Authentic Movement Workshop THIS Sunday!

Authentic Movement is a meditative, intuitive, improvisational movement practice involving a mover and a witness. It is a practice of listening, attunement; slowing and opening to a deeper sensing of body and psyche. 

Led by Paula Josa-Jones, the simple meditation of Authentic Movement will provide the container for this workshop—both for experienced movers and those who are new to this practice. With eyes closed, maintaining a focus on bodily sensation and the flow of consciousness, the mover attunes to the inner landscape of the body and allows herself to be moved by whatever impulses arise in the moment. The mover—in the presence of a compassionate witness—discovers the presence and containment of their own inner witness.    

It is certain to be a very special, meditative, and valuable experience for all bodies.   

Join us Sunday May 1st

1-4:30 pm at Pulse Studios

All ages & levels are welcome 

Meet Paula Josa-Jones

“Attention – because the body is precise

Listening – because the body is subtle

Kindness – because the body is tender”

.

Paula is a dance and movement artist who has taught Authentic Movement, somatic movement studies, composition, and improvisation for the past 40 years at universities, colleges, and dance festivals nationally and internationally. Her work includes choreography for humans, inter-species work with horses, dancers and riders, film and video. She is a Certified Laban Movement Analyst (CLMA), a Registered Somatic Movement Educator and Therapist (RSMET), a Tellington TTouch Practitioner I, and a Somatic Experiencing ®, trauma-informed practitioner (SEP). She maintains a private practice in Kent, CT. Her work with clients (virtual and in person) integrates the principles of Somatic Experiencing ®, polyvagal theory, somatic movement practices and touch skills.


Last Chance to Get Your Big Y Community Bags!

Support Pulse by bringing home your groceries in Community Bags from the Big Y in GB! Saturday is the last day that Berkshire Pulse will receive a $1 donation for each bag purchased. Please spread the word!


Join the Pulse Team!

We are seeking an experienced administrator to lead the administrative functions and daily operations for Pulse. The Administrator assumes the front desk responsibility for phone, email, and registration systems. They will be tasked with facilities maintenance, announcements and communications with staff and clients, assisting with special events, as well as daily interaction with clients and studio artists.  

And a big thank you and best wishes to our current administrator, Jaimee Christinat, who will be starting her Masters in Social Work at Smith College this summer!  

Discover Our Two New Wellness Programs!

To support our collective recovery from the last two years, we’re expanding our community class offerings to include two NEW programs that promote mental health and wellness!

Super Journal Series: Move, Draw & Write to Boost Your Best Self

with Elizabeth Heller

*Wednesdays in June*

This unique + transformative class offers students science-based mindfulness, movement, and journaling tools to boost their physical and emotional wellbeing. In a safe container for exploration + connection, participants will practice tools to help them manage the contemporary world while cultivating joy and freedom.

Students can expect to have fun, move their bodies, laugh, breathe, journal, and explore their own power to heal and create wellbeing!

Registration for this class is open & free, with a suggested $10 donation.

Therapeutic Movement Education Classes for the Special Child

with Sara Kiesel

*Coming Fall 2022*

With deep respect for the journey of the child whose perceptions and abilities are undeveloped and getting in their way​, Sara offers individual and small group classes​ ​that develop skills in communication, behavioral skills management, and social/emotional interactions.

Classes will explore body parts, spatial relationships, and basic dance elements relating to time​, rhythm, flow and breath​. We will develop skills in listening and concentration while exploring imagery and ​simple dancemaking. 


Have You Bought Your Big Y Community Bag?

A quick reminder! Throughout the entire month of April, each time you purchase a $2.50 Community Bag at the Big Y in Great Barrington, Berkshire Pulse will receive a $1 donation.

The Community Bags are located on displays around the store and at the checkout. Please spread the word with your friends and family!


PHOTO: (From left to right) Tom Truss, Matthew Cumbie, and Jake Blount in the final Act of ReWritten, performed in the barn at Herman Melville’s Arrowhead during the summer of 2021. Photo by Jana Laiz.

Support ReWritten!

After a successful site-specific performance at Arrowhead last summer, Pulse artists in-residence—including very own Tom Truss and co-creator Matthew Cumbie—are back at it again with ReWritten.

ReWritten is a work-in-progress that reflects on the often-overlooked intimate relationship between Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne as a way to explore queerness, history, intimacy, writing and self-expression. The team will be performing at Arrowhead again this summer, as well as traveling to Paris to share their work with the Melville Society!  

The ReWritten team needs help in raising $10,000 to grow and support the development of the staged version of ReWritten. The first 10 people to donate $100 will be invited to a live advance Zoom screening of a special screen dance, filmed in Herman Melville’s writing studio (where he wrote Moby Dick) and on the grounds of Arrowhead!

Learn more and donate at the link below and mark your calendars—you’ll be able to see ReWritten performed at Arrowhead the last 2 weeks of July!


REMINDER: April Break Is Next Week!

All Youth classes are on break. The following community classes are also on break for the week and will resume after the 22nd:

* Ballroom Dance will not run this Friday April 15th, but class will resume on April 22nd.

All other community classes will continue as usual!

Berkshire Pulse