 34 Aug 15th – Myra Bazell 22nd – Myra Bazell 29th – Myra Bazell Sept 5th – Chris Aiken 12th – Chris Aiken 19th – Angie Hauser 26th – Angie Hauser Oct 3rd – Leah Stein 10th – Nicole Bindler 17th – Nicole Bindler 24th – Nicole Bindler 31st – Sara Narva Nov 7th – Sara Narva 14th – Sara Narva 21st – Nicole Bindler 28th – Nicole Bindler Dec 5th – Greg Holt 12th – Greg Holt 19th – Greg Holt 26th – canceled Jan 2nd – Nicole Bindler 9th – Curt Haworth 16th – Curt Haworth 23rd – Curt Haworth 30th – Curt Haworth Feb 6th – Sara Narva 13th – Nicole Bindler 20th – Sara Narva 27th – Nicole Bindler march 6th – Merian Soto 13th – Merian Soto 20th – Marion Ramirez / Jung Woong 27th – Marion Ramirez / Jung Woong April 3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th – Adams Berzins Master Classes: (Each of these workshops includes live accompaniment and can be formatted as a single class, a weekend or a full week residency.) Improvisation Performance Practice In this workshop we will practice the craft of improvisation. Scores will include Habitats: environmental dances and Moving Monologues: solo movement/text improvisations. In Habitats we will investigate how the environment can inspire our dancing. We will improvise a lot, witnessing each other and experimenting with solo and group scores. How can we inhabit an environment as we dance, whether it's a stage, studio or the outdoors? In Moving Monologues we will use text/movement improvisations as a practice to learn more about who we are as performers and to gently push ourselves further. We will ask ourselves how can we be articulate in both media? How can we use both media to strengthen each other? My personal interest is not in finding a direct correlation between the movement and text, but in using one to unlock habits in the other. Performance Practice is for dancers and actors who love to improvise. Participants should bring a notebook and plenty of water. Contact Improvisation CI is a partner dance form using physical contact, weight sharing and human connection as the impetus for the dance. The point of contact is used as a fulcrum for unusual movement not physically possible in a solo dance. Using gravity and momentum the dance unfolds in unexpected ways. As an improvisational form, there is an emphasis on being present and open to the unknown. All levels of movement experience and ability are welcome to practice CI. There is no judgment about what is beautiful or ugly. It is a deeply personal and experiential dance. The quality of the dance is gauged by how the dancers themselves experience it. There are specific techniques and forms that one can learn and practice in order to make the dance safer and more enjoyable, but these techniques are not an end; they are a means towards a unique, unrepeatable dance. Experiential Anatomy Experiential Anatomy is the study of the body from the inside out. Through guided movement exercises, palpation and meditation, we'll investigate the layers of our bodies, skin, muscle, bone, nerves, organs, fluids. We'll discover and unfurl our habitual postures and movement, and uncover new ways of inhabiting our bodies; all from a place of curiosity and non-judgement. Testimonials: "I met Nicole attending my first yoga class. Her dedication of learning shines through in all her ways of teaching. She has a beautiful intuitiveness of reading people and applying just the right needs for them. Her body moves as gently as she speaks, her teachings both spoken and silent remain with me all throughout the day. Her expansive knowledge and experience of the body teaches us about its movements, and all its interconnectedness with ourselves and the world, and allows us the opportunity to apply these practices in various ways. Her efforts in learning and sharing have allowed me to apply greater consciousness and intention in all my actions.  It is truly a pleasure and a gift to take a class with such a talented and enthusiastic mentor." --Blaine Pirareo, contractor In the fall of 2002, Nicole Bindler taught Zaitoun Dance Troupe a Modern Dance workshop to help broaden their technical range: "Nicole seemed to see into our bodies and know what we needed to improve on. Her acute body awareness helped her to understand our weaknesses and push us to explore and strengthen them. Our entire group feels that we benefited greatly from her gentle and directed instruction. Zaitoun recommends her as a talented, patient, and conscientious dance instructor." -Bonnie Toland, Founding Member of Zaitoun Dance Troupe "During the 2005 I worked with Nicole Bindler in a workshop of dance improvisation in Fundación El Ciclope, Córdoba. The workshop consisted in two days of intense work. The workshop gave me important information for further investigations in my dance. I strongly recommend Nicole as a residence artist because she is a person who never stop searching and looking for new things, and most of all, is a generous artist. I think is very important to find a teacher who can offer and share her knowledge, and also is open minded to learn from others. - Griselda de Elejalde, Dance-Theater Artist, member of KAO performatic theater, Cordoba, Argentina Past: June 27th - July 3rd, 2010 Wild Meadows Improvisation Retreat Facilitated by: Cyrus Khambatta, Sharon Mansur and Nicole Bindler. June 4th Somatics and Contemporary Technique at the nEW Festival http://www.newfestival.net/ June 1st, 7-11pm Open Sound Workshop, presented by Bowerbird. Community Education Center, Philly, PA. Contact Improvisation workshops in Agentina March 13th/14th - Rosario Contact Improvisation and Performance Lab http://www.estudiogabimorales.com.ar/ For more info email: estudiodanza@ciudad.com.ar March 4th-7th - Buenos Aires (4/5 - beginner's mind CI; 6/7 - CI and performance lab) For more info email: emacabral@gmail.com Contact Improvisation January-February, Mondays 7:00-10:00pm with Nicole Bindler and Adams Berzins The Parlor, 1170 S. Broad St, Philly, PA. (Please note Jan 4th is at UArts Terra Building, 4th floor, 211 S. Broad Street as part of the nEW Festival http://www.newfestival.net) Wild Meadows July 12 -18, 2009 Ongoing Tuesday Yogadance for kids @ Yogachild Seven Gate Movement @ Studio 34 Yoga l Healing l Arts For experienced movers of all sorts (dancers, yogis, martial artists) Sundays beginning March 8th, 2009, 12:30-2:20 pm, $10/$9 w/dancepass Oct 18th, 2008, 2-6 p.m. Experiential Anatomy (EA) for Yoga teachers and serious Yoga practitioners @ Studio 34 Sept 9th, 2008, 6:00-7:30 Contemporary Dance @ Susan Hess 2030 Sansom St, 3rd Fl (subbing for Myra Bazell) Improvisation Performance Practice Sat/Sun, March 22nd/23rd, 2008 Grassroots Studio, Seattle, WA