Body Wisdom Beginners Course
***Please note that class on Wed 27th October is postponed to Wed 3rd November - our apologies about this and thank you for your understanding***
Echo Echo invites you to join a 4-week course in person on Wednesday mornings in October 2021. New members are welcome and this course is aimed at beginners and people with little or no movement experience.
Part of Positive Ageing Month 2021 which is supported by Derry City and Strabane District Council, the Western Health & Social Care Trust and the Public Health Agency NI.
When & Where
Weekly on Wednesdays from 6th to 27th October 2021 at 10.30am - 12.30pm at Echo Echo Studios, Magazine Street, Derry.
Registration
- Advance booking essential to manage numbers.
- New members are welcome - please SIGN UP below.
- Returning members are also welcome.
- Please inform us if you have booked but can't attend.
- Course price is £32 and £24 concession payable in advance. Please pay online below. A Paypal account is not required - the system accepts most major payment cards.
Sign Up button
Payment button
Covid-19
We have introduced a range of safety measures at Echo Echo Studios and we ask you to follow them closely.
- Please wash hands often and use hand sanitizer stations
- Please wear a mask in shared areas unless you are exempt
- Please adhere to social distancing guidance, and no unnecessary physical contact
- No congregating in the centre before or after activities, sorry
- Stay home if you have any Covid-19 symptoms - a high temperature; a new, continuous cough; loss of taste or smell.
- Pay in advance online if possible
- Contact tracing protocol should be observed - if you receive a notification please keep the course leader informed (in confidence)
- Please support us to maintain a safe and healthy environment
- Echo Echo will not be taking temperatures or asking for Covid vaccine certificates.
If you have any specific concerns or observations please don't hesitate to speak with us first.
Thank you and we look forward to meeting you!
Further Information
Body Wisdom
Are you aged 50+ and interested in dance and movement? Maybe you are creative in other ways and would like to extend your creativity into another area? Maybe you just loved to dance when you were younger and are looking for a new opportunity to dance once again? Maybe you have been put off by the idea of having to keep up with the athleticism of younger dancers?
If so, then this is the project for you.
Forget about needing to be young and athletic. In this project the wisdom and experience written into the bones, muscles and sinews of older people is a positive advantage.
Led by experienced Echo Echo Ensemble Artist, Kelly Quigley, the movement style is very relaxed and exploratory.
Body Wisdom has gone from strength to strength in recent years with a core group of regular members. The Body Wisdom programme was previously awarded a BBC Performing Arts Award and was shortlisted for the Voluntary Arts Epic Awards.
New participants are very welcome to join and no experience is necessary.
The atmosphere is friendly and supportive. Feel free to try out one class with no obligation to return, or to simply come along to watch if you are unsure.
When and Where
Echo Echo Studios, Magazine Street, Derry-Londonderry.
Check our What's On section for latest dates and times.
Testimonials
I have enjoyed being part of body wisdom – like being a child again – invited to play on the floor, ‘let me out of my box.’ I have learned so much. There is such delicacy and potency in the slightest gesture, or in the biggest. I am constantly surprised and delighted by how articulate the body is – this heap of old bones, some of them sore. The process of finding dance within myself and within the group – with all the trust and sharing that involves – is very special, life-enhancing. I am always elated at the end of each session. I am attentive to movement in a new way. I find dance everywhere, or it finds me. Body Wisdom participant
To me Body Wisdom was a physical, mental and spiritual experience. I loved the freedom of movement it gave me. I have arthritis and was fixated on what I could not do. Body Wisdom changed my focus to what I could do. Body Wisdom Participant
My two years coming to Body Wisdom have really been a life saver for me, in many ways, which are too personal to share. One of the things I love about our classes is that "There is no wrong way ". In life we are often corrected, from an early age we are told we are not doing IT right, whatever it may be, big or small, important or not. To experience the freedom and permission to do IT my way, to trust my judgement, is a very powerful positive thing. It helps me believe I am ok. Body Wisdom Participant
Thanks
Previous Body Wisdom projects have been developed and delivered in partnership with WEA-NI Learning Age Project and with funding from The Atlantic Philanthropies, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Derry City Council, and BBC Performing Arts Fund.
Body Wisdom in the Community
Body Wisdom in the Community was a three year outreach programme for older people in care settings. The programme was delivered by Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company in partnership with Strabane Community Project and Praxis Care (NI) and supported by Body Wisdom regular participants as volunteers.
The Body Wisdom in the Community programme took place through 2018-2021 and was supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland Arts and Older People Programme.
Gallery images
by Sarah Bryden Photography and Living Witness Productions.
