Dance Retreats
Expanding Movement & Mind: A Two-Part Laban Inspired Journey
The May 29, 30 and 31 2026 retreat is SOLD OUT, the next available dates are October 2, 3 and 4 2026. Click below on the ‘More Details & Registration‘ button for more information.
I’m excited to share my knowledge of Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) and its integration into dance. My journey with LMA began in 2010, leading to full certification (CMA) in 2015 through the New York Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies. Since then, I’ve applied this work across dance, physical theatre, and body psychotherapy, discovering its transformative power in each field. Laban’s approach offers a profound way to explore movement, and I can’t wait to guiding you through it.
In addition to this intensive exploration, I will incorporate my expertise in Somatic Practices, as I am also a body-oriented therapist. For me, movement and somatic awareness are inseparable; one informs and enriches the other. This approach will not only enhance your dancing but also positively influence your daily life, mental well-being, and may even offer therapeutic insights.
Discover how you move and how you can expand your movement vocabulary and creativity, refine your expressivity, and deepen your connection to your body, your use of space, dynamics and intention. These retreats invite fusion belly dancers to explore the transformative potential of Laban Movement Analysis and Somatic Practices in a structured yet adaptable way, leaving you with practical tools to enrich your dance.
All retreats will take place at Rancho PeleLuz, our co-living space nestled in the beautiful mountains of Xixona (Spain). To ensure personal attention and in-depth guidance, each retreat is limited to only 5 dancers. This small group setting allows for tailored feedback and a supportive, intimate learning environment.
The program unfolds in two phases, each building on the previous one for a deeper exploration of movement. You can choose whether to continue after The Moving Canvas, depending on your goals and time. Every phase offers a unique opportunity for growth, artistic expansion, and personal transformation—the journey is yours to shape.
The Two Phases:
Exploring the Essentials & Redefining Movement Habits
What if your dance had more choices?
Many dancers move beautifully, yet feel caught in familiar patterns. The Moving Canvas is for dancers who want to understand their movement from the inside out, expand their physical and expressive range, and rediscover curiosity in how they move.
In this retreat, we explore the core principles of Laban Movement Analysis: Body, Effort, Shape, and Space. Just as a painter needs a diverse palette, a dancer thrives on a rich vocabulary of movement. Through guided explorations, improvisation, and structured exercises, you deepen your awareness of how your body moves, how energy is expressed, how shapes transform in space, and what becomes possible when you begin to choose differently.
The Moving Canvas is about creating space in your body and in your movement choices. Rather than changing your style, this retreat invites you to understand it more deeply and give it greater freedom, clarity, and range. Whether you are new to Laban’s work or refining your artistry, you will develop tools to move with more intention, depth, and creativity. Movement is explored as both an artistic and embodied practice, allowing awareness to grow, habitual patterns to soften, and new movement possibilities to emerge, supporting not only artistic development but also a deeper sense of embodied intelligence and nuance in your dance.
During this retreat, you will:
- expand your movement possibilities and range of qualities
- recognize and soften habitual movement patterns
- experience contrast and choice in dynamics and spatial use
- refine presence, clarity, and intention in your movement
- develop tools you can immediately apply to your own dance practice
The Moving Canvas stands fully on its own as a grounding and transformative retreat. It also serves as a natural and recommended preparation for From Within, where these tools are brought into deeper creative and choreographic work.
Embodied Expression for Performance
“Dance is not about the moves, dance is about what moves you.” – Tjarda
From Within is a deepening retreat for dancers who want to create from inner impulse and shape movement into an authentic, embodied performance. Rather than learning choreography, you work with your own material, refining it, questioning it, and allowing it to evolve. Dance emerges from within, and in this retreat you learn how to give it form, clarity, and presence.
Building on the tools and embodied awareness developed in The Moving Canvas, we shift toward authorship and artistry in a performance-focused setting. You explore how movement becomes communication, how intention shapes form, and how conscious choices transform movement into meaning. Through analysis, structured improvisation, and guided reflection, your movement tendencies become clear and usable as creative material.
From Within invites you to step fully into your artistic voice. You refine choreographic and staging choices, deepen expressivity, and strengthen presence, not by adding more, but by listening more closely to what is already there. The focus is on authenticity, clarity, and embodied storytelling, allowing your dance to speak with confidence and nuance.
During this retreat, you will:
- develop and refine your own choreographic material
- make conscious choices in staging, dynamics, and expression
- deepen presence, expressivity, and embodiment
- strengthen your movement identity and artistic voice
- shape your dance into a clear, intentional, embodied statement
This intimate retreat offers space for personal attention, reflection, and learning through observation and exchange. From Within is designed for open-minded intermediate and advanced dancers of any style who wish to deepen their creative process while staying true to their own movement vocabulary.
Completion of The Moving Canvas or equivalent embodied movement experience is strongly recommended, as this retreat builds directly on that foundation.
This is focused, personal work. You are seen, not judged, and supported in standing more fully inside your own dance.
Preparation
Please bring a choreography of up to one minute that you would like to work with during the retreat.