Mindful Movement

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Yale University Good Life Center

December, 2021

Social psychologist Ellen Langer defines mindfulness as “the simple act of actively noticing new things.” If dance is movement and movement is change, how can the body in motion help us notice the new in our internal and external landscapes? At this time of transition, what might this activated attention bring to our understanding of ourselves and others? Facilitated by choreographer and YC alum Eryn Rosenthal, this workshop will explore mindful movement through play: activating curiosity, cultivating non-judgemental mindset, noticing and interacting with the world around us. In this workshop, we’ll practice improvisational movement and stillness with our environment and with others, and reflect on the process through writing, drawing, and conversation. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes that you can move, bend and stretch in. No prior experience necessary. All are welcome!

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Bio:

Choreographer and social practice artist Eryn Rosenthal examines the role of the body in building empathy, empowerment, democracy and social fabric. Her ongoing series, The Doors Project, investigates transitions–political, social, intimate–through site-based performance in different doorways around the world. Eryn has worked with choreographer Sello Pesa, poet Elizabeth Alexander, and documentary theatre pioneer Anna Deavere Smith, and has performed and taught throughout the US, South Africa and Europe. Her research and performance have been recognized with awards from the Center for Artistic Activism, a Fulbright Fellowship to Spain and an Open Society Institute President’s Grant to South Africa, among elsewhere. She meditates regularly with Contemplative Dance Practice and the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. 

Eryn will return to Yale next semester to teach Dance and Democracy: Movement Improvisation and Liberation Pedagogies. She recently taught Making Performance on Socio-Political Questions at Yale, and was previously a King-Chávez-Parks Visiting Professor and the inaugural Artist in Residence for Dialogue-Building, Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives at the University of Michigan. She is delighted to return to her alma mater.  www.erynrosenthal.com

→ Apply to the waitlist for Dance and Democracy on Yale Course Search.